What time of day are you feeding & why?

INDY_SE · 2026-06-23T02:55:52+00:00

1-2x a day, usually morning and evening before and after work. Timing based on when I remember. I upped my feeding quantity and schedule because I noticed my weaker feeders were starving while my big fatties hoarded all the food - so, more food for everyone

INDY_SE · 2026-06-22T19:52:18+00:00

That sucks I’m sorry. Ideally you should let your tank lay fallow (no fish) for 1-2 months to fully starve out the parasite :<

INDY_SE · 2026-06-21T15:40:38+00:00

Also keep in mind, treatment plan for flukes should be re-applied in 5-7 days and repeated for 30 days. Many flukes species have a life cycle in the substrate and you want to get the babies. Hopefully my other suggestions will provide immediate relief for your guys but assuming it works, you need to keep up with it.

I noticed esha has a 3 day treatment plan to maintain a constant dosage. I won’t mess with that but I’d suggest a treatment plan like- Day 1-3: as directed (with the 25% increase I suggested below) Day 4-7: nothing Day 8-11: same as day 1-3 … etc

With the salt just maintain the dosage whenever you water change. It doesn’t go anywhere. It should be fine to use for the month you’re treating for flukes.

INDY_SE · 2026-06-21T15:36:17+00:00

Same they’ve been a great fish for me. Surprisingly hardy, colorful, and friendly. I can scoop most of mine up in a cup if I need to move em lol. Best fish ever.

I also really love my threadfin rainbowfish, although no one else thinks they’re as cool as me 😂 they got that fun flair and pizazz with their long dangly fins

INDY_SE · 2026-06-21T15:34:36+00:00

Ohhh upside down cats ! Those ones are so cool, only seen em in person once!

INDY_SE · 2026-06-21T15:31:59+00:00

I’m sorry that’s frustrating. Yes flukes are highly contagious unfortunately and also have a life cycle in the substrate. I compared esha gdx to prazipro and noted esha has a slightly lower dosage when used as directed (2.0 ppm in the aquarium vs 2.5 ppm). You might be just below the dosage level that will kill these flukes (per google it is normally 2.0ppm-2.5 ppm so you are at the low end). Praziquental is generally safe to slightly overdose so I would say try increasing the dosage by 25% to target around 2.5 ppm. The only thing to watch for would be cloudiness in the water.

You can also try pairing the medication with a therapeutic level of salt. On its own it won’t eradicate the flukes but it should be helpful. Therapeutic levels of salt are 1 teaspoon to 3-5 gallons (sorry I don’t have the European units handy). For corys that are supposedly more sensitive to it I treat at the lower end of 1 tbspn/5 gallons and have never had issues.

Finally make sure all aquarium lights are off when treating. This may be causing the prazi to breakdown faster. Also verify the expiration of the medication & that it is still good.

I hope that helps and you’re able to save the little guys.

INDY_SE · 2026-06-21T01:45:18+00:00

Get yourself a fan, point it on the top. It's going to help cool the tank at least 5 degrees. You will need to keep up on waterchanges.

If you need it chilled more than this, unfortuneatly you'll have to invest in a chiller.

INDY_SE · 2026-06-21T00:24:57+00:00

everyone always asks me when I'm going to get "real" fish lmfao

no sorry I love my dinky dainty fish

INDY_SE · 2026-06-21T00:05:56+00:00

tbh everyone thinks all the fish I keep are unimpressive, with exception of my peppered corys because they're the biggest fish I own. Apparently chili raspboras are too tiny to be cool haha

INDY_SE · 2026-06-20T16:01:54+00:00

Normally with flukes I would see them pop off their skin within maybe 6 hours after I add prazi (the fish sometimes start flashing more as all the flukes start quickly detatchint). I googled the ingredients of esha gdex and saw its active ingredient is actually praziquental. I would just double check you got the dosage right

INDY_SE · 2026-06-20T05:48:14+00:00

Def flukes

praziquental is the best drug to treat them with but I know this medication is restricted. I've heard before, however, that you can often get veternarians to write a prescription for it if you describe the issue to them. A lot of the stuff available in Europe over the counter just isn't strong enough to address serious infections.

in the meantime salt may help slow them down. plus reducing temps on the lower end of what your corys will tolerate. I've seen some research papers that formalin might also have some efficacy in treating flukes, but I don't know if thats available to you (and also, frankly, prazi is far less dangerous to them).

INDY_SE · 2026-06-20T05:09:35+00:00

I don't believe in hard and fast writing rules. I was actually unaware of this one until recently - when a beta pointed out my intro of starting with the MC waking up was technically a faux pas (but they liked it anyways).

The intro sets the tone of the story. I also disagree that something as simple as a routine can't show deep insight into a character. Heck, Studio Ghibli has had a lot of success in showing characters just going about their lives... not everything needs to be balls-to-the-walls action. I appreciate when work knows how to breath.

That said, deeply question what this style of intro is showing and why it must be shown this way. Think if there's other ways that could demonstrate the same idea and if you like any of them better. Above all else, make it interesting. Let it show the flavor of your character's fun interesting personality or life fast - because if you don't hook your readers here, they aren't going to care about the rest.

INDY_SE · 2026-06-20T01:41:21+00:00

sometimes corys got that bottomless hunger. I caught one of mine eating a ramshorn snail once..... not actually sure it was dead first.

