Albino Corys keep on going up to the tank surface

[kelorkirti]

I just got my first set of fishes today. I got 3 Albino Cory Cats from the LFS. Was planning to get 6 of them but the store only had 3. I am planning to get 3/4 more Corys in the next few days to make them a school. So these 3 Corys are the ONLY inhabitants in my tank right now.

The fishes are staying on the tank floor but time to time, they are swimming all around the tank and going to the surface, and coming back to the floor at times. I am not sure if that is expected behavior. I checked the water parameters and here are the latest ones:

Tank Size: 29 gallons
Water pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20 ppm
Tank temperature: 78 degrees F

Anything I need to be worried about?

Attaching couple of pics for reference. Couldn't capture all of them running around.

 

[SpottedKit329]

Yep, it's normal for them to dart around sometimes between the floor are surface (and wiggle to the other side of the tank every 10 seconds haha)

 

[fishnovice33]

I assume the tank is cycled and dechlorinator was used. I’m not sure what kind of albinos you have and there isn’t much to go on, but my albinos were much happier at 74-75 temps. They weren’t breathing as fast. Also very important to acclimate them with small bits of tank water before putting them in, hopefully you did that. They can ‘burn out’ very quickly.

They can be really active when small/young like yours so it could be nothing, just behavior.

 

[kelorkirti]

I assume the tank is cycled and dechlorinator was used. I’m not sure what kind of albinos you have and there isn’t much to go on, but my albinos were much happier at 74-75 temps. They weren’t breathing as fast. Also get important to acclimate them with small bits of tank water before putting them in, hopefully you did that. They can ‘burn out’ very quickly.

Yes, tank is cycled. Took me 8 weeks of painful wait before I got these in. I did a 90% water change and dechlorinated it before going to the LFS. And yes, I did acclimate them for 20 minutes by adding tank water into their water bag. Maybe, I will try putting the temperature down to 76.

 

[carsonsgjs]

Corys will surface occasionally to take in air. Perfectly normal but keep an eye on them to make sure that they arent staying at the surface. Sounds like your tank is cycled so doesnt sound like anything to worry about in that respect.

 

[pagoda]

The one thing from the photo's that will need to be sorted for them.....gravel is not suitable for Cories. They require fine sand otherwise they are likely to damage their barbels which will quickly become infected and they will not eat. Cories love digging for food, they can't do that with huge gravel, they need to have sand. Sorry.

 

[kelorkirti]

The one thing from the photo's that will need to be sorted for them.....gravel is not suitable for Cories. They require fine sand otherwise they are likely to damage their barbels which will quickly become infected and they will not eat. Cories love digging for food, they can't do that with huge gravel, they need to have sand. Sorry.

If I plan to remove gravel now and set up fine sand, do I need to go through the nitrogen cycle again with sand?

 

[pagoda]

If I plan to remove gravel now and set up fine sand, do I need to go through the nitrogen cycle again with sand?

No

Just get a plastic 2 litre water bottle (or fizzy bottle but wash out VERY thoroughly)
Since your gravel is extremely deep, on the next water change, do 60% out
Once the water level is down, gently scoop out gravel from the front area of the aquarium, making around 40% gravel free area.
Get your bottle, cut the bottom off and hold upside down til about half an inch above the glass floor
Get thge washed sand, gently pour the sand down through the bottle (the neck will act as your funnel) onto where the glass is exposed. Use a cup or a mug to make that easier.
Once you get around 2 to 3 inches deep in the exposed areas that will be fine.

Then for maintenance each week when you do your 50% water changes, buy the biggest turkey baster you can find. Use that for spot hoovering the sand and to puff it occasionally to prevent compaction and gases to become trapped.

 

[IDKwhattodo]

I just got my first set of fishes today. I got 3 Albino Cory Cats from the LFS. Was planning to get 6 of them but the store only had 3. I am planning to get 3/4 more Corys in the next few days to make them a school. So these 3 Corys are the ONLY inhabitants in my tank right now.

The fishes are staying on the tank floor but time to time, they are swimming all around the tank and going to the surface, and coming back to the floor at times. I am not sure if that is expected behavior. I checked the water parameters and here are the latest ones:

Tank Size: 29 gallons
Water pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20 ppm
Tank temperature: 78 degrees F

Anything I need to be worried about?

Attaching couple of pics for reference. Couldn't capture all of them running around.

View attachment 795981


View attachment 795982

No there is nothing to be worried about sometimes corys Just dart around the aquarium left-right top-bottom. Oh yeah you should add some live plants to help keep the environment clean.

