# Treat Cory with fin injury?



## purelex (Sep 8, 2014)

*1. Size of tank?* 55 gallon

*2. Water parameters*
*a. Ammonia?* 0 ppm
*b. Nitrite?* 0 ppm
*c. Nitrate?* 5 ppm
*d. pH, KH and GH?* 6.8 PH, KH and GH are both low but I can't remember the exact numbers right now. We have very soft water.
*e. Test kit?* API Master Test Kit

*3. Temperature?* 80 F
*
4. FW (fresh water) or BW (brackish)?* FW
*
5. How long the aquarium has been set up?* 3-4 months now but only recently with fish

*6. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them?*
16 Rummynose Tetras, ~1.25 in
6 Black Fin Cories, ~1.25 in
1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco, ~1.25 in

*7. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)?*
They were all acquired together -- this is the first batch

*8. a. Any live plants? Fake plants?* Live plants
*b. Sand, gravel, barebottom?* Sand bottom
*c. Rocks, woods, fancy decors? Any hollow decors?* Driftwood & rocks both

*9. a. Filtration? * Cascade 1200 Canister
*b. Heater?* Aqueon Pro 250 watt

*10. a. Lighting schedule? What lights are used?* Finnex Planted+ 24/7
*b. Any sunlight exposure? How long?* Ambient light from a window nearby

*11. a. Water change schedule?* Once a week
*b. Volume of water changed?* 25-30%
*c. Well water, tap water, RO water?* Tap water
*d. Water conditioner used?* Seachem Prime
*e. Frequency of gravel/sand (if any) vacuumed?* Every water change, I pull debris off the top of the sand

*12. Foods?* Omega One Mini Veggie & Regular, Omega One Veggie Rounds & Shrimp Pellets, Frozen Bloodworms
*How often are they fed?* Once a day

*13. a. Any abnormal signs/symptoms?* Fuzzy spots on the fin of one Cory that have fallen off
*b. Appearance of poop?* Normal
*c. Appearance of gills?* Normal

*14. a. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis?* Not yet
*b. What meds were used?* N/A



Hi all,

I am trying to determine what needs to be done for one of my little Black Fin Cories, if anything. I noticed a week to 2 weeks after I acquired him that there was a white spot on one of his fins and it was fuzzy. It looked like a fungus to me and I guessed the fin was injured somehow (not sure if it was during the acquisition and I didn't notice at the time or afterwards). Everything else was normal behavior wise so I just kept an eye on him. A day or two later, the fungus fell off.

Fast forward another week or two, I see fungus (?) growing on the fin again. This time, it wasn't completely white, but maybe closer to the color of the sand in the tank. It got bigger than before and so I caught the little guy and placed him in a breeder net in the same tank thinking it would be easier to treat just him. Lo and behold, the fungus fell off again the next day before I did anything else.

At this point, I'm not really sure if I need to treat him or if I should just keep an eye out in case it gets worse again. I don't want it to be a recurring problem and I want his fin to get better, but I'm not sure if that'll happen without some kind of treatment. Now that he's separated, it's much easier to see that the fin is definitely injured and, well, mostly missing at this point.

Any suggestions on what to do and if/how to treat are appreciated! I've attached a photo of him -- it's a little hard to see the injury since his fin and the netting are both light colored... I may try for another picture later.


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## Asclepius (Jun 24, 2016)

Sounds like it had been infected and got a fungal infection to boot. It MAY have been upset due to adding 23 fish at the same time to a tank only a few months along. Adding that many would have caused a big rise in acidity which is stressful, lowering the immune systems, and sometimes deadly. 

Otherwise sounds like you're taking very good care of your tank. May just be a new fish with a messed up immune system having long-term trouble. 

Typically for fin damage you just need to keep the tank clean, and keep them away from rough areas(check if any of the rocks are sharp/rough that he may be rubbing on), and normally it'll heal on its own. But with a clean tank I'm not sure how you managed to get a fungal infection, perhaps something he got smacked with prior to purchase(which isn't uncommon). Just to be safe, I'd treat him with a mild antibacterial and antifungal safe for cories since he's having so much trouble. sometimes damage will shed off as it heals, but should not get any fuzzies. 

See if you can set up a small tank, take some cycled water from the tank and mature media from your filter(if you have a sponge, if not that'll make it more difficult) and treat him in a smaller location for it. 

And personally, I wouldn't have their temp above 79F(for any of those fish, 79 degrees is about top of the list for all three species you have). Some varying info on them, but most cories aside from emeralds(they like it cooler but can handle higher temps better than most) prefer it between 74F and 79F. ^_~ of course the fungus will disagree, so you can keep it there while treating.


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## purelex (Sep 8, 2014)

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, I wasn't super clear... 8 of the Rummies and the Pleco were added about 2 weeks from the initial group but they're all relatively new to the tank so I just consider them the same batch. Not sure if that helps with the acidity you're referencing or not. I did a fishless cycle so I was under the impression it's typically OK to add a good number of fish at once. As far as temperature goes.. I live in Georgia and it's been pretty hot recently. 78-80 degrees is pretty much what I keep the house at during the day so it won't get too far below that, unfortunately. Aside from the pleco, I think the Rummies and Blackfins tolerate higher temperatures relatively well (based on the profiles I read on this site when I was planning the tank). I've actually been researching ways to keep the tank cool since the heat will only get worse but aside from frozen 2 liters, there aren't a lot of good (i.e. cheaper) options and I'd rather not start introducing potential temperature swings.

I do have a smaller 5 gallon tank right now that used to house a betta (just has 2 nerites now) that's still running but it has EcoComplete substrate so I wasn't sure if I should put him in there.. It could be OK for a short period of time for just treatment, I suppose. Do you know of a cory-safe anti-bacterial/fungal? I haven't had to deal with too many diseases so my fish medicine cabinet is lacking and I know cories are usually pretty sensitive to medications. I've seen Maracyn and Maracyn 2 recommended here and there for other issues and work together well -- would they be a good option?


