Albino Cory Catfish

I work at a Petsmart and I really want to be able to care for the fish correctly. There are many issues with our system and fish but this is the first problem I'm tackling.

We carry albino cory catfish. They are housed in what I'm guessing to be a 15g tank (though the whole system is hooked up to a very large filter) Ammonia levels never exceed 0.5, nitrite levels never exceed 0, and nitrate levels never exceed 20. They are housed with Glofish on black gravel with decorations and fake plants.

They are fed Omega One tropical flakes, veggies chips, and vacation blocks (since we house so many fish, we put in vacation blocks to make sure everyone gets some kind of food)

We usually carry about 30 or so of these fish at a time and anywhere between 10-30 of the Glofish in the same tank. When we receive these fish, they are bagged in groups of 12. They are floated in the tank for about 15 minutes before being added to the tank.

The problem? Within 72 hours of receiving these fish, all of them die, one by one. We have had cases of Ich recently but not in any tanks near these fish and none show any signs of Ich. They all appear healthy but several times throughout the day we have to remove several fish.

What could be causing this problem and what can I do to help the fish survive?

Are there tanks joined in this system that you are putting aquarium salt in? This will lead to an increase of salinity throughout the entire system - which helps MOST species - with the exception of Cories. They are salt sensitive and if they are exposed to a higher level all at once - bye bye.

What is the pH? This could also be a shock factor. I'd test the water in the bags and compare it with what's in the tank. If it's different by .75 - you could be shocking their systems.

Another thing is the temp of your tanks. Should be set 74-76 for average tropical fish. Too hot or too cold may also be a problem.

The last thing I'd recommend is trying to open bags, set them in a bowl w/sand, toss some shrimp pellets in. Leave them be in a quiet back room for an hour. Then add an air stone to bring up oxygen levels. Wait an hour. Then add a dash of stress coat and wait another hour. This way the starving fish will gain some strength by eating - without the added stress of a change in water chemistry. It will also get them more acclimated to higher oxygen levels prior to throwing in sale tank.

Tell your manager that going 'slow' will save/make the company money - and you'll get them ready for the tank before your shift ends. If they continue to die - then I would suspect a weak/inbred line and try to get from one of your other suppliers.

We get our fish from only one supplier. I will mention these steps to my pet care manager and see if we can give it a shot. The fish come in Tuesday and I should be there to put the fish order away. I will try this with them and see if it makes a difference in the survival rate.

Also, we do not add aquarium salt to any of the tanks. The only thing we add on a daily basis is a dechlorinator, and on Tuesdays we also dose the system with Methane Blue (is that right? We call it Quick cure.) ....(and on a side note, as soon as I wrote that, I could smell it! Once you smell that stuff you never forget it!)

Thank you very much!

some it might have to do with shipping....this time of year they may stay in transit several days and that can stress the fish out. The petsmarts here have a giant filter system all the tanks are hooked to so ick in one tank=ick in all the tanks not sure if yours is the same. Also might want to acclimate them by putting a cup of your water into the bag every few minutes while they warm up so if pH is diffenrent it is not as big of a shock as scoped in a net and tossed into new water. I know it is hard to do with corporate directives and such. Just glad to see someone at the box stores trying to make a difference.

Yes, all of ours are on the same filter, minus the feeder fish tanks. We medicate when we see sick fish and remove the obviously sick ones to a 30 gallon hospital tank where they are medicated.

We used to drip acclimate some species of fish (neons, cardinal tetras, angels) but they told us to stop doing that. We have the lines for it so I can try this with the corys when we get our shipment tomorrow.

This did start with the temperature drop, so that could be it. But if they are dying in mass numbers like this due to temp and water change, wouldn't something more fragile like a neon or angel die just as quickly? We are not seeing death like that in those species.

I got a job there so I can make a difference. :) Animals are my passion. I hope to one day start my own fish/reptile specialty store. :)

Remove that gravel! They need sand! Barbell erosion is the main killer of corys!


Glad to see someone working at a chain store that cares so much!!! Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will ask my pet care manager about the gravel but I doubt we will be able to remove it. Petsmart policy is strict on what we can and can't have in fish tanks or any other habitat. Its dumb but we can't go against it. (Trust me, I got pulled into the managers office because I told a family they couldn't put a goldfish in a bowl.)

Hello, Yes I would recommend doing the " drip system " for these fish . If you continue to the same , you may get the same results. I agree with previous post, slowly add the tank water to the fish in the shipping bag or bucket. Take lots of time as long as you provide the fisfh with an air source and maintain the proper temp. Only my opinion Thx

Segrest is where Petsmart gets there fish from. Lost in transit isn't the problem. You have real mystery on your hands. Corys are pretty tough critters. Wild caught is a different critter. Maybe the water is to deep. Corys live in shallow water.

well if you can change it to the smoothest smallest gravel allowed it would help

I mentioned it to my pet care manager but he says there is nothing we can do about the gravel. I ended up having to leave before we got to the box containing the ACC's (that's what I'll call them from now on) but I do know we were shipped 18 of them. I told my co-worker who was to finish putting away the shipment to drip acclimate the ACCs. Hopefully this will make a difference.

Thank you to everyone who posted!

No thank you for caring.

