Injured barbel

[Aude]

One of my new albino cories, barely an inch long, has what looks like a bloodied barbel...it has a red tinge to it, and it didn't last night.

His behavior seems normal enough...other than his two cory pals there aren't any other fish in the tank, just inverts and snails.

After the last huge die off, I'm paranoid about keeping this trio alive so I thought I'd ask for opinions/advice.

I can't think of how he could have injured himself...there are some pieces of rock in the tank and the substrate isn't sand (which I know is not ideal for cories)...but I've never seen this type of injury before.

Water parameters all check out, and the other two cories are fine.

Edit: the cory with the injured barbel does actually seem to be hanging out in the plants near the surface....

[Aude]

Well, this is very upsetting...went to check on the little guy and found him dead.

Luckily Petsmart will give me a replacement/store credit, but this still ruined my day.

Having all one's fish up and die makes one a bit skittish, you know?

I'm hoping this cory was just sick prior to arriving in my tank.

[Aude]

I apologize for the multiple posts, but something is amiss in my cory group. Now the barbels and mouth of the second cory appear inflamed and red. He is also swimming strangely at the top of the tank. His mouth is open in a round "o" as though he is gasping for air.

Apart from the reddened barbels/mouth area, everything else is physically normal.

Water tests read: Ammona - 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 10
PH: 6.6-7.0 (difficult to read)
High range PH: 7.4

Temp: 75 F

I drip acclimated these guys for a little over an hour and a half; all other tank inhabitants (shrimp and snails) are thriving and healthy.

The last cory appears healthy and active and has no redness around his mouth.

Help?

[Brhino]

what's the substrate like? damage/infection due to a rough substrate sounds like the most likely candidate to me.

[Aude]

I kept the old set of cories with this substrate for over a year and didn't have problems...

I attached a picture from my tank last year that shows my substrate.

I do have some melafix on hand...any point removing the carbon filter, sticking in some filter floss, and starting to dose the tank?

[Aude]

Oh boy. Second cory is dead. His mouth had a purplish tinge to it when I found him floating under the plants.

I'll probably just get store credit for the fish and buy supplies with it...I don't have the heart to restock so soon and potentially lose more fish.

[rich311k]

These came from the same place at the same time? I would imagine they all have some type of bacterial or viral infection. I would isolate any others you bought at the same time.

Then I would take them back to where you bought them and get your money back, do not except replacements, as they likely have it too.

[Aude]

Yes - they are all from the same tank at Petsmart. There is only one left - I guess I'll just have to wait and see if he pulls through.

Should I treat the tank with melafix as a preventative measure? Would it affect the shrimp or snail populations?

[Australian natives]

sounds like bacterial infections. could be a primary or obligate pathogen, or an opportunistic pathogen. if it is an obligate, this means it is able to cause illness in an otherwise healthy fish.
if it is opportunistic, then there has to have been some sort of upset in the relationship between fish and normal flora (bacteria that is usually harmless to fish).
possible causes of opportunistic pathogen infections include:
- tissue damage (cuts or scrapes from fighting, or decorations)
- environmental stress (causing a suppressed immune system)
- parasitic infection (causing both small amounts of tissue damage & stress)
- or bloom in opportunistic pathogens. in this case opportunistic pathogens
practically become primary due to increased numbers.

to me it sounds like u have had a bloom, as one fish has contracted an opportunistic pathogen, possible from tissue damage, or stress, and this has allowed the bacteria to populate, increasing numbers, infecting ur next fish. although it is generally hard to tell, or guess.
i would probably add salt, or antibacterial meds, i believe malachite green if very effective against bacteria, although ti is pretty powerful stuff, so may have other adverse effects. otherwise a combined dose of melafix and premafix may help, this stuff is much weaker, so it is less likely to kill ur cycle and plants etc, meaning it is also less likely to kill the infection.
anyway i wish you luck
i hope this information helps u in some way.
Peace

[Aude]

Thanks for the information - it helped add to my understanding of the situation.

The last cory still seems healthy - if not a bit lonely - so I think I might wait a few days to see if symptoms develop. The other two cories were very small, perhaps the remaining cory will survive...

If symptoms do develop, however, I will be required to treat him.

[Australian natives]

your welcome, i hope it works out.

[bludusty]

sorry to hear about your problem. As a long time fishkeeper, I have had distressing problems along the way. I had introduced 3 new discus to my tank and they brought along something that killed all my others (8). After 6 mos, I still have one of the new ones, but all the older ones died. It was probably bacterial and I was devistated.

[Aude]

Just an update...the last albino cory is doing well. I'm assuming the other two fish were weak or somehow susceptible to whatever infection they contracted.

I am still in the process of finding an LFS to restock from.

[Australian natives]

good to hear, good luck.