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Jumping Albino Cory

10K views 15 replies 3 participants last post by  Misakitty 
#1 ·
I'm new to this site and found the forums here because I'm concerned about my albino cory.

I've had this guy for 6 months, and just in the last 24 hours he's been acting extremely odd, hovering in the top corners of the tank, leaping more than halfway out of the water, dashing across the very surface, and ignoring his tankmates. There hasn't been any change to the tank this week, and just two days ago he was racing happily around with his best buddy a spotted cory. The temperature and water parameters haven't changed. This is not his gulping behavior.

I'm not quite sure what to do, but I had a water change planned for this evening already.

Tank is 15 gal with an albino cory (I had 2 but one died 14 days ago due to injuries from a shrimp), a spotted cory, rubberlip pleco, mystery snail, baby platy that was born in the tank. Whenever I try to keep more cories, the other acts excluded and eventually gets ill. My spotted and albino were very happy with each other until yesterday. I'm relatively new to the hobby so I may be missing an obvious answer.
 
#2 ·
You said the water parameters haven't changed... can you tell us what your Amonia, NitrIte and NitrAte readings are? Temp, PH and tank size. How old is this tank? Thanks. Hopefully someone can chime in. I have 8 Cories but never seen this behavior either.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I know people are probably going to jump on me, but I don't currently have any tests for ammonia or nitrates, but none of the other fish seem bothered. Usually if there's any issue at all my pleco goes pale immediately. I don't really have much income so I probably shouldn't be trying to keep fish, but I love these little guys.

The temp is a constant 77F, 15 gal tank, and this tank has been set up since August. He is one of my original fish and has survived many stressful events, most of which happened thanks to my stupidity. Our water is close to neutral, maybe a little on the soft side, and I do treat it for chlorine and let it sit overnight before using it.
 
#4 ·
Just some thoughts/suggestions from another relative newbie to fishkeeping...First off, welcome to TFK. Hopefully you will find lots of help and information here like I have. It's a great site.

Onto my thoughts and suggestions. Cories do like to be kept in groups of their own kind to feel secure, which may be why you think that when others are added, some tend to get shy. I have only had panda cories for just little under a year and had two on their own (with 3 orange laser striped cories) for quite a while because I could not find any other of that kind. I added three more pandas several months ago, and their behaviour has changed. They are much more active than before when there were just two, even though there were another type of corydora in the tank.

Has your tank got some driftwood or some decoration that he can hide in? If he is feeling stressed or shy, your cory will like to hide in a darkened area.

Although you have limited income, I would suggest that you put some money aside to buy an ammonia/nitrite/nitrate test kit. Although test strips are cheaper, they are not reliable because they deteriorate quickly. The bottle test kit is more expensive, but you will get many tests from one kit.

Corydoras are more sensitive to water changes than some other types of fish.

Another item that is important to invest in is water conditioner. It will eliminate chlorine/chloramine immediately from your water. From what I've read, if your water is treated by chloramine, the chemical is not eliminated from your water just by allowing it to stand overnight. The water conditioner will neutralize it, as well as, if your chlorine level in your water does change, this is an added safety measure for your fish.

I use Prime water conditioner. It neutralizes chlorine/chloramine as well as ammonia and nitrites. It is a water conditioner that a little goes a long way. Just my suggestion.

Hope things are going ok for your little guy.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the advice. :) I do treat with a water conditioner, and I may check out the prices on the test kits again tomorrow. I originally had 3 albino cories together, and two always played together while the other acted left out. He eventually died, and I decided to get a spotted to take his place since they are hardier, and the three of them lived in the tank for a few weeks. I do have rocks they can hide under, but my cories have never seemed to want to hide much.

I just did my partial water change which I hope will help. My biggest worry is that he's not eating. Usually I see them munching on stuff frequently, but this whole time he's at the top of the water not eating. There's food in there for them. :(
 
#6 ·
Agreed! To getting some form of test kit, preferrably liquid. If you must get the strips, keep the bottle closed tight to air/humidity at all times. this is what deterierates (?) them the most.
Prime is a tad more expensive but goes an incredibly longer way than store bought brands. Read the side when at the store next time, compare to the store brands. 1 cap full for 50 yes 50 gallons. so you don't have to buy a huge bottle!! Yes it is supposed to smell bad.
How is your Cory today?
 
#8 ·
Jumping out of a tank and fish clamping their fins tight against their bodies is a sign that something is out of balance... poss ammonia. Are you seeing any of the fin clamping on the other fish? Doing a water change may have improved things as Cory's need good water. It is easy to cause mini cycles in our tanks when we clean our filters incorrectly... do you have an HOB, Hang on back? Does it have a spinning bio wheel? Did you clean the filter recently?
Glad to hear he is doing better.
 
#9 ·
None of the other fish are acting oddly at all, and my pleco has a nice dark color. He's usually the first warning if something is wrong in there. I do have an HOB filter, and I last cleaned it a little over a week ago. There is no bio wheel in it. I have been worried that he sustained some sort of long term damage from previous incidences, but he was acting great the past few weeks. He still swims around between fits of jumping like nothing is wrong.
 
#10 ·
I finally got some test kits today, and found out that my ammonia is totally good, nitrites is 0, but my nitrates is high. I'll try to do another water change, but I'm not sure what I'll need to do to keep it in a good range long term. I do have live plants, but I may need to get more.
 
#11 ·
Try to keep your NitrAtes in the 10 to 20 range and yes do water changes to bring the numbers down. You are doing the right thing with the water changes.
Hopefully someone else in here might have seen this behavior and can chime in.
 
#12 ·
I wish I had a better update for today. I've been doing partial water changes and treating with prime, but the behavior seems to have increased this morning. It makes my spotted cory sad because he wants to play but gets ignored. The other fish are all still acting perfectly normal.
 
#13 ·
Have you googled Cory's for a forum for more specific help? I found this one, hope it's ok to post here, but we are all about helping each other, right?! Home - Corydoras
Please let us know if you find out anything.
 
#14 ·
He hasn't jumped out of the water yet this afternoon, so I'm hoping his system is calming down finally. It may just have taken a while after the nitrates level was lowered. He still runs along the top and hovers occasionally, but I haven't heard any splashes in a while. :)
 
#16 ·
Yes, thank-you :-D They're acting great now, playing all the time when the lights are on! Paul (the one I was worried about) has been coming up to my fingers to be pet when I have to reach in there. His normal swimming route is still altered, but he's not trying to jump out anymore which seems like success to me. :p I got another young albino since my other died, and they seem pretty happy together now.
 
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