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## Asclepius (Jun 24, 2016)

Maracyn is usually good. I also don't have the best medication knowledge for that, at least not for outer infections for armored catfish. Usually I just do a very very low dose of aquarium salt and some melafix for outer infections, but cories don't like it and stress could make it worse. Melafix is really light stuff though, so it may work. 

And yes, that's different adding them a week or more apart. Adding them all at once I would have considered it the problem factor for stressing him out....but honestly, I'm not sure what's up here with your little buddy! It's uncommon for them to get infected injuries in a clean, understocked tank that's just about perfect like that, so it's likely he has a damaged immune system from poor breeding, being moved around or from the pet shop/transitioning.


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## brownmane (Jan 7, 2011)

Sounds like something similar that I've had on a couple of my fish (2 separate times). Can't remember if they were cories, but the fuzzy spot that grows and then falls off sounds familiar. I did nothing more than raise the water temp to 80F for a couple of days and it didn't come back. At the time, my fish was eating, swimming and otherwise seemingly in good health. I kind of guessed that it may be a fungus that that fish got due to possible stress and lowered immunity level. I didn't medicate since I didn't really know what it was, and once it did not reoccur, I figured my fish had regained his health. It didn't spread to other fish. This was successful both times and I haven't had it show up since.

Regarding lowering the water temp, I've read that some people use ice cubes and float them in the tank. My tank is in an upstairs room and although I have central air, the temp goes up to 80ish some days, in the summer. Because it is temporary, I have done nothing to lower the temp.


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## Asclepius (Jun 24, 2016)

When it gets really hot I float a small bottle of frozen water in my larger tanks that need cooler temps, but you have to watch that or it can go too low. Keeping them dark for most of the day helps too, unless you have a thoroughly planted tank. They usually don't mind...and it'll also help your cories feel better, they prefer night hunting anyways and he'll rest more.


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## purelex (Sep 8, 2014)

I do have quite a few plants in the tank (multiple swords, crypts, anubias, java ferns, amazon frogbit, chain and micro swords). They are all growing well but I wouldn't call it heavily planted yet. I have been reducing the amount of light the tank gets anyway because of some algae that is starting to grow so that hopefully isn't contributing too much more heat.

I did move the little guy to the 5 gallon and he seems much happier there than in the breeder and still acting relatively normal, eating and swimming around. I am still slightly concerned about his barbels with the substrate but I will keep an eye out... I am starting to dose the Maracyn and if that doesn't work, I will try the Maracyn 2 -- I dont want to kill off my filter bacteria if I don't have to and it seems the Maracyn 2 will do that.

Hopefully his fin starts seeing some improvement over the next few days!


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## brownmane (Jan 7, 2011)

Good to hear that your cory is doing well. I have had my orange laser stripe cories et al. for about 4-5 years now and have small gravel substrate. This I did before I found that cories like sand. But mine have done well and their barbels have not been affected.

I hope that you're enjoying your fish. Rummy nose tetras are so cute. I have 4 lemon tetras which I've had 4-5 years (did have 7 originally) and just got 3 flame tetras a couple of weeks ago.


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## Asclepius (Jun 24, 2016)

Hopefully he'll get better soon. If your substrate isn't right, any way you can put something smooth down? Maybe a bit of smooth plastic or part of a divider?

It's unlikely he'll damage himself in a short week or two, but it IS possible and rough substrate may aggravate his issues. Or they might not, he's not in a very big location, so new damage to say, his belly from flying down after air gulps is at least unlikely. lol 

When I used my five gal to QT a trio of julii cories, I just scooted all the substrate to one side. They still messed with it, but it was smooth gravel, and the majority of the tank had bare smooth bottom. 


As for your plants, keeping them in the dark for a day or two usually doesn't do them any harm.


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## purelex (Sep 8, 2014)

Just wanted to give an update... I finished the round of Maracyn last week and I haven't seen any more fuzz or signs of infection on the fin. He's still swimming around and eating well, but maybe just lonely without his buddies so I'm debating on whether or not to go ahead and put him back in the main tank and see how he does. I haven't seen new fin growth yet, though it may still be a little early for that... plus it's hard to tell anyway. Substrate hasn't been an issue yet, thankfully! I wonder if I should do one more treatment just to be on the safe side?

The big tank is doing well and I love the days I get to work from home and watch the rummies! They're super cool to see swimming around together and I'm really happy with them. I'm looking to add another school of tetras soon, something that stays in the upper half of the water column. I'd like color, so maybe lemon tetras if they aren't nippy (I've heard yes and no?), but they're pretty hard to find so I may end up with black neons instead. Oh, and more cories... probably sterbai. Oddly enough, those are also hard to find in stock anywhere so I may have to have them special ordered.


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## brownmane (Jan 7, 2011)

I have lemon tetras and have had no problems with them bothering any other fish. Occasionally they may chase each other just to show who is boss, but they have never been nippy. You have plants, so even if one fish just needs to briefly get away, they should be happy. But yes, I was looking to add to my lemon tetras as I've had a few deaths (over a couple of years, not all at once) and Big Al's which is all aquaria related told me that they are harder to find (they haven't stocked them in a while) because people are not breeding them because they don't sell well as they don't look very bright when in the stores. I was quite disappointed with this info. You may be able to find them online. I haven't researched that option as I'm not comfortable with doing that.


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## Asclepius (Jun 24, 2016)

Only tetras I ever had issues with being brats, was neons. Even my cherry barbs have been well behaved with others(except with each other in the case of my male chasing innocent girls around).


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