Please Help: Pepper Cory

HELP: Something is Wrong With My Pepper Cory

My pepper cory has recently developed a white patch on one side of his head and looks like it covers part of his eye. The patch started out as a pale, dull spot and has progressed to a solid white. He is still active and eating. None of the other fish appear sick. Thoughts? Ideas? I am really worried about the little fellow.

Edit: One of our other fish, a Female Molly, had white blotches that we hypothesized to be Ich, so we treated it as such with Maracyn-Two because we read somewhere that this was the safest treatment for a tank with Catfish and other sensitive fish. We also read somewhere that fish will eat away at Ich spots, and we did see some pick at her underbelly.

 

is it completely smooth where its white or is the some fluffy fungus type things there?

 

It appears to be smooth even under a magnifying glass.

 

well I honestly don't know what's wrong with him , I mean if hes eating and healthy it should be okay , tough I'm not sure hopefully someone will come along with more experience , sorry I couldnt help more

 

Thank you for trying, I really appreciate it. I haven't seen anything like this before but I am relatively new to fish keeping.

 

Hi

It could be some kind of fungal infection. Fish usually can get a fungal infection if they have been injured or had a bacterial infection or weakened in some way first. I am not sure what the best treatment is for corys though. Is it possible for you to quarantine your cory?

Check back here soon I am sure someone who knows more about fish diseases will be here soon

 

According to your aquarium information, you have this fish in a 5 gallon tank? Also you are showing levels of nitrite at 3ppm.

It appears your tank is going through a cycle to establish its bacterial colony. See Nitrogen Cycle for more information.

Do a 50% water change with a conditioner like Prime and monitor your fish for infection. The growth looks like fungus which is treatable using different medications.

Hopefully someone can assist you on this.

 

oh I didnt see its a 5 gallon tank its way too small , but I see your gonna put it into a 20 gal , when are you getting the 20 gal. and like kopeth said above you can do a 50% water change .

 

The Pepper Cory is in a 20 gallon tank and has been since late August. The water quality in the 20 gallon planted tank is fine and a 25-30% water change is done weekly with Prime added. The 5 gallon only holds platy fry now.

 

The numbers shown were when the 20 gallon tank was cycling....the 5 gallon (where all the fish were originally) water quality was fine. I'd been left with ALL those fish in a 5 gallon tank. Immediately after I moved them into the cycled 20 gallon and both female platy and female molly had fry almost immediately. After 7 dozen fry, we found a new home for the male platy and 5 dozen fry......

All was well until the molly developed what looked like a fungus, didn't really look like ICK. We treated the large tank with Maracyn 2 for the recommended time and the molly looked good, but the Pepper developed the pale, dull patches.....slowly those turned white. He still swims about and eats but looks poorly.

 

Thanks for updating your info

It sounds like the cory has a fungus so he will need to be treated for that. With a fungus they may swim and eat still but the fungus will affect them and the fish's health deteriorate.

I am not in US so medicines available are sometimes different so wait for someone who should be able to recommend what medicine to use for fungal infection.

Take Care

Liz

 

Thank you!

 

What exactly are your water parameters? When was the last time you added anything to this tank? How long have the cories been in the 20G?

Your profile states that the water temp is kept at 76F. This is a bit low for your fish. You might try bumping it up a couple of degrees. Have you tried soaking fish foods in garlic juice or purchasing garlic guard? Garlic is an immune booster.

 

Last water test showed ammonia 0, nitrates and nitrites 0; ph 7.7; temp 76/77

I understand that Pepper corys don't like temps above 76, prefer around 72. Mollys prefer 78. I inherited this mix of fish in a 5 gallon tank and am trying to keep a happy medium.

Once I week I give them fresh garlic juice with feeding.

Both tanks are heavily planted.

 

My cories are in 78-80F tanks. If you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate, either your nitrate test solution has expired or your tank is not cycled unless heavily planted. 72 is the bare minimum temp for cories, so bumping it up a couple degrees will not be detrimental, but may help their immune systems. You might try Melafix. It might help, but hard to tell without knowing exactly what has infected your fish.

Good luck!

 

I'm going through something similar now, good luck with your little guy!

 

jungle buddies anti-fungal tablets have worked well for me, and my introverts have suffered no ill effects.

 

Thanks and good luck to you with yours SilverMoon!

Recheck on water: see photo

 

Something I learned here... ya hafta really shake/smack the bottles of nitrate test solution... particularly the second bottle before you add it to the tube to get an accurate reading.

Good luck with your little cory.

 

Both bottles shaken and whacked. Add drops from 1, shaken. Add drops from 2, shaken. Wait, read....still at 0.

Bought the kit last fall when the 20 gallon was set up (Oct. not August..oops, my bad) and all chems worked correctly as I watched the numbers go up and down. I will go search for the Jungle fungal stuff even though Pepper seems better today.

 

If you beat the #2 nitrate bottle for a good minute against the counter or table, and still get a 0 reading, I am wondering if your use of Nutrafin Cycle has caused your tank to lose its cycle. This type of bacteria will out compete aquatic bacteria, but it drowns in a week.

I'd stop using it and monitor your water parameters closely.

 

Nutrafin Cycle has not been used in months. Only used for fishless cycle of larger tank. I use Prime (not for chlorine as we have well water), and Flourish (for plants) and Kordon NovAqua instead of Prime when fish appear to have slime coat issues.

Tank has been up and running with no fish deaths since fish first put in it in October. Fry have all been healthy with no deaths (except if eaten).....so I don't think water quality is an issue.

 

Thanks and good luck to you with yours SilverMoon!

Thank you to! She is doing much better today.

 

Thank you to! She is doing much better today.

Glad to hear it! Hope things continue to improve.