DEAD CATFISH- HELP PLEASE!!!

[Gooose]

Hi everyone, i recently purchased discus about three weeks ago, and i asked the breeder what are the best catfish to get with discus and he said corydoras, fine. so i go to a fish store and pick up five corys for about 35dollars (albino and some other kind) put them in my tank to keep it clean and eat the left over food and about 48 hrs after i put them in they all died. they all had a patch of red on them that looked like a blood wound, i dont know how that happened, maybe the discus hit them or something, but the point is that i have a 55 gal tank, my ph is 7.6, my temp is 86, my ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are all at 0, and i have gravel on the bottom. now that i know i cant get corys for my tank(unless i can and i dont know which kind to get), if anybody knows any kind catfish that is compatible with discus and is reasonablly affordable, and can live in my water parameters i would greatly appreciate the help.thanks so much and have a great day. 8-)

[sammigold]

some corys are less able to deal with high temps than others... thats also a pretty high ph which if they were in alot lower ph at the LFS means that thety could have suffered ph shock. A red wound if near the gills may indicate lack of oxygen issues.

If you have nil nitrates that indicates that your tank is not fully cycled.... maybe you had an ammonia/nitrite spike which caused your corys to die...

If you tank is properly cycled you should have nil ammonia and nitrites but you should show some reading of nitrates.

I believe Corydora sterbai are compatible in higher temps with Discus.. I dont know how they cope with higher ph though.

I am sure others will be able to advise of more.. HTH

[Merrilyn]

A red patch on the abdomen could indicate a bacterial infection. A definate possibility if they were all showing the same symptoms.

I think we need to know a bit more information before trying to advise you further.

How long has the tank been set up, is it cycled, and how much water are you changing each week.

Did you ask the LFS what pH the cories were kept in before you purchased them. Gh of the water could be significant too.

Try to give us as much information as possible.

It's also worth noting that some very sharp gravels are unsuitable for cories.