White stringy ball attached to cory fin

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 20 Gallon
How long has the tank been running? Over a year and a half
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 74 F
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)

6 praecox rainbows
1 bristle nose pleco
3 cory eques

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? once a week
How much of the water do you change? typocally 50%

What do you use to treat your water? Fritz guard or api stress coat

Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Vacuum all

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? YES
What do you use to test the water? API MASTER TEST KIT
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate: 5
pH: 7.5

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Once daily
How much do you feed your fish? A pinch of flake for rainbows, 2 mini algae wafers and 3 bottom dweller waffers
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Omega 1 and hibakiri
Do you feed frozen? Once in a while
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? Yes blood worms

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? Over a year and a half
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? Today

In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? It's 4 white looking balls that appear to be finely attached to a string like substance that is attached to the fish's fin.

Have you started any treatment for the illness?
None yet

Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase?no

How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Nothing outside the normal behavior

Explain your emergency situation in detail.
So I noticed, today that one of my cory eques appeared to have these white balls floating around its fin not matter where it swam and it appears to be attached by clear/whitish thread. I had something similar appear on another one of my cories close to about 6 months ago. I was able to remove the ball substance with tweezers but the fish died a couple weeks later. So I'm afraid to do anything deastic until I have more of an idea of what it is.

 

I kind of think those are Cory eggs. Have yours been spawning recently? Do you see any eggs stuck on your glass? Go look an inch or two down from the top of the water all along the perimeter of your tank. Do you see any similar looking balls?

If they are Cory eggs, they'll fall off, hatch, or get eaten in a few days if left alone

 

I kind of think those are Cory eggs. Have yours been spawning recently? Do you see any eggs stuck on your glass? Go look an inch or two down from the top of the water all along the perimeter of your tank. Do you see any similar looking balls?

If they are Cory eggs, they'll fall off, hatch, or get eaten in a few days if left alone

I havent noticed any on the glass so far, but I'll keep a look out for any if they do show. By chance if they arnt eggs what would be the next assumption? Thank you for the help!

 

From your description I was expecting them to be a kind of fungus, but seeing the photos I agree they look like eggs.

 

So sadly no eggs on the glass, but those white balls (eggs) don't seem to be on the cory any longer.

 

From your description I was expecting them to be a kind of fungus, but seeing the photos I agree they look like eggs.

So I recently got some new cories and now the newer ones is having the same thing. Can cories produce eggs before maturity?

 

They definitely look like eggs...

 

They definitely look like eggs...

Thank you. I'm starting to feel like a helicopter parent when it comes to these cories. For me it just seemed strange that I added them to the main tank this Sunday and today all these new unmature cories have all these white balls on them.

 

The other cories may have laid them and then cory #2 came by same traffic area. They are kind of sticky which is why you have to use something like a credit card to peel them off tank glass.

 

yes, they are mature when they are ready and have a mate lined up, the eggs might not be viable for another couple months, but technically, if they are 6 months old or older or of the size of 6-9 months, they are "mature" enough to lay eggs. Usually by 9 months they become viable attempts. practice makes perfect. But I wouldn't be surprised if these other ones are just picking them up from one female when they pass over her spawning area to grab a snack.

 

Thank you all for the advice and knowledge! Still fairly new to this all but the more the better. Now just have to stop being a helicopter dad.