Friendly Local Fish Store Guy, Part 2: Mystery of the Dead Cory

[MNG]

OK - I bought 4 small corys along with 8 small platys from Friendly Local Fish Store Guy for starter fish in my new 65 gallon planted 'community' tank.

All the fish are doing fine, temperature is stable - about 78 degrees +/-, ph stable at about 7.3. I feed them a bit of Ginger Tropical Flakes once a night. One platy looks a bit tentative, but she's been that way from the get-go. I think she was that way at the store.

BUT - 1 cory out of the 4 suddenly and inexplicably died a few days ago - a very unusual phenomenon from my experience, as corys seem to be invincible, and survive under conditions that kill other fish.

Today, I went into Friendly Local Fish Store and bought some driftwood, rocks, etc. When checking out, I mentioned to Friendly Local Fish Store Guy that one of the corys he sold me died after two days, something rare IMO. His response - "I see it all the time - you put it into a new tank - fish had nothing to eat...". 

As I assume you all know, this is complete BS: Corys are omnivorous and they often eat flakes fed to the tank at large. I've seen them scramble to the top and eat off the surface, along with the other fish. Meanwhile the other  three corys are doing fine and showing no signs of starvation. Regardless, a cory is not going to starve because of two days without food.

Why the fish died? I don't know and I don't really care - new tank, sh--t happens. Night before he seemed fine - next morning he was belly up, floating near heater.

But what's up with Friendly Local Fish Store Guy? My feeling is that he's a bluffer and perhaps not too honest. 
I ordered a few more fish from Quinn's Fins - we'll see how that works out.

Edited July 13, 2021 by MNG
typo

[lefty o]

some folks are just know it alls. facts are, sometimes fish are already sick when sold, sometimes they dont deal well with the move, or sometimes its something wrong with your tank. could be any 1 of them, or all of them.

[MNG]

On 7/13/2021 at 7:17 PM, lefty o said:

some folks are just know it alls. facts are, sometimes fish are already sick when sold, sometimes they dont deal well with the move, or sometimes its something wrong with your tank. could be any 1 of them, or all of them.

Yup. I think that guy just likes to pretend he knows everything  because he has a reputation as the local fish guru, and he knows my information is out of date and maybe a bit jumbled. (As for the cory, it was the smallest of the lot and may have been weak from the get-go - couldn't adjust to the new environment.)

[Hoi Polloi]

I've seen a few posts about Cory's dying and I include me on the list of unexplainable Cory deaths. 

Being new to the aquarium scene, I had four out of six die which I attributed to my inexperience. Then I bought two more (wanted to get the two other Cory's classmates), one died. I didn't bother taking the fish back but I was beginning to suspect the Cory's were not as easy to take care of as I was reading.
Not wanting to give up and before I bought more, I tested my water, all was in order. So, I bought three more. They went into the quarantine tank - nice and cycled too. All seem well, lively fish, no apparent illness, etc. Then a few days later - two went to fish heaven.
Went to back to the LFS with dead fish and my water. It tested well, explained my tank setup, they were at a lost and offered a replacement which I declined and received store credit instead.
Now ALL the other fish I have bought have survived and others have commented that my fish look good and active. The two original Cory's are doing find - it's getting them classmates that is providing difficult. 
My next adventure is to a different LFS and before I buy, ask if the two stores have the same supplier. 

[Patrick_G]

He’d win a lot more customers if he helped you troubleshoot the problem. I suspect he sells a lot of newly imported Corydoras and doesn’t bother to fatten them up before selling them. I would feel comfortable asking about his quarantine process. 

[MNG]

On 7/13/2021 at 7:42 PM, Hoi Polloi said:

I've seen a few posts about Cory's dying and I include me on the list of unexplainable Cory deaths. 

 

Yeah well, as I said, in my experience corys are very hardy, but maybe that's not entirely true.

Good luck trying to find out if they use the same supplier- LFS are often reluctant to reveal their sources, especially today, when they know you can probably go online and buy from the same source.

[Patrick_G]

@Hoi Polloi, I’ve even had one from Aquarium Coop die and they have a pretty rigorous quarantine/feeding regimen. 

[CT_]

On 7/13/2021 at 3:45 PM, MNG said:

"I see it all the time - you put it into a new tank - fish had nothing to eat...". 

Yeahhhhh.  Like you say 2 days isn't enough to starve unless they were starving in HIS care too.  If he really thought that was the reason he should replace it or refund.  sounds like the guy is either not a deep thinker and just has "ideas" about how things are, or he's dishonest.  I tend to assume the former first.  

 

He may not always be wrong but I'd always be skeptical from this point on.

 

[MNG]

On 7/13/2021 at 7:47 PM, Patrick_G said:

He’d win a lot more customers if he helped you troubleshoot the problem. I suspect he sells a lot of newly imported Corydoras and doesn’t bother to fatten them up before selling them. I would feel comfortable asking about his quarantine process. 

I think he makes his money from reptile food and fish supplies, not from fish, and he has devotees who accept his advice as gospel. There is a Petco nearby that gets plenty of fish business- it is freshwater aquarium territory up here- so I doubt he is too concerned about attracting new customers for his fish. He knows I buy supplies from him anyhow - he is right down the street and Petco is a 15 minute drive.

 

[MNG]

On 7/13/2021 at 7:54 PM, CT_ said:

He may not always be wrong but I'd always be skeptical from this point on.

 

Yup - I will take his opinion 'under advisement'.