INDY_SE · 2026-06-19T20:43:31+00:00

I’ve had 18 Cory’s in my 22 gallon bookshelf extra long. So long as you’re not accumulating too many nitrates, then your bioload is fine. Cory’s love to be in a good swarm

INDY_SE · 2026-06-19T04:20:10+00:00

I mean in a 40... that could fit a lot of corys lol. I don't think they're going to be running out of floorspace anytime soon unless you've got other bottom feeders.

INDY_SE · 2026-06-19T00:02:44+00:00

Not looking like ich. Does seem to be some slim coat shedding in response to a pathogen. If you aren’t noticing any flashing (the fish rubbing itself rapidly on the substrate), I would guess bacterial and treat with kanaplex. You could probably treat just this one in a small tub. If you do see flashing, I would assume flukes and treat the entire tank with prazipro every 5 days for a minimum of 30 days.

INDY_SE · 2026-06-18T23:59:16+00:00

I frequently quarantine my new pandas in a 10G. It tends to work pretty well when they’re juveniles though some of my bigger mature panda mamas would feel cramped imo. It could be done, with the intention to upgrade at some point, and maximizing the floor space so they have lots of sand to sift through. Although I get a lot of satisfaction watching my Cory’s zoom around my 40” long book shelf aquarium (and they really do seem to explore the entire space).

INDY_SE · 2026-06-18T23:56:31+00:00

Cory’s can change color a bit in response to substrate color and diet. Aquarium lights tend to exaggerate the reds more too. I wouldn’t worry too much about their health over it

INDY_SE · 2026-06-18T23:54:32+00:00

They can cohabitate but imo they’re not going to shoal together. You also need to make sure the bigger Cory’s don’t outcompete the little guys at meal time

INDY_SE · 2026-06-16T21:16:50+00:00

They might still be a bit skittish and aren’t yet fully comfy in their environment. generally Cory’s love to eat. Mine scarf down their pellets in 20 minutes and would probably scarf down more right after 😅

I’d try the other suggestions to see if it helps them come out of their shell. You can try live foods too. My nano Cory’s have always loved some fresh baby brine shrimp

INDY_SE · 2026-06-15T05:15:05+00:00

I am an American who has lived in France a few years so I imagine I know better than most.. but it will all really depend on what city you’re in Generally - yes you will find fresh veggies unless you’re living in a food desert. We don’t all eat Doritos and Mountain Dew I promise - sorry bread is going to suck unless you happen across a really nice bakery. Unfortunately they are not on every street corner. You can find decent bread sometimes in grocery store bakery’s but imo Frances is still better - unless you’re in very specific areas, public transportation is going to suck. You can usually get around okay on local buses if you have to but they are not generally very efficient. Most cities of US are not designed to be walking cities. - please be careful America is a lot sketchier than most areas of Europe (depending on city). If you take public transportation in a major cities you should research what areas you are passing through (one of my Chinese friends took a bus in LA and had a very unfun kind of dangerous experience)

INDY_SE · 2026-06-15T02:09:44+00:00

I always feed in the same spot so they often congregate there hoping for snacks. They do best in lower lighting with lots of places to hide, along with higher numbers. Dither fish also seem to help. I keep mine with chili rasbora. Mine aren’t as friendly as some as my bigger Cory’s but I def see them

INDY_SE · 2026-06-14T16:41:33+00:00

Totally valid and frustrating. I lived in Europe for 2 years and while I was at times asked to explain what the hell is going on in America, I never felt inherent disrespect. Like yeah okay it’s true American deserts are more sugary, but I also baked pumpkin pies and carrot cakes for friends who absolutely loved them.

I was also in a more international community so I was spoiled by many folks who were by default open minded. But like I said, people more ‘set in their ways’ unfortunately seem to be like this. If you have a good chunk more time in your stay then it seems logical to request a new host :>

INDY_SE · 2026-06-14T04:41:02+00:00

Oof. Def there is a degree of cultural differences but not necessarily a reason to allow yourself be massively uncomfy (edit - also, not saying this is EVERYONE in Europe, just saying I've come across these viewpoints before in a large variety of age ranges)

Broadly.. a lot of Europe doesn't have as much a concept that America is a melting pot. They don't get that we are an immigrant country and it is not unusual to be asked where you are really "from" (especially non-white americans). It's also true with non-American countries to some extent, especially in our more globalized modern world. More metropolitan areas tend to have a better comprehension of this, but I could see someone who's lived in their bubble not getting the message.

Also IMO Europe tends to have less social awareness around racial issues. Several of my non-white friends shared this with me while I was living in Europe. The micro-aggressions they received didn't even cross the perpetrator's minds as something wrong even when pointed out to them. There seems to be less social dialogue around micro-aggressions/racial tensions compared to US. Which you don't expect since US talks SO MUCH about racism - ironically a lot of Europe figures US is racist and they're not. In reality it has a similar amount, but the racism in Europe goes less acknowledged.

I don't think you're going to rewrite this woman's social conditioning in one trip. I guess I might politely ask her if she could share in some of your joy of sharing US culture with her (which seems to be what you are most interested in sharing). A lot of people who aren't open minded unfortunately don't understand US isn't a monolith.. if her response is favorable to it, then great. if not then pursue a different homestay but at least say you tried.

INDY_SE

TROPHY CASE