:) Just trying to make a difference. Animals are my passion and when I kept seeing online posts about how horrible Petsmart treats their animals, I figured why not get a job there and make it better. Thankfully, I work with some really awesome people who love the animals and in comparison to a lot of other Petsmarts in the area, our store has much healthier animals.

These ACCs are only the first step though. I have many more questions and problems to solve. :)

We received 18 ACCs on 1/11 but unfortunately I had to leave before they were unpacked from the shipping box. I left instructions with my co-worker to drip acclimate them but he didn't know where to find the equipment to do so after I left.

When I got to work today 1/13, I found only two ACCs in the tank, and they were both dead. I highly doubt we sold 16 healthy ACCs so I'm going to assume the majority, if not all, died. *sigh* I'm thinking about bringing home a few and see if I can't help them survive. How many could I house in a 14g?

Up to 14 - if there's nothing else in there. Make sure you have soft substrate.

Very fine sand or anything fine and rounded would be good. I use extra fine play sand. Cheap and effective.

Are you still having problems with the albino corys?

Here's something to try:

Get a chopstick or some other long tool made of inert material and stir the first one inch (1") of substrate all around the tank you are going to add them to. Let the tank sit for about a half hour after you stir.

The stirring is to release any gasses trapped below the topmost layer, and the half hour is to let the gas dissipate into the water column. You may also want to pierce the gravel in various places to release any other trapped gasses.

If trapped gasses are the problem, then you can see why the corys are the most affected as they are so close to the gas as it bubbles up out of the substrate.

ClarkeExotics wrote:

How many could I house in a 14g?

Very few. 14 gallons is kind of small and ACCs are fat, like most corys. Their bioload is pretty big per fish. You would have to have excellent filtration and change 50% of the water once a week, IMO. If you decide to try it, use really soft sand and don't spread it too deep - about 3/4" (3/4 = 0.75) is plenty.

I know a guy who couldn't figure out why his zebra danios kept dying within 48 hours of being added to his 10 gallon tank. He had tested his water before and while there were trace levels of Ammonia (not enough to cause such quick deaths), the Nitrite, and Nitrate both tested fine. No one thought to test his pH. After testing it his pH was off the chart (at least 8.6 to maybe even as high as 9). This was what was killing his fish. My point is that even hardy fish can be adversely affected by an abrupt and/or large change in pH.

My advice is to test the pH of your system (since it's all on the same system) and compare that not only to the water in your shipped fish bags (of those that are more sensitive or have higher mortality rates) but also compare it to the comfortable ranges of the fish that are ordered.

Just curious whether or not you figured out what the problem was on this?

No. Im not allowed to change the gravel out. I've told them to drip acclimate but I don't think they've done that. I did notice they are lasting a bit longer than usual. Instead of dying right away many are making it a week before dying.

The one leading Authority on Corydora Catfish is Ian A. M. Fuller from the United Kingdom. He has written several books of which I own first edition signed copies and operates a website.

I have been told that when Corydora Catfish are being packaged for shipment that they should be placed in a bucket to give it a gentle kick to scare them several times. Then have water from the same source in another container. Then net the Corydora Catfish from the bucket into the other container you prepared earlier. This takes the Poison out of the Corydora Catfish release out of them for a couple of days to ship them. This Poison would kill them in shipment or when the bag is opened to the air if they are not netted out of the water that they are in. I was told to never add the water that Corydora Catfish are shipped in to the tank. I spoke to the store manager after to speaking to someone that works at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and a specialist in Corydora Catfish that the amount of salt they were adding was what was killing their Corydora Catfish. The nets that are used for Goldfish NEVER can be used for Tropical Fish as it will kill them. This was also being done at the local Petsmart store even after a Ichthyologist that was in the store told the store manager and department manager the same things that I told them. This all happened when the store first opened.

The local Petsmart was using salt in their system that someone at your company does not think will kill Corydora Catfish. They had a clear container setting in each tank and when it is gone they added more. The employee showed me the container they had the salt in and the bag the salt came in. They were not using aquarium salt, but the salt for Salt Water Aquarium's. This is why I will not purchase any fish from Petsmart at all.

We now only purchase from two local Aquarium Stores in our area. The Superstores have driven the Small Mom & Pop Stores out of business. This has also driven up the costs to do with the hobby.

I purchase from THAT PET PLACE in Lancaster Pennsylvania area or THE AQUARIUM CENTER in the Baltimore Maryland area. Our family loves to make the trip to THAT FISH PLACE a Family trip do to the size of the store. Their is so much to look at on your first visit to get to know the layout of the store.[url][/url]

i dont know if albino cories (Corydoras aeneus) will hybridize with other species of cories. Cories are quite good at telling each other apart, easily recognizing their own kind in groups of assorted corydoras species.

also albino cories are hard to breed cuz they are so inbred to achieve albinism that they are often sterile. if you do manage, albino cory fry are generally weaker than their wild-type colored of their kind; bronze cories.

I have shipped thousands of corys weekly and NEVER have done anything to spook the fish before shipping. Common knowledge says never put any shipping water in your aquarium. I have shipped to both stores and both were good customers. Yes salt and corys are no no's.
Kasshan Aeneus corys will breed with another color of Aeneus. Albino's are a color morph of greens.

oh dang. lol i think posted in the wrong topic. i thought i was in the one about cory eggs! whoops!!!!