Loaches Online Forum

Some fellow aquarists in Norway has started to encounter some coinciding problems with Cory fry. To me it looks like Cory with some sort of Skinny Disease. First the fry seems to be totally emaciated. I know they have tried different dewormers like Prazi and Flubenol, but to no avail, so far. Having learned a bit about the problems and treatment of Skinny I can`t stop wondering if a similar course of action might help in this case aswell.
When I see the pictures posted below, it seems to me that there is a major secondary bacterial infection going on, which is simply eating it`s way into the fish. Take a look at the picture with an arrow marked towards a major wound. Also the spine seems completely deformed. Another symptom of all the fish is that the tailfin clamps together and almost takes on the shape of an arrow. Am I completely of the mark, or could it be useful to try Maracyn in this case? I know the photographer/owner is now finishing a round of Prazi, so if someone has an opinion quite fast i would very much appreciate it. If you don`t think bacterial infection is the problem, that would also be very useful to know. No point in loosing precious time with meds that won`t work anyway.

Also; the person who has taken these pics is one of the most reputable cory breeders in our country. I can guarrantee that there is absolutely no water or filtration issue here.

Kind regards
Marius

i've had the odd one or two fry out of a batch go like that tender, but never a full spawn, it's possible what you think it is ( bacterial ).
but with me only getting the odd fry going down i've usually fished them out and dispatched them.

mick

Hi Mick!
I don`t think disposing of them is going to happen. Also, it is important to try and resolve the issue. It would be useful for future spawns and to widen the knowledge of illness/treatment.

are the full batches going like the one in the pic or is it just the odd one.

in every batch of fry from most or all genus will have ne'er do wells, through either runting or deformities and just sickly fry.

mick

It is always "dangerous" to pass on second-hand info as facts, but she`s not a member here so I will try the best I can. This is going on in three different tanks with fry. C.Metae and C.green Lazer fry. It is not every fish but quite a few. Some of the grown-ups has also developed this problem. (I think). There are a two other aquarists that has posted threads with similar problems/symptoms. All related to Cory. Both fry and adults. The meds I know they have tryed are: FLubenol,Prazi,Esha Hexamita, and Furanol. The person with Furanol managed to cure the last survivors, so personally I am convinced it is bacterial. But all this is second-hand info, so it`s difficult to say. What do you think of the pictures Mick? Doesn`t it resemble a "cory version" of skinny?

it does like a wasting away and bacteria is attacking the fish, is your friend a member of ian fullers site, ( corydorasworld ) if so she has probably posted on there as i know a number of people from Norway post on Fullers site.

mick

Yeah, she`s a member, so I`m convinced she`s posted it there. But skinny on fish is likely to need the same treatment, whether it is Cory or Loaches isn`t it?. So I was hoping on some hints from you skinny-experts aswell

is it Olga, i'm nosey now.
with skinny it's hit and miss wether the fish gets better, but most are trying a number of treatments at once.
i have a histrionica that has has it and very slowly it's putting wieght on but it's a slow job, wether it get back to how it was.?

mick

No it`s not Olga. I don`t know what nick she uses on CW, but definetly not that Yeah, I know it can be tricky with skinny. My few cases have all been resolved once I illegally got hold of the right meds. Flubenol and Maracyn. Whether these cases can be solved I have no idea about. But I think it`s worth a shot at antibacterial meds asap. The fish in the picture (which was dead at the time the photo was taken, of course) clearly shows signs of wasting in my very inexperienced opinion. But I wanted to hear from you pro`s first.

i also have flubenol, now it's sold as wormer plus. and i also have levamisol which is put in the tank once every month, just to make sure the fish have'nt got worms.

mick

Yeah. It`s Kusuri Wormer Plus I also have. Great med. I`m awaiting a shipment of Levamisole from Charles Harrison. But now were getting a little off-topic here concerning the skinny cory`s

Has anyone autopsied the little guys? Looked for internal issues, and intestinal parasites?
Has anyone tried culturing tissue to see if any bacteria grow that can be recognized as disease causing?
Is Mycobacteriosis a possibility? Probably have to autopsy an adult fish, the granulomas are not likely to show on such a young fish.

Hi Diana!
No. The fish died yesterday evening, so no autopsy has been performed.

I have to rectify some of the info I gave you. The dewormers that have been used is Flubenol and dewormer from RMD. Active ingredient is Piperazine. Prazi has nor been tried in this case. It is mostly fry which are attacked. Only one adult and this is a Corydoras cf. burgessi. In fact, the fry were moved into a tank were the now sick adult had been residing previously. This could possibly be the culprit?
The fish in the picture is actually alive at the moment the shot is taken. But it was euthanized shortly after.

If this is f.ex mycrobacteriosis. Would Maracyn 2 be an effective cure. I seem to remember from this article http://www.geocities.com/pktechlizard/skinny.htmthat eurythromycin was used, and in that case Maracyn 1 would be necessary.

There is a local shop in Oslo which performs microscopic tests. I believe that this is going to be tried with the dead fish.

Kind regards
Marius

Here is the only case of a cure that I would trust and try. Diana Walstad is not trying to sell anything.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/foru ... -fish.html

Here is a link to a site that does suggest there is a cure, but they are selling the medicine they are suggesting. Scroll down to item "P". They are calling the disease Tuberculosis.

http://www.nationalfishpharm.com/fish_d ... rders.html

Here is the article I usually suggest for more info about Mycobacteriosis, and it says there is no cure.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM055