# cories dying



## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

So I found a peppered Cory dead in the tank, surrounded by a white slime ball. He stunk real bad too so I'm assuming the slime was a product of decomposition. I snapped this pic of one of my cories, he looks a bit red. He's an emerald Cory. 

What's going on?

No ammonia reading, nitrates are in the 40s but I am doing a wc.


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## chenowethpm (Jan 8, 2014)

Sorry man, Can't say why it died but I just lost one of my emerald cories the other day with no hints or clues as to why either. I am always diligent on my maintenance schedule as I'm sure you are too.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

please dont tell me he is still in there. cuz then that would be real decomp.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

The dead one came out as soon as I noticed it. The one in the pic started declining real quick, and swimming odd. Had to euthanize :-( did a massive wc. Will keep an eye on the tank for the next several days to ensure no diseases present. Have lost several cories over the last few months. I have 5 left. Maybe too much of a bio load initially.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

well at least he had a fast death rest in peace lil buddy.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I would wonder if there is something in the water the cories are sensative to?If all parameters are good then maybe using carbon for a week 1x a month might help?I had an issue with a fresh set up that first fish died three times.All parameters were good ,but fish still died(2 of them quick).I ran carbon for 1 week and have not had an un explainable loss since.There is always a possibilty of something in the water we can't test for.IMO this is what carbon for.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Thank you, Tom. I will toss a bag in one of the canisters as soon as I can get to it. Will keep you all updated.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

What leads me in this direction besides no clear signs is it has taken a long to to add up the losses.In most cases waterchanges just keep the contaminent at a consistent level,but no matter where you are there is some evap.You're in AZ and even with a lid I bet you evap a gallon or 2 a week.That would cause "whatever" to slowly build up along with the constant in and out of old and fresh?
I might look into if there is any known(documented ) long term issues with cories and hard(you say very hard) water.Often the dissolved solids become a real health issue for sensative fish.Slow poisoning lets call it?I'm certainly going to look into this as I just freed up space for my orange laser cories in an attempt to breed them and need to "bone up " on them anyways.
Hope this helps.
If you have to buy the carbon get Boyds "chemi pure" or "chemi pure Elite".It is the best of all and comes in it's own bag so you can take it out easy.In 1 week applications a bag may last 6 months or so?Save the jar and store it damp.
If this turns out to be the problem an RO/DI system could come in handy for your future.
Now I wonder if you are in AZ or have hard water?Am I imagining things or confusing my info?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I think it is your hard water.Az(you are in AZ,I back tracked)has some of the hardest water in the US.That will be found in my second link on hard water.
Magnesium Sulfate is one of the main causes of hard water in the US(along with calcium).Long and short is MG is a natural SALT!
Salt is a no no for cories.I think it has just been building up over time due to evap as dissolved solids will not evap.
Link one Magnesium sulfate;Magnesium sulfate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Link 2;Hard water - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Read about hard water then go to "in the Us" and all should be answered.
I think you should look into ro/di or distilled water to mix with your tap.50/50 and maybe a once every two or three month bigger water change with 75% or more distilled/ro to remove any built up salt from evap.
Hope this helps!


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Wow! Thank you for all the info! Yes, AZ has about the hardest water you can find. It's pretty nasty stuff. Usually has around 400-600ppm dissolved solids in it. I will see about purchasing better water to mix in with water changes. I'm renting now, so getting my own system will have to wait. Thanks again for all your help. I think that even my substrate probably adds even more hardness to already hard water.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Walmart has distilled for $.89 a gallon.That's what i used to set up and maintain all my saltwater tanks before I got my RO/DI.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

I'm all over that. I'm assuming even something as high as a 70/30 mix of distiller to tap would be ok considering the amount of dissolved solids in my tap.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Do you own a TDS meter?


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Unfortunately I don't. Well, I bought this "zero" water filter. Actually comes with one. Maybe I can use that since I don't use it for the water filter? Everyone seems ok at this point. I think maybe I was overstocked, and even two filters weren't keeping everyone happy. I still have both filters running with one rubberlip and about 4-5 cories left.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Ben, according to the Zero water meter, the 20g Cory tank has approx 850 TDS value. My 55g has approx 700 tds. Is this potentially what's doing it?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I had a hard time finding anywhere that would call out numbers.
I found this link as broad and general as it is ,it seemed the most informational(and said what you said"liquid rock").
TDS - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki
I'll add that many of the links I read did mention that high tds was a way to determine when waterchanges were necessary regardless of the nitrate level.TDS can be caused by organic compounds also.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Thanks tom. Yeah it's pretty nasty water in AZ, registering at approx 600+ out of the tap. Nitrates have something to do with it too, no doubt. And I wouldn't be surprised to discover that my substrate was adding to it as well. I'll check the nitrate levels when I get home tonight.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

My comment on nitrate was in reference to many links on TDS and EC(electrical conductivity) are how many keepers know or choose when to do waterchanges.These people never even bother to check nitrates they go completely on how much the waters TDS has increased as a measure of water quality.
The links also mentioned that higher tds makes the water not capable to hold as much dissolved O2.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Yeah, I was hoping not to have to use distiller water...bit if I want to keep fish in this type of water hardness, I'm not going to have much of a choice.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Your water is probly perfect for African cichlids!When my house was on well and I finally realised I do nothing,I set my 135g up with Tangayikan cichlids.They loved my 8.2ph hard water!They bred and lived happily with me for 5-6 years.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Interesting! How many of those could you get into a 20g? I'm not really interested in breeding...and I'm hoping my cories hang in there, but if they don't?


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