Losing Corydoras!

[Blackwater]

Hey guys, me again! cant keep my eyes off this sight for to long. just found the remains ( skull ) of one of my green corys in my tank. this is the second loss in my tank, both were corys and both seemingly for no apparent reason. both fish were smaller than the rest, from the remains i found, but other than that i really dont see them that often. my ph is 6.0 hardness is 250 ppm and alk. is 240 ppm per the Mardel test strips. i am using flourite, which is a little hard the the poor cory cats, but i havent noticed any stress or barbel-related injuries. has anyone had any incidents with their corydoras? anything would be helpful. im apt to go buying a few more to replenish their ranks, but not without further understanding why they are dying.

another question for those reading :

will Oak leaves in my fish tank breed infusoria? i dont know much about infusoria, but it seems that the oak leaves ought to spawn infusoria. any information on this topic would also be appreciated!

thanks again!

- Thomas

 

[Blackwater]

45 views.... no answers...

humph....

bought new cories!

 

[aquaticclarity]

What's the Nitrate level in the tank (not Nitrite)? Catfish in general do not tolerate an elevated Nitrate level. Keeping it under 100ppm is essential but less than 40ppm is the goal. The lower the level the better. Regular water changes along with a lighter stocked tank will help. Some of the extremely sensitive fish will require almost zero nitrates present in an aquarium to do well long term. Luckily C. aeneus (green Cory cats) don't fall under that category.

Also, what are you feeding the cats?

Jeff

 

[Blackwater]

nitrate

Nitrate is kept at or below 20ppm. i am feeding them, along with the tetras and hatchetfish, Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets and at night once every couple of days i drop in a Hikari Algea Wafer

pellets : http://www.hikari.info/tropical/t_02.html

wafers : http://www.hikari.info/tropical/t_03.html

and sometimes these, but not exclusively

micro wafers : http://www.hikari.info/tropical/t_25.html

once a week i give 1/4 of a cube of bloodworms and 1/4 cube of brine shrimp, also by Hikari.

my tank is stocked thus :
20gal amazon biotope-ish aquarium featuring 6 serpae tetras, 8 black skirts, 7 green corys and 3 silver hatchets( just got a 3 inch whiptail cat). 2 inches of flourite with roughly 9-10 lbs of african root wood ( one large piece and two smaller chunks. ) some grass ( not sure which kind ) and a Sword ( radical? ) . penguinn bio wheel for 30gal aquarium and a fluval 204 set to half water flow. i use bio media and peat filtration, no carbon ( removes tannins ) currently running at 40 watts of light, roughly 2 wpg. water changes weekly of 25%. i use no chemicals in my tank, for anything. PH kept at 6.0 no ammonia or nitrite, minimal nitrate(less than 20ppm). some oak leaves strewn about the bottom and kicked around by the current. i think thats everything. - getting some of those ketapang leaves soon i hope!

i know shes crowded, but i like the results, and the fish are happy. just those darned cory cats ( Emerald Green Corys ) that died.

hope this helps ya -

tom k

 

[fishgeek]

if the flourite has sharp edges it is likly it will damage the barbels and mouth of the cories
allowing secondary infection and inability to feed


andrew