Cory Cat Problems Help

Hi guys! I’m not sure what’s going on with two of my Cory cats. Over the past day or two one of them has a red mouth and another one seems to have lost its barbels altogether. Any ideas? Water all tests great. They share the tank with emerald dwarf rasboras, Asian stone cats, a nerite snail, and cherry shrimp. Substrate is larger grain sand.

 

Do you do a gravel change? Meaning clean the sand with your python? That's usually why there mouths get red and they lose there barbs. Second your test I doubt are great if there is dirty sandm

 

I think the issue is the sand, it’s too course.
See, these guys love to sift through sand, which is why they dig into it a bit. If it’s too course, they’ll have issues with the skin on their tummy, and their barbels become worn.

 

The sand doesn't look bad. But when they take in sand it goes out of there gills and they take in the yummie from the sand. So I would get pool filter sand. 50lb for $8. Great sand. Just gotta rinse before you add to tank. Do you ever clean your sand?

 

Thanks for the response! The sand that’s currently in the aquarium has been in it for about five months. No problems up to this point. I do siphon it each week.

 

We are just trying to help you ! I would switch to the finer sand because apparently it is making your cories die... But it's your decision. Doesn't look like anything is causing the death.

 

I appreciate the help No one has died yet thankfully. Their other four Cory buddies are completely fine. I’ll definitely change the sand though if that seems to be what’s causing the problem!

 

I would also add more cories because when they lose there buddies they get sad. Make sure there are at least 6 or more. If you think the sand isn't the problem you can wait, but I've NEVER had a problem with pool filter sand. And I have over 100 cories.

 

All six are still alive at this point, but if either of the two problem children pass away I will be replacing them. They love to all hang out together. Also, wow - 100 cories would be a sight to see!

 

Well I have over 60 babies right now from a few days old to a few months old. Got around 30 adults. Can't ever count them. Always moving and looking for food. (Eggs in female) anyway that sounds good!

 

I'm not arguing the sand isn't too coarse, but isn't it good to consider more possibilities if the FOUR other corys are not presenting with these issues? But I don't know where to start elsewhere I admit...
OP do you have any of your own guesses since you know much more about the overall tank and history?

For example what kind of rock is that? It looks like it could be sharp and abrasive.

 

They will likely start getting there barbs shredded and red soon. Some cories berry there heads more into sand than others.

 

This is so true. I’ve got one male goes so far down all hubby can see is tail!

 

Really? I've only seen to the anal fin. Whole head and barbs in sand. So freaken cute!

 

The rock is pretty hard and angular, but they’re rarely on it. Unless something spooked them and they ran into it? Not sure if that would cause injuries like that.

That sounds adorable! I’ve never seen any of mine try to do that

 

Unless you’re on the other end of “HONEY! There’s nothing left of this Cory but it’s tail!” I finally get to the aquarium and he tells me never mind, the Cory backed out of the sand and was fine. Seems a piece of shrimp pellet was buried. Lol

I’ve got very soft sand. I love it. So do they.

 

It's most likely the large grain sand. Corie searh the bottom for food even digging in the substrate looking for a tasty morsel. In their natural habitat, they have soft mud and silt to root around in. Aquarists that plan on keeping cories should consider using fine sand as substrate. It's actually quite common for cories to lose their barbels in aquariums with gravel or course gravel.

 

I have a mix of gravel and sand. Mainly sand but none of my cories lose there barbs. It just depends on how big the sand is and how clean.