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View Full Version : Slightly sunken cory belly, and other questions



serissime
09-14-2009, 8:45 PM
I've meant to get on and ask about these questions for a while, but just never done it. As always I apologize for my long-windedness.

I ordered some C. habrosus from invertzfactory a few weeks ago and received 9/10 alive (not complaining, I didn't pursue any DOA repayment, just happy to finally get them). Some are large-ish and robust but a few others seem to be failing to thrive (body conditions have not changed since i got them). I lost one the other day. There are one or two others with very flat bellies, maybe a little sunken even. When the large ones have rounded bellies at dinner, the skinny ones show no change even though they don't get outcompeted

The other fish in the tank are one C. triliniatus and 10 ember tetras. They are in a 10g fully planted tank. I feed 2 hikari bottom feeder wafers per day, occasional piece of cucumber and/or shrimp pellet (all food broken into pieces and scattered throughout the tank). (Tetras get semi-sinking micropellets.) I was wondering if the flat bellies and failure to grow and be robust is indicative of something I can try to improve, fix, or cure, or if I merely received about half weak stock, half good stock.

The tank has been planted for approx 4 or 5 weeks, and in that time all of my plants have been doing okay, not all great, except for my dwarf val. It's been kind of sickly the whole time. I think that there may be some healthy new leaves coming from the bottom, but is it normal for the old leaves from when I bought it to be kind of eh? It's about 2-2.5wpg if I remember correctly, dosed with flourish (not excel) and seachem root tabs

One more question. We got 4 female bettas for a sorority tank from a breeder last winter (so I suppose they're about a year old now). When we received them we noticed one had a bump on her side. The breeder assured us it was not present when she shipped and that it must be a hematoma. (I am beginning to doubt this due to the myriad other genetic flaws that have become apparent in the total 6 bettas we got from her, not that I think she did this on purpose or anything.) As time went on her sisters grew and thrived and she did not. The lump is approx the same size relative to her body, but she no longer swims around, and lies on the ground looking quite unhealthy. When she stopped swimming, we got a breeder net for her and she acts much better (not great still) in the net, but quickly worsens when let out. Her sisters never bother her.

Because of an injured fish, we had to evict her from the net, but she would never be able to eat enough with as much effort as it takes her to even get to the surface of the 20H. I moved her this morning to my 10g on a hunch and she seems to be doing okay, comparable to the net. Does anyone have any idea what's wrong with her? Is it to the point where we should euth her? She is quite docile in my 10g and if she doesn't worsen or start to show aggression, I wouldn't really mind leaving her there since I'm sure it's much nicer than the net. The way the wood in the tank is, there are many places for her to hide or rest underneath or near the top, and the floating pennywort hold her weight at the surface too.

serissime
09-14-2009, 9:01 PM
Also, here are some pics I took last week. I don't have any specifically of the fish because my camera is crappy and I am no good at photography. But it shows my val and a fts

EDIT: I meant dwarf SAG!! in both posts... I don't know why I had it in my head as a val D:

bazil323
09-15-2009, 12:31 PM
My guess about the cories is internal parasites (IPs). That sounds very much like what happens when puffers get IPs, so it wouldn't surprise me if that was the problem. However, I'm not versed in cories, so I might be wrong. I would soak their food in Gel-Tek Ultra Cure Px or another good IP treatment for at least an hour and then feed. I would treat the whole tank as they have been exposed and are likely infected too (might not show signs for a while).

bluekrissyspike
09-15-2009, 3:30 PM
i agree with the ip for the cories. the tank seems kindof overstocked for a ten g but i am hoping you already know that by your post # and all. it's pretty normal for plants that have just been purchased to have their old leaves get kind of yucky. it will improve as they grow new leaves specifically suited to your tanks lighting and water condition. the roots were probably injured as well, being pulled, shipped and replanted. give them a while to grow back. you can probably get away with not fertilizing because even at 2.5 wpg it's still low light because of the tank size being so small. my best tank is a planted 10g and everything i put in there just thrives. i dose nothing and feed the tanks inhabitants one algea wafer a day. your cories may appreciate some shrimp pellets. mine favour them over any other food. they also like frozen black worm or peas and benefit from a varied diet.
your tank looks amazing btw. you did a great job with it.

serissime
09-16-2009, 1:46 AM
I felt like it could be IP but I was hoping that wouldn't be the answer guh. I will get some dewormer ASAP and try it.

I know it's a little full but I keep my parameters in check and no one seems like they feel crowded.

Also, any ideas on my betta cripple? She seems to be a lot happier now and swims around a surprising amount. Her back end still doesn't work very well but she is much more bright and alert than she was.

And thank you for the compliment. I've never had luck with plants in the past so I'm sooo paranoid they're just going to die or something. It's such a wonderful feeling to see them live and grow. I love it when it's time to prune because it means I get new plants! I want a jungle!