Cory Cat Emergency!

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PurpleSmurf

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May 4, 2005
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purplesmurf.com
I bought 3 cories today (two spotted, one emerald), unfortunalty I didn't get time to immediatly come home and acclimate them. I just put their bag in the tank and left. They were in the bag for about 6 hours. :sad:

I got home, checked on them and they were very inactive, so I took room temp water, decholorinated it, and placed the cories in cups while I performed a 50% waterchange (nitrites spiked to 2ppm last night and I only had time to lower them too .5 before I left).

After the WC I put some flake in the tank and just dumped the cories into the water (stupid I know). At this point the two spotted cories are active, but the emrald isn't, mostly just sitting there. I'll watch them, but I'd like tips on how to minimize the chance of casualities.

Help! :troll:
 
They seem to be okay. I put frozen bloodworms in to feed them, but my offerings were mostly ignored and the cats seem to be having a blast munching on my gravel.

Since I forgot to mention this in my earlier post: the cats are juveniles and under 1". I'll upgrade the tank they're in (10gal #2) as they grow.

And I lost a red platy today :( I think the stress from moving from the fish store to my tank combined with a nitrite spike to 2ppm last night and being bullied by my male did her in. Poor thing.
 
Corys are amazing strong, and I don't think there is anything physically wrong with them.

I suspect your emerald is lonely.
Corys like to be in schools - 3 to 5 would be nice.
Since you have two spotted ones, they can enjoy each others company.
The emerald ends up being the odd man out. :(
I would suggest getting at least one more emerald to see if this changes their behavior.
 
A long time ago I had a tank with various fish including just one Cory. It was inactive and hid all the time. I now keep 6 (with 1 fry growing up too) and they are very active all the time, they definately enjoy company.
 
You would have been better off just dumping the fish straight into your tank instead of leaving them in the bag for six hours.They probably are suffering from lack of oxygen.
 
I've red in several places that the specific species of cory does not matter, that they'll get along regardless. If this isn't true I'll gladly return the emerald and pick up another spotted.

And yeah, they seem to be doing great. Tough little buggers :).
 
I've read that too, but in my limited experience with the couple of different kinds I've had and from reading what others say about theirs, they seem to be much happier with their own kind. They will "get along" with the other kinds, but it doesn't really provide the comfort of a school that they like. If you can do a switch I would recommend it!! also make sure you keep up on those water changes to keep the nitrites down!!! good luck
 
Yes, switch the emerald cory for another spotted cory. I used to have an albino and a leopard, but they didn't group or interact at all. When I returned the albino and got two more leopards, the leopards enjoyed each other's company, although they don't group too much anymore after a while.
 
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