 

[kelorkirti]

No

Just get a plastic 2 litre water bottle (or fizzy bottle but wash out VERY thoroughly)
Since your gravel is extremely deep, on the next water change, do 60% out
Once the water level is down, gently scoop out gravel from the front area of the aquarium, making around 40% gravel free area.
Get your bottle, cut the bottom off and hold upside down til about half an inch above the glass floor
Get the washed sand, gently pour the sand down through the bottle (the neck will act as your funnel) onto where the glass is exposed. Use a cup or a mug to make that easier.
Once you get around 2 to 3 inches deep in the exposed areas that will be fine.

Then for maintenance each week when you do your 50% water changes, buy the biggest turkey baster you can find. Use that for spot hoovering the sand and to puff it occasionally to prevent compaction and gases to become trapped.

Wow, that is detailed. Thanks for the reply. So it looks like I do not need to remove each and every piece of gravel. It is good enough to remove gravel from the front areas and then add washed sand in those areas and create 2 to 3 inches depth. Is it ok to still have gravel at the back of the tank? Sorry if these questions seem silly. I am a new aquarist and am trying to make sure that I do it the right way.

Thanks again..

 

[pagoda]

Wow, that is detailed. Thanks for the reply. So it looks like I do not need to remove each and every piece of gravel. It is good enough to remove gravel from the front areas and then add washed sand in those areas and create 2 to 3 inches depth. Is it ok to still have gravel at the back of the tank? Sorry if these questions seem silly. I am a new aquarist and am trying to make sure that I do it the right way.

Thanks again..

As long as you replace around 40% of the gravel with sand, they will be fine. They might wander off into the gravelled areas but if you feed them over the sandy parts they will get used to forraging there. They use their barbels to seek and sift sand for food in the wild, so you have to recreate that in the aquarium.

Nose injuries are common when only on gravel and are often fatal, it might feel smooth to you but to their highly sensitive noses, its really not good for them at all. They also enjoy snuggling down in sand too, in their group....it gives them security and somewhere to relax when not swimming like mad things.

 

[Noroomforshoe]

I aggree that your gravel is to rough for cories. I suggest you use natural type smooth gravel or sand. I also suggest that you remove all plastic plants and only use silk or live plants.

As long as the cories do not linger at the surface for long periods, it is probobly normal, they do need to get to the surface to breath, and they can be a fun active fish, just wait until you have a school of them!

 

[Cinabar]

Gravel is fine. I kept corys on the same type of gravel you have for years without noticeable effect on their health. It is a lot more fun keeping them on sand though. They have this funny behavior where they like to bury their faces into the sand up to their eyes. Cute lil things

 

[fishnovice33]

In the wild they live with sharp gravel. I’m not sure who came up with this myth, but it’s more often bad water quality that affects barbels.
Care guides here Corydoras Forum

 

[mattgirl]

Fortunately my tank with corys is in a room with laminate flooring. If it was carpet it would be ruined with all the drops of water that hits it from all my corys zipping up to the top for a sip of air. They splash a lot of water What you are seeing is normal behavior for these little guys and girls.

I will admit it. Up until just a few years ago my corys lived with gravel substrate. I never saw any barbel damage. The only damage I ever saw was for a while after I switched to pool filter sand. I have to wonder if it was too sharp for them. Thankfully over time the barbels have grown back. I have to think the rough edges got covered with bio-film over time and now is not as rough.

Should you choose to keep your gravel use your gravel vac with each water change to keep the gravel clean. They spend the majority of their time hunting for food in the cracks and crevices so keep it clean for them. Having a sandy beach is a good idea. In my humble opinion there is no need to disrupt your whole tank and the cycled you worked so hard to grow by removing all the gravel.

 

[kelorkirti]

Fortunately my tank with corys is in a room with laminate flooring. If it was carpet it would be ruined with all the drops of water that hits it from all my corys zipping up to the top for a sip of air. They splash a lot of water What you are seeing is normal behavior for these little guys and girls.

I will admit it. Up until just a few years ago my corys lived with gravel substrate. I never saw any barbel damage. The only damage I ever saw was for a while after I switched to pool filter sand. I have to wonder if it was too sharp for them. Thankfully over time the barbels have grown back. I have to think the rough edges got covered with bio-film over time and now is not as rough.

Should you choose to keep your gravel use your gravel vac with each water change to keep the gravel clean. They spend the majority of their time hunting for food in the cracks and crevices so keep it clean for them. Having a sandy beach is a good idea. In my humble opinion there is no need to disrupt your whole tank and the cycled you worked so hard to grow by removing all the gravel.

Thank you for your wonderful input. I think I will do a partial gravel change (40%) and create a mini sandy substrate, as suggested by pagoda. I also plan to remove 2/3 artificial plants and replace them with live plants when I do this change.

 

[kelorkirti]

Latest update: I made the changes to the aquarium by replacing partial gravel with sand and changed few plants. It has been more than a week now and my cory cats seem to have taken this change very positively and are enjoying their own private sandy beach. Thank you for the suggestions again.

 

[Rose of Sharon]

Would love to see a pic of what you have done, if you can post one!