dying otos & corys

maigen

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Oct 15, 2003
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ontario canada
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i have a 20 gallon & everything is doing fine except for my otos & corys. i do weekly 1/3 water changes. my ph & ammonia are where they are supposed to be. temp fluctuates from 78.3 to 78.8 & lights are on for 12 off for 12. this has been happening over a period of a few months. i have 4 corys & 2 otos along with my dwarf frogs, platys & balloon mollies. there are never any warning signs or signs of stress & disease.....1 day they're alive the next they are dead. i have gone through 2 otos & 3 corys bought from different stores....they last anywhere from 2 weeks to a month & then die.

i am at a loss......
 
I'm not sure what it could be. I did notice with my ottos if I didn't have a nice large dark place for them to hide in they would die off for no reason. When I put in some good dark hiding places they did fine. I'm not sure about your tank but I know that mine are very sensitive to stress.

Hope this helps.
 
You said your 'ammonia is where it is supposed to be." What are the numbers for it and your nitrates and nitrites. How many fish and frogs do you have? What are you feeding them?
 
I've had the same thing happen with new stock, a few days ago I purchased 4 corys and lost two of them within 48 hours.
I'm curious to know where in Ontario you are, since I'm in Toronto I'm wondering if it's possible that some of our stores are getting weak stock? Otos are pretty sensitive little guys and many people say that they've had a few die right after purchasing them. I actually just lost an oto that has been in my tank for about 6 months, the others are big and healthy and the one that died, like yours, showed no sign of being sick.
 
2 platys, 2 afd's, 2 balloon mollies, 3 corys, 1 oto.

i alternate the foods that they eat: flake food, frozen brine shrimp, dried tubifex in cubes, sinking pellets & spirulina wafers. i'm not sure what the ammonia is....i don't have a test kit. they did a test for me at my lfs & told me it was ok but didn't give me #'s. my ph is stable but slightly akaline (which may be my problem) at 7.4

i'm not too far away from you blinky so it is possible that are stores are sharing weak stock....i'm in london
 
I don't think the pH is the problem because it is well in the acceptable range. Everyone should be getting enough to eat. If the tank is older than 3 months it should be well cycled.

You are doing anything to throw it into a mini cycle or you? I mean like completely replacing all of your filter media or washing your sponges in hot water are you?

Bad stock usualy doesn't last for months before they die.
 
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