# Cory Catfish Have Red Spots Under Side Fins.



## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

Hi everyone, I noticed yesterday that one of my Corys had a red cut looking spot near his left fin, I figured that he had cut himself on the driftwood or some ornament as my Corys arent very good at avoiding sharp objects while looking for food =/. today I noticed that 2 more of my corys have smaller, red areas right around the base of their fins as well. does anyone think that this is a fungal or bacterial infection or do you just think its a coincidence? ( I have a total of 8 Cory Catfish in the tank and 3 have the same(ish) red spots as of now) thanks for any thoughts.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

I also added a tablespoon of aquarium salt to the tank to help keep chance of infection down. doing a 40% water change tomorrow.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Have you done any water testing? I think high nitrates might cause red fin joints. Water changes would deal with that. Do you have any live plants? They are good at helping keep nitrates down too.


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## joevw007 (Jul 6, 2011)

snail said:


> Have you done any water testing? I think high nitrates might cause red fin joints. Water changes would deal with that. Do you have any live plants? They are good at helping keep nitrates down too.


my tank is pretty heavily planted. my ammonia and nitrites are at 0ppm and my nitrates are at 10ppm which is pretty good. I dont think its nitrates my tank has 3 biowheel filters on 24 hrs a day. Just did a 50% water change so we will see if this helps.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Don't add salt to a Cory tank. They are a scaleless fish and don't tolerate salt all that well.

Have you added any new fish that could have brought a disease in?

What is the substrate? Maybe it's a bit rough and they are getting scratched?


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## mkdarkforce (Jan 11, 2012)

why does my cory catfish have a red spot it looks brighter then before im about to do another water change the water was tested yesturday it has less then 1 ammonia rate.. but everything else is in the safe zone.. hes also breathing really fast. i think he might die if i dont do something fast.... ive been reading alot that peopels cat fish were breathing alot and then bam it was dead the next day so i dont want this dieing on me... sorry the picture in the gallery is blurry i tried to zome up on it.. please any help will be grateful


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

mkdarkforce said:


> why does my cory catfish have a red spot it looks brighter then before im about to do another water change the water was tested yesturday it has less then 1 ammonia rate.. but everything else is in the safe zone.. hes also breathing really fast. i think he might die if i dont do something fast.... ive been reading alot that peopels cat fish were breathing alot and then bam it was dead the next day so i dont want this dieing on me... sorry the picture in the gallery is blurry i tried to zome up on it.. please any help will be grateful


Ammonia levels, despite low, can still be harmful if it has been for a sustained period. I would guess since Cories are failry sensitive to things like ammonia that your Cory is not doing well with it. IMO, forget the fish and fix the larger problem of the tank. Take care of that and your fish will probably start to get better.


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## mkdarkforce (Jan 11, 2012)

thanks JRman83 im trying to fix that problem too im doing my water changes everyday, just got done with todays...i only had him for 3 days..but the tank is fairly new.. so im also adding the bacteria stuff to get they cycle moving along faster...my LPS said friday he will test the water again so i hope the levels drop dramatically .. i was worried that the catfish might of had something and spread it to other fish so to know its only ammonia levels is kinda a relief i think ill have this under control in no time..thanks again


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