Peppered cory can't stay on the bottom properly

O

oscaremmy

Keeper of the Frogdog
Feb 27, 2008
379
0
0
East Central Indiana, USA
I have 4 small peppered corydoras - have had them for several months, and one has just started to have difficulty staying level on the substrate (filter sand). Tank is fully cycled. No sign of injury.

His tail tends to want to lift off (slowly floating upward from the rear), and he has to keep resettling level on the floor. I have many corys in several tanks and have never seen this before.

It almost looks like a swim bladder issue. Will try missing feeding for 24 hours. But any ideas what might be going on here?:confused:
 
What are your tank's parameters, tank mates, etc? When was the last addition to your tank - fish, invert, or plant? What do you feed them? It may just be constipation or could be swim bladder or it may be something else. The more information we have the quicker we can help.
 
I had a pepper with really bad swim bladder problems... the fish looked moments from death's door- belly up floating barely breathing. 48 hours later he was right as rain again. I suspected constipation then. Specifically Snello which contained banana.

You're the second person since that happened a few weeks back that I've seen mention a pepper with swim bladder problems- wonder if they're susceptable to constipation.

Incidentally I seperated mine from the herd and had him in a hospital tank with frequent water changes- did nothing else- he fixed himself by himself.

Might not be a bad idea if peppers are susceptible to swim bladder/constipation problems to give them peas on a regular basis.
 
They are in a 20 gallon with 11 harlequins which I have also had for about 18 months.

Tank has pool filter sand substrate, is planted with 6 medium amazon swords, fed on Seachem Flourish and actively growing, with minimal die-back. Two well-established pieces of bogwood. Nitrates around 15 ppm, O ammonia. PH 7.2 (liquid Master Test Kit). Frequent 10-15% water changes using RO water with RO Right added at 5 ml to each new gallon.

Two filters, one internal canister, one HOB, both with well established colonies of bacteria using fluval media and filter wool, with combined flow rate suitable for 40+ gallon tank. Water smells good.

Food daily is varied. Mainly TetraMin flake supplemented by a small fragment of a Hikari Algae wafer (maybe 1/16 of a tablet), and routinely stop feeding for 24 hours, at least once a week.

Yesterday gave small amount of frozen (defrosted) glassworm (mosquito larvae) in addition to usual dry food. Occasionally feed a single Wardley shrimp pellet.

I have the heating turned off now, as the tank maintains around 75F without any help at this time of the year. Lighting is Northern daylight plus Verilux F20T full spectrum tube on 5 hour daily timer 4.30-9.30 p.m.
 
Yes, that's how I sorted my betta last year. Worth a try. His coloring is very good, fins are not folded, and he swims fine, just looks tail-light!
 
I suspect the glassworms, since that's the only recent change in diet. Maybe he's stuffed and bunged up! Will miss the feed until tomorrow. It's a very peaceful tank, with no aggression whatsoever.
 
All is back to normal now...thanks for your interest and advice everyone :o)
 
Fantastic news! Amazing how they recover so quickly.
 
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