Panda Cory

[3.0CL]

I have a pair of Panda Corys, during the first week they were always together, swimming around, eating, playing.. Then one day I noticed that the other one was playing alone etc.

Well, that same day I noticed that a few tiger barbs have been harrassing the other other one. It's been in hiding since and it looks like it's going to die.


I bought 2 plecos and the other one seems to be in hiding too.:(

Need some suggestions, thanks.:(

[OrionGirl]

We need way more information! What else is in the tank? What size tank is this? Water parameters? Feeding regimen?

Sorry--sometimes the eay questions require lots of back ground info. With just one piece--the fish isn't acting the same as it was--there's not enough to guess.

[3.0CL]

45 Gal. tank
Water Paremeters. Don't know but i'd say normal

Food: Sinking tablets. Every other night.

Looks like the barbs were nipping the dorsal fin.

[OrionGirl]

Normal isn't going to be very helpful. pH, KH, GH, ammonia and nitrites...If you don't have test kits, your LFs should be willing to test for you. How long has the tank been set up, with fish in it?

How many barbs, of what kind? Barbs are notorious for nipping and harrassing tank mates when kept in groups of less than about 7-8 fish, so this could be part of the problem, but it's not likely that they would target just one of the cories.

[3.0CL]

4. Tiger Barbs

[Rometiklan]

I would remove the Cory Pandas into a quarantine tank so they can recover from their injuries. Try adding some Melafix to heal the fish's wounds and fins. I would also feed live worms to entice the fish to eat.

Although it may seem obvious that the Tiger Barbs are the attackers, this may not be the case. You may have merely observed Tiger Barbs preying on a weakened fish. Do you have other fish in that tank besides the plecos? The reason I ask is: if the Panda are removed, the attacking fish may find another target for their aggression, possibly the other Panda.

It may also just be a case of disease that weakened the Panda. Did you observe any symptoms of disease prior? In any case, isolation is in order.

Also, it doesn't hurt to run a test on your water parameters. I'm assuming your tank is cycled. My point is: I would not discount other causes for your Panda's malady.

[3.0CL]

Tank consist of 4 Tiger Barbs, close to medium size, 2 Danios, 2 plecos, 2 Panda Corys.
Now they are going after the other pleco, when it's exposed they nip the tail.:(

[ChilDawg]

Sounds like you need to get rid of the Barbs and the Danios. They are causing a large amount of stress to the Cories and Plecs...at least, the Barbs are (Danios are nippers, too).

[OrionGirl]

Agree with the above, but barbs in small number frequently cause more problems. In a larger group, their energy is focused on each other, but with only 4, they will spread that energy out and attack all of the fish in the tank. The panda is probably just the first on the list.

I would add more barbs--that 7-8 number seems to work for most people. Removing the injured cory to a hospital tank will allow it time to heal. Make sure there are plenty of hiding spots for the cories--they like being under the cover of leaf or rock over hangs. Adding another 2-3 would help them be more comfortable as well.

It sounds like you've added 4 fish within the last week or so, which means the tank has an increased bio-load--the bacteria run a bit behind, so you may have had a few little spike of ammonia/nitrites as the bacteria catch up. This happens in any cycled tank when the bio-load changes. This might have resulted in some irritation to the panda, allowing a bacterial infection to take hold on the panda (which tend to be sensitive, anyway). While it's sick, the barbs are even more abusive, targetting it more than it's healthy counterpart. Could be the same thing for the pleco--what kind of pleco is it? Any size difference between the pair?

[wetmanNY]

Plecos need hideouts they can get all the way into. Four Tiger Barbs may be troublemakers-- seven Tiger Barbs are too busy with each other.

When Cories hide, they aren't well. Plecos hide in the daytime.

Do you have any test kits to know what's happening with your water? The basic set is pH, KH/GH, nitrite/nitrate.

[3.0CL]

The Barbs i've had for months since they were babies, 2 danios i've had for a year. The Corys were introduced about a month and a half ago. The plecos just last week.

Im going to get a smaller tank and place the Panda C there.

Thanks for the input. :)