Posted by patrick73 on February 22, 2003 at 22:25:59:
In Reply to: Re: Strange Cory Cat Condition posted by Schmev on February 21, 2003 at 23:37:11:
:I know your discus enjoy ultra clean water, and you said they're healthy, but Have you made absolutely sure during your water changes to vacuum the gravel out really, really well? Maybe things are getting left behind? When you test water, you scoop a bit off the surface, correct? That water's always cleaner than what's along the bottom of the tank with all the uneaten food particles and fish waste. That's my only guess.. ?? I learned that lesson a while back, and haven't had a problem since.
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Thanks, to all who responded. As I said in my other response, I had to euthanize the cory. I thought it was the humane thing to do, especially since his eye had popped out and there was extreme redness around eyes and mouth and he was lying on his side, breathing barely, but not moving. I put him in a jar with water from the tank and put it in the freezer. I'd read that this is an acceptable way to put a fish under, slowly causing the fish's metabolism and life functions to slow and then stop.
But just to answer about the water conditions, since discus are more sensitive to water conditions than most fish, I would think their thriving good health would be a good indicator that the quality of water was good. When I say I do frequent water changes, I mean about 10-15% daily. i vacuum up waste from the gravel during the water change. I go pretty deep into the gravel, so I'm pretty sure it is as clean as can possibly be. There was a time, back in the beginning when I got lax in my water changes, which is about when the problems began, but since then, I've been religious with water changes. I wonder if he got some bacterial infection that in time ultimately caused his death. I don't know. Just a guess. Thank you for the tip. As the cory and tetra were originals from a pre-discus tank, I did not want to get rid of them. But now that there are only two original fish left, I'm not going to replace them--from that point it will be a discus only tank, as it probably should've been from the start. Live and learn I suppose.
Thanks again.
Cheers.
