My albino cory catfish is sick, what do I need to do for it?

Question

I have a fish tank with 2 albino cory catfish and 3 fancy guppies. From what I've seen, the fish don't pick on each other and seem to get along fine. However, one of my cory cat's fins look as though one of the other fish are eating them off! The "see through" part of the fins are almost gone (sorry, it's kinda hard to explain) just leaving the meaty part of the fish fin left. The fish is acting completely normal. He's being lazy (as he always has), but I just would like to know if there's anything that I can do for his fins? Could it be something in the water? I use bottled spring water (our tap is horrible and cloudy) and I only use tropical fish flakes for the guppies. The other cory cat is doing just fine, as are the guppies. Does anyone know what's happening to my poor fish? and if there is anything I can do to help it?

Answer 1

I'd have to agree with raspberry on the fin rot. This can be caused by a fungus or a bacteria, but from the degree of missing fin that you're describing, I'd think the bacterial - it progresses faster. You can see photos of this in this link to compare with your cory: http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html#Finrot You can treat this with Maracyn or Maracyn TC. This may have a fuzzy appearance along the very edge only where a fungus has caused a secondary infection.

If it doesn't seem that severe, or the fin is very "fuzzy" (see the photo of the fungal fin infection here: http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html#Finfungus ) - this you can treat with Maroxy.

Do a 25-50% water change before adding medication, then follow product directions.

Answer 2

There are a few possibilities for why this fish is not doing well, I would need a little bit more information.

A. How many gallons is your aquarium?
B. How long has the aquarium been set up?
C. How long have you had the fish?
D. What chemicals are you using for the water?

It would be best if you had a picture, because it's possibly a fungal infection such as fin and tail rot that eats away at the fins. If it doesn't seem as if the other fish are picking on him, and guppies usually don't, then the problem probably lies in the water. An easy way to see if your water has any problems such as high ammonia, nitrates, or nitrites would be to bring a sample into a local pet store. I know that PetSmart for sure does free water testing and would be able to tell you what might be wrong with the water. (I work there.) They can also ask more in depth questions and recommend treatment for the water or for the fish when you figure out what is wrong. I'd like to help more if you can give me a little more information.

Answer 3

Sick Cory Catfish

Answer 4

From the sound of it, I agree with the fact it's probably a fungal or bacterial infection, most likely fin-rot. If you haven't already, quarantine your Cory and treat for fin-rot. Watch the others for signs of rotting or fraying fins.

But, a bigger problem than your fin-rot is the cause of the infection itself.

We need more information to help with this, as someone has already mentioned - the water parameters like ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. How often do you do water changes and how much? How many gallons is your tank and what kind of filter do you have? Is your system cycled? If your system is still new, then your fish are certainly susceptible to disease from the stress of the high fluctuations in ammonia, nitrate and nitrite because your biological filter isn't established properly. If your system isn't stable and cycled, you've overstocked your tank, and it's wearing on your fish. Make sure you treat your water, even the bottled water, with some sort of water condition with a slime coat additive - this helps keep the fish healthy even while they're stressed by new tank-mates and a new home.

If your tank is stable, then you might have either an overstocking problem, or an overfeeding problem - Cory's will not eat food that has begun to rot, so they're not an effective means of cleaning old food up and this food sits at the bottom and rots, contributing to excess ammonia and tank imbalance. An apple snail, usually sold as Mystery Snails, would be an effective way to clean up old food and they nees both genders to procreate, so your tank will not be overrun. Cutting back to a once-a-day feeding, only as much as your fish will eat in a few minutes will also curb the amount of rotting food. If they don't eat it, then clean it up with a net to get it out, even though it's tempting to leave it if your fish doesn't eat.

All of these factors contribute to stress on your fish, which in turn makes them very susceptible to disease.

Answer 5

the ph should be pretty neutral
the temp should be between 76 and 79 which should also be fine for guppies
you may need to do a partial water change
if there isn't a cave or some hiding spot for the cory maybe consider adding one (just incase the guppies are a little wild and nippy)
you might want to add a little aquarium salt which the guppies will also like
My fish are never sick and if they ever scratch or act stressed or show any minor signs of stress then usually a partial water change and occassionaly adding a little tiny bit of aquarium salt fixes them up
it's probably a good idea to check the temperature because if it's too hot or too cold then that could be making them sick
anything that stresses them can make them sick - that's why you shouldn't tap on the glass or over handle them by netting them frequently,etc
if you do need some antifungal medication for finrot then in the future just do regular partial water changes and remember all of that other stuff
usually it is recommended to treat or medicate sick fish in a separate hospital tank but in this case I would probably treat the whole tank because it could spread to the guppies and they aren't as sturdy as the albino cory so if they get sick it could result in a loss of fish
but try a partial water change and adding a litle aquarium salt first..it could possibly just be a case of the guppies nipping at it's fins...if that don't work then get the medicine for finrot
one last tip - never overfeed your fish as alot of uneaten food in a tank can cause alot of these types of problems as well

Edit: what Yoel said about looking at the fins to try and determine whther or not the tail is being chewed up or if it's rotting from fungus is a very good point as well..fungus or finrot looks like the fins are rotting and there may be some visable cottoney white looking fungus on them...if there's none of that and it just looks like they've been chewed then hit em with the the aquarium salt

Answer 6

I would examine the tail very well and see what if it looks like tears from bites or if it looks like it may be "rotting off". If it looks like another fish is nipping its tail try putting something in the tank that would be a suitable hiding place for him to hide from the other fish. If he is diseased you would be best to ask your local fish store employee (not department store or chain pet store like PetSmart. Those people rotate to fast to know much.) Since he is being sluggish I would lean toward disease. That is a tell tale sign of a sick fish thats species is normally active. Do consider two things, medicating fish properly usually costs more than a couple of dollars and you need to do something quick if you want to save your catfish because they are more susceptible to disease and it progresses faster since they do not have scales. One last piece of advice is that when choosing a medication, liquid is usually best since it does not have to dissolve and my preference for brand is Mardel Labratories (white with blue stripe across). Just remembered, you must feed your bottom feeders since they do not usually get enough scraps and if they did your tank would be dirty. Get some good sinking pellets that are preferably small so that they can just suck the whole thing into their mouths. I would only feed them a few times a week when the tank and room are very dark so that your other fish don't eat them. Enjoy the hobby.

Answer 7

sounds like finrot which is a symptom of other problems.

usually poor water conditions or a bacterial infection.

check the temperature (should be around 75F for corys and guppies), PH (close to 6.5 for a cory) and nitrites of the water.
ALSO treat the tank for a bacterial infection with medication from your local petshop.

albino corys are my favorite fish!
.

Answer 8

This is normal behavior for cory's, and how they should be. if they're on their own, like clown loach, they don't do much. the more cory's in the tank the more active they are which is why you should keep them in packs of at least 6.