Injured Baby Peppered Cory

Found him this morning stuck to the filter intake in my 29. He's barely an inch long and is the smallest cory in the tank.

His barbels are damaged on the side he was stuck on. I have him in a small jelly jar full of his tank water with a tea towel draped loosely over to dI'm the lights (mouth of jar isn't covered).

He's still breathing but is in rough shape. What can be done to hopefully recover him?

Also I'll look into getting a sponge on that intake.

 

Water changes in the tank will help. I don't think putting him a jelly jar will help him recover, might stress him out more since he's in a more confined space. I would dump him back in there and do a water change.

If you only do water changes like once a week or every other week I would change it to like twice a week and just keep an eye on him. Fresh water = healing when it comes to that kind of damage.

 

I think a healty Cory won't get sucked stuck to.a filter inlet.
So I expect this one to be quite weak (before it got stuck).

 

Looking at him now he looks emaciated... even though I've been feeding every day.

He's housed with 5 other corys, a goldfish, 3 white cloud minnows, 5 platies, and a bn pleco. I am aware of compatibility issues but it isn't my fish in the tank.

 

Alright, I've set up a 2.5 gallon hospital tank for him. Heater, cycled filter media, bare bottom and a coffee mug for a hiding place. Anything else I'll need?

 

He's still alive, but unresponsive and very thin. Should I attempt to feed him or just leave him alone?

 

If he's the smallest one in the tank, I'd bet that he wasn't getting very much to eat, he's in there with some food hogs.
I'd try to feed a little if you can get him to eat some he might be able to recover.

 

I regret to announce the little one passed away. I came home to uneaten food and he wasn't breathing anymore. He was very thin and starvation combined with the stress of being stuck to the inlet was too much.

I feel responsible for his death... was I not feeding enough? I always scatter flakes and food on the bottom as well as the top to avoid competition. None of the other corys show signs of being malnourished.

I really wish I could get rid of that goldfish. It is greedy and I guarantee it is the main cause behind the cory not getting enough to eat.

 

sorry to hear Fahn

 

May I ask why you can't get rid of the goldfish? He doesn't belong on a tank with tropicals, as you already know. Whatever the reason may be, it isn't doing anyone any favors.

 

May I ask why you can't get rid of the goldfish? He doesn't belong on a tank with tropicals, as you already know. Whatever the reason may be, it isn't doing anyone any favors.

He isn't my fish. I got the 29 as an upgrade to my sister's overstocked 10 and put beefy filtration on it.

As much as he annoys me it's not my fish. I simply do the maintenance because she doesn't know about cycling and water changes etc.

 

You should try to really make it clear to her that she is hurting ALL the fish by keeping the Goldie in there. It's a cold water fish and it's immune system will suffer at the temps the other fish live at - beyond that it's waste is far too much for a 29 gallon with other fish in it, and as it gets bigger it'll be harder and harder to keep the water from becoming toxic. I don't want to sound coarse or rude, but it's very important that your sister gets a grip and does what's best for the fish, because they are all suffering in the current arrangement.

 

You should try to really make it clear to her that she is hurting ALL the fish by keeping the Goldie in there. It's a cold water fish and it's immune system will suffer at the temps the other fish live at - beyond that it's waste is far too much for a 29 gallon with other fish in it, and as it gets bigger it'll be harder and harder to keep the water from becoming toxic. I don't want to sound coarse or rude, but it's very important that your sister gets a grip and does what's best for the fish, because they are all suffering in the current arrangement.

I wish it was that simple. Unfortunately everybody loves the goldfish and he is the centerpiece of the tank, and rehoming it probably wouldn't go over well. Our neighbor has a pond but I'm not sure what types of goldfish he keeps in it. If it is commons or koi, the fancy won't do well with them.

 

He could live in the 29 if he could have it to himself... but he doesn't belong with the others and it's detrimental to all their health.

I'm so tired of people who think of fish as home decor.

 

He could live in the 29 if he could have it to himself... but he doesn't belong with the others and it's detrimental to all their health.

I'm so tired of people who think of fish as home decor.

If he had the tank to himself with the pleco it wouldn't bother me. However, the other fish would have no where to go and I have no idea how to go about rehoming 13 other fish... I've considered putting the platies in my 46 gallon community with 17x filtration but it's already so heavily stocked.

 

What's all in your community? It might be possible... I stock a bit heavily myself. Just have to be cautious and aware. Cories have a pretty small bioload and earn their keep by cleaning, maybe you could move them to your tank? They're much more sensitive than platies, in my experience. I don't know for sure but I think I may have read that the minnows are cold water fish? So they're technically compatible if I'm right about that, and while it's not super ideal they probably don't add too much to the bioload. The real question is, what is the temp of the tank? Goldies can do tropical temps for short periods, like say two weeks for ich treatment, but after awhile it starts to weaken their immune systems. On the other hand tropical fish, when kept at ideal goldfish temps (without a heater, mid to high 60s) experience issues like slowed digestion/constipation, lethargy, etc. along with weakened immune response. So it's a lose-lose situation. I don't know what temps the BN prefers so I can't speak to its compatibility. If you are serious though, there are options when it comes to rehoming. A lot of stores will trade or give credit for fish (not the big chains though). I usually put them on Craigslist and sell them to whomever can give me photos and parameters of their tank.

I looked at your list of fish in the 46. How many of each?

 

What's all in your community? It might be possible... I stock a bit heavily myself. Just have to be cautious and aware. Cories have a pretty small bioload and earn their keep by cleaning, maybe you could move them to your tank? They're much more sensitive than platies, in my experience. I don't know for sure but I think I may have read that the minnows are cold water fish? So they're technically compatible if I'm right about that, and while it's not super ideal they probably don't add too much to the bioload. The real question is, what is the temp of the tank? Goldies can do tropical temps for short periods, like say two weeks for ich treatment, but after awhile it starts to weaken their immune systems. On the other hand tropical fish, when kept at ideal goldfish temps (without a heater, mid to high 60s) experience issues like slowed digestion/constipation, lethargy, etc. along with weakened immune response. So it's a lose-lose situation. I don't know what temps the BN prefers so I can't speak to its compatibility. If you are serious though, there are options when it comes to rehoming. A lot of stores will trade or give credit for fish (not the big chains though). I usually put them on Craigslist and sell them to whomever can give me photos and parameters of their tank.

I looked at your list of fish in the 46. How many of each?

Tank temp is usually around 76' F.

Remember these are not my fish so the final say in their care ultimately is not up to me.

In the 46 are:

1 DG
1 GBR
12 glowlight tetras
8 bronze corydoras
4 otocinclus
10± Amano shrimp

Heavily planted with 809 total gph filtration