Angels - PageSuite

Top right: C. sp.
C007 “Missiones”
showing the red
blotches within
two hours of the
appearance of small
red spots. Once this
condition takes hold
it spreads rapidly, and
the whole body of the
fish turns red.
Bottom right: C. sp.
C007 “Missiones”.
After another hour
the red area has
doubled in size; at
this point the fish has
only a slim chance of
survival.
How many of you have purchased a group of
new, long-sought-after corys, only to find that they have all died in the bag on the
way home? I can assure you it is an unforgettable experience.
This scenario has been known for quite a long time, and I first
became aware of the problem more than 20 years ago after losing
a group of newly purchased Corydoras trilineatus (Three-Lined
Cory). All of them were dead when I got home. At the time I
just thought that the fishes I had purchased were of poor quality,
even though they had actually looked very good in the shop. I
subsequently contacted the store and the owner offered to replace
them, so I returned, taking the fishes with me. We were both at
a loss as to what had happened—the rest of the stock in the shop
looked in perfect condition.
The replacement fish were duly packed and the bag placed on
the counter while we talked about other fishy things. Suddenly, the
shop owner saw one of the fish roll over in the bag, followed quickly
by a second. We immediately opened the bag and instinctively put
all the fishes in a container of fresh, clean water from their original
AMAZONAS 59