Caring for a chewed-up cory.

[KTLM]

I was meandering around the pet store yesterday, and noticed that one of the albino corydoras anneus had nearly nothing left of his tail fins, because something nibbled them off. I felt bad for the poor little guy and figured that no one else would buy him, so I did. He appears to be healthy otherwise, is eating, and can get around relatively well with a little extra effort. I have him separated from the rest of the tank (6 other cories [3 anneus (1 albino, 2 green), 2 pandas, a paleatus], a clown loach, a platy, 2 pl*cos, and a couple of neons) in a breeding net so that no one will pick on him.

It's a 20 gallon tank, and the water levels are all good as of last night, with a temperature around 75F. I have gravel on the bottom (which I will be exchanging for something more cory-friendly having learned more about them from this site!) with a couple of caves and artificial plants. In addition to a 20-40 gallon filter, I also have an airstone strip and a bubbling treasure chest. I do a 20ish% water change every week, and I've had the tank set up since December, but completely re-did everything back in March because of an algae/overfeeding problem. Having only had bettas in the past, I'm relatively new to the whole aquarium process, but am excited to learn everything I can!

Is there anything I can do for my new friend to help speed up his recovery?

[Coryologist]

Greetings. If the injuries are old and healed, there is probably not much that needs to be done. If you are able to see any type of infection or fungus, I would quarantine the fish and treat with Pimafix or an anti-fungal medication, depending on what you see. Once healed, the fish will live a normal life. - Frank

[MatsP]

Can I just point out that buying unhealthy/damamges is both honourable and not such a great thing ... It's definitely a good idea to help the shop care properly for their fish - either by reporting bad mixes (e.g. you see a fish that is being harassed, or you think "Those won't go together") or by taking on fish that is unwell. But actually buying the ones that you think no one else wants is not so great - the reason being that the shop will then not "suffer" as a consequence of how they treat their fish.

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Mats

[Coryologist]

In principle, I agree with you Mats. However, the shop has already demonstrated that they probably don't care and mentioning this type of thing will get you nothing more than a "blank stare" or a "yeah, we'll get right on that," which is generally a load of BS. In my experience it's better to save your breath, rescue the fish and look for another shop to purchase from. No shop owner is going to care about a fish that they landed for 10¢. Not saying that's the way it should be - just the way it is. I haven't purchased a fish at an LFS in 10 years, because I can't stand to see how they are kept. But, that's just me. - Frank

[Bas Pels]

In principle, I agree with you Mats. However, the shop has already demonstrated that they probably don't care and mentioning this type of thing will get you nothing more than a "blank stare" or a "yeah, we'll get right on that," which is generally a load of BS. In my experience it's better to save your breath, rescue the fish and look for another shop to purchase from. No shop owner is going to care about a fish that they landed for 10¢. Not saying that's the way it should be - just the way it is. I haven't purchased a fish at an LFS in 10 years, because I can't stand to see how they are kept. But, that's just me. - Frank

Between your lines, Frank, I read a very good advise for LFS owners:

You may not care about 10 cents fishes, but if you actually not take care of them, I will do my purchasing elsewhere.

Personally, I've spend a handsome amount of money on my 30 tanks and their population. I'm quite confident some shop keepers are happy to see me - and I just don't buy any fish in a shop I dislike

I do tell them, however, what I intended to buy, had they taken care of some fishes -pointing out what's wrong with them. These shopkeepers do dislike me, i'm happy to say

[Coryologist]

I hear you, loud and clear. Now, if we could just find a way for all shop keepers to get this message. - Frank

[KTLM]

None of his injuries seem to be recent or fungus-y, but I'll definitely keep an eye on him. I know that cories are social fish... Will he be particularly unhappy if he's kept separate from the others? The other fish are still intrigued by the breeding net and keep poking at it so he can still see them, but will this be enough contact?

As for rescuing "the one that nobody wants..." let's just say that my family also has 2 abused pitbulls, a rabbit with behavioral issues, a rat with no tail, etc... I'm afraid I just couldn't help myself. I can see where, in a sense, my buying the fish won't punish the store for letting something munch on him, but I can't help but think about the poor cory. I'm one of those people who cares too much, I suppose.

I made it clear to the cashier and to the employee working in the fish section that I wasn't pleased, but I seriously doubt they cared. I'll take my business elsewhere, though. Thanks for your insight!

[Coryologist]

None of his injuries seem to be recent or fungus-y, but I'll definitely keep an eye on him. I know that cories are social fish... Will he be particularly unhappy if he's kept separate from the others? The other fish are still intrigued by the breeding net and keep poking at it so he can still see them, but will this be enough contact?

If you don't see any issues that could lead to contagion, I would just set him free to roam.

As for rescuing "the one that nobody wants..." let's just say that my family also has 2 abused pitbulls, a rabbit with behavioral issues, a rat with no tail, etc... I'm afraid I just couldn't help myself. I can see where, in a sense, my buying the fish won't punish the store for letting something munch on him, but I can't help but think about the poor cory. I'm one of those people who cares too much, I suppose.

I would have done the same thing.

I made it clear to the cashier and to the employee working in the fish section that I wasn't pleased, but I seriously doubt they cared. I'll take my business elsewhere, though. Thanks for your insight!

My point exactly. Glad we could assist you.

Frank

[Richard B]

My post seems to have not appeared!!!???!!!

Mods - did i say something wrong & have it removed?

[MatsP]

My post seems to have not appeared!!!???!!!

Mods - did i say something wrong & have it removed?

Nope - it got eaten by the green post-eating-monster that lives inside the wires that make up the internet, I suspect. [It's in the same taxonomic family as the "single-sock-eating-monster" that can be found in washing machines from time to time]

Frank and others: I do see your point too. There is a balance between letting the fish suffer - and I certainly do not buy from shops where I'm not happy with the fish. I have been known to let them know what I think too! Best one was when my wife met a friend of my father-in-law in a shop not so far away. He worked then for the local council as animal inspector and pest control. He flashed his badge to the manager of the pet department and told them that if they didn't clean up their mess of dead and dying fish in a few days time, he would personally make sure that they wouldn't be able to renew the license to sell pets... [He probably couldn't quite achieve that, but I'm sure he could have made it more difficult for them to renew their license]. Since then, they have somewhat better control over their tanks on the occasions I've been there. But I still won't buy any of their fish.

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Mats

[KTLM]

I'm probably being a little neurotic here, but I'm worried that my tail-less buddy isn't getting enough to eat.

I tried to release him from the breeding net as suggested, but he's not a very strong swimmer and got stuck to the part of the filter that sucks in the water. So, he's back in the breeder so that he stays out of trouble. I haven't actually seen him eat anything, but the bits of algae wafer I put in there are missing. It's possible that he's been eating them, but it's also possible that the other fish have been picking at them through the netting.

Usually when I drop in a wafer, the other cories are all over it, but this guy doesn't seem to be interested. Is there anything in particular that's a known cory favorite, or anything that's extra nutritious to help build up his strength?

Sorry if I'm asking silly questions and/or worrying too much... I tend to obsess over my pets, and I just want to do all I can for him.