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I have two polystictus cories in my 29 gallon tank that are starting to worry me. They are both breathing very fast, one so much so that it is breathing shallowly. The other three cories I have are doing just fine, and the ones I'm worried about are pretty much acting normally, just breathing really hard. One thing though, is that both of them have an orangish-looking area behind their pectoral fins. I don't really know what that means.
I've tested my water, everything is fine, and I've tested to see if the cories are stressed by leaving my room and the tank dark during the day. No go there.
I am worried about my cories, as I really like these little guys.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Well, thanks to all the help you guys gave me. One of the cories died overnight, and I still have no inkling as to the cause. I'm going to guess it has something to do with this one store that has killed another cory indirectly...

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Well, the other cory died this morning. I really don't know what killed them, but if anyone has a clue, I wouldn't mind them telling me. Maybe some information will help me to be able to combat this disease in the future.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Sorry to hear about your cories. Did the spot behind the fin look more yellowish? I have sick cories to that are breathing hard and they have velvet. What other symptoms were there? Maybe it was a wound?

Yes, the spot looked somewhat yellow. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a wound, because neither cory has been attacked, and I'm pretty sure that both of them weren't wounded in the exact same way. I didn't see any other symptoms on the cories, do you think it could have been velvet?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

My cories were hiding a lot and they would come out for food. They went crazy if they were scared, and they brushed themselves on the gravel while darting around the tank. I first noticed them acting strange a week ago! But I didn't know what it was until Wednesday. They are still hanging in there though and I medicated the tank. Well it probably could have been velvet, maybe in an early stage, because it can show up as spots as well as a fine dusting. I tried shutting the tank lights off, and they seemed less stressed that way. How long can you leave the tank lights off for? I hope you solve this issue.

Last edited by ericm at 16-Oct-2004 08:36

I really don't use the tank's lights except to see the fish. I don't have live plants, so that won't be a problem. My cories aren't always hiding, they come out and play, but less so now that three have died. I was just looking at my other cories, and another one seems to have this spot. I'm going to add medication to my tank, is Melafix okay? I don't have anything else.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I have live plants in my aquarium thats why I asked the question. Well I'm not really an expert yet so I wouldn't know about the Melafix. I have a medication called Nox-ich that cures velvet and ich and it seems to be working so far I think. Try the Melafix though and see if it works.