Bad Luck with Panda Corys

About a month and a half ago, I spotted 4 panda corys at my LFS.  I asked the owner if they could get more as I wanted to have 12.  The took down my name and number and told me they'd give me a call when they found some so that I could come put a deposit on them.  Fast forward to last Thursday and they called me with dozen corys that just arrived off the plane and said that they'd just keep them in the bag if I could come in an hour or so.  Since I hadn't received a call about them, I didn't even realize they were coming and had a change of heart as to if I even wanted them.  However, "ask and you shall receive" so I couldn't leave them.  It was a pretty busy day for us as we were expecting company but I figured that I would try to run and grab them to alleviate the stress associated with letting them into their tanks and fishing them out again the next day.

They were real small, which I prefer as I like to watch them grow up.  I didn't really have much time as I was late for supper so I let the bag float for about 15 minutes while I got ready and then I netted them out and released them into my tank and went out for supper.  There was a fairly foul smell associated with the bag they came in, but unfortunately I didn't have time to think of any other options.  When I returned, all 12 were inactive and hiding at the back of the tank.  Upon inspection many of their fins weren't in tremendous shape so I assumed I would lose a couple.  I scooped out 6 dead ones over the course of yesterday and 1 this morning.  I saw a couple of ich spots yesterday too so began treating with copper sulfate, which I hope is plant safe as once again, we were having Christmas company and I didn't have time to do much research.  I also turned up the temperature a little bit, but it doesn't go any higher than 25 Celsius.

If I lose the corys, fine.  As unfortunate as it is, my main concern is my bows and my angel....I really hope this stuff doesn't spread...

Any advice?

Yikes, our community doesn't have great luck with the Panda's, hey Shell?   

Edit:

I should also add that when I was buying them I asked if there was any "warranty" as they hadn't even been in their tanks. I got the whole "we've been selling fish for 40 years and if they aren't healthy they don't go out the door spiel". Which I understand because as a business, you don't know what kind of tank the fish are going into, for all they know someone is tossing them in with an Oscar... Or an ammonia pool. However, it's frustrating for me because I haven't lost fish in almost a year and clearly there was something wrong with them.

I'm considering going and letting them know about it but I'd imagine it's gonna fall on deaf ears...

Very sad news. It is hard to believe that there was something that had been done to cause such a mishap. Hopefully a few with pull through.

So sorry about the panda problem. I have never had luck with panda cories either. They are really cute and I would love to have some, but they always die and I do not want to take the chance on them again. (although I suspect some day I may break down and try them again).

Good luck dealing with the fish store. I wonder if they took good look at the fish in the bag before they gave them to you.

Oh no, another panda cory heart-ache story. You are right, our community does not seem to have good luck with these little guys. I have, however, read many more negative stories on other sites about poor little pandas when compared with any other type of cory. I truly believe that these little guys are just not built to be in a glass box. Sorry to hear about your sad experience, I know how awful it feels  

oh my goodness truly saddens by heart to hear of losses of fish ...I hope that possibly some of them will remain with you and the shop shows some understanding with the loss of the little fish
so very sorry...such a sad story indeed.....there must have been something wrong with the poor little guys?

Not sure about Copper Sulfate in an aquarium, but then I don't know much about tropical fish. In the greenhouse we use it as a herbicide under the benches to kill weeds.   

Steve

Hmmm.....that's frightening!

The product is called aquari-sol.

worth a read.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/cuso4gen.html

Steve

It looks like its chelated form, and has been used safely with plants. Fingers crossed....

I lost them all, as I expected I would. So far all of the other fish appear to be ok. Fingers crossed.

so sorry to hear this ....
joining along with you...fingers crossed all others will be fine.....

Sorry to hear about this. I hope everything else stays good.

What did I learn from this experience?

As has been said on this forum before by some of our experienced members, it is good practice to let fish stay at the LFS for a while to insure that they are healthy. If I were to have them order something for me again, I would try to leave them at the store for a little while. This would also (in theory, but no promises) apply to impulse buys. If I see something I like, I will either confirm that they've been there for a bit or come back in a week.

I did go back to the fish store to let them know what happened with the corys. They said that it's odd that would happen as they didn't lose any fish from that same order (I took the only panda corys). However, he agreed to call me when he gets more and give it another go but he will keep them in his tank for a few days before I grab them. He said they'd cut me a break since he could tell that I take good care of my tanks.

Since this is a small business, I don't blame him for not wanting to warrant his fish as we all know what happens when you buy a 10 gallon tank, set it up and add 10 fish the same day. Remarkably, this store has managed to stay alive despite a very large box store moving in to the SAME PARKING LOT. That same box store warrants their fish for 30 days no questions asked. He said he has watched people go to that store, buy aquariums and a couple fish then come to him, buy more fish and come back wanting warranty on them because the box store, who got all the sales, wasn't able to advise them how to properly start a tank. I could imagine it would make a person pretty frustrated to watch this happen repeatedly right before your eyes.

sounds like you are dealing with a god shop.....