Albino Cory Catfish

First topic message reminder :

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?

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

Dr. Who stated in an earlier post that Petsmart purchased their Fish from Secrest Farms. The first issue is that on the Secrest Farms Website they do not show that Petsmart is one of their purchasers, unless they purchase under another name.

I know that Secrest Farms ships quality tropical fish. They have been transporting fish for many years. I can only guess that it is something being done wrong on the receiving end. The Big Box Stores must go away from MONEY FIRST in handling tropical Fish. The main issue is they need Properly Trained Employees qualified in raising, handling, breeding, and diagnosing Tropical Fish needs. Tropical Fish Department managers should have a minimum of 20 years experience with Tropical Fish.



I do not think the Big Box Stores could ever stand up to the only Large Scale Retail / Wholesale Operation of the THAT PET PLACE. The Wholesale side information is available only to Licensed Pet Stores. The Retail side of the operation is located at 237 Centerville Road in Lancaster Pennsylvania was the one Big Store that has Staff of 1 to 5 years knowledge and Managers of 10-20 years knowledge of proper Tropical Fish Training on my last visit. They even had a staff Ichthyologist to over see the Large operation of the store on my last visit.

Secrest has facilities in Columbus Ohio and Phonix Az. plus Tampa area. They ship to the airports where contracted drivers pick the fish and deliver them to the stores. Why would they state that they ship to your major competition? If you would like I can tell you who supplies the Walmarts and also who supplies Petco. I have spent my entire life in the fish industry. Farming fish to wholesaling. I did stop into the store you mentioned in Febuary when I was in Baltimore. Yes its a very nice store. I did not identify myself. I went just to see the store. It was very cold compared to where I winter. Family matter forced me to go to the cold.