Bubble? on side of cory

spottedcatfish

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Mar 12, 2003
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So this one has me stumped... I have a Cory Atropersonatus (or something very similar, I discovered there's a bit of an ID controversy for these guys on Planet Catfish, not that it really matters at this point) which seems to have a bubble(?) on his side. It's not an air bubble, because it doesn't go away, it's sort of stuck there. I could swear it moves along his side as he swims around too, but that just doesn't seem right... If it's stuck, it should stay put, if it's not, it should come off entirely, right?

Anyway, it's a perfect globe, very much in the apperance of an air bubble, right around the ventral fins. I would just be confused and not concerned if the fish were behaving normally, but he's definately got a list to that side when he swims and he is clearly somewhat weak. He doesn't sit like the others, upright and with dorsal extended, his fins a bit clamped, and he usally leans in the current if he's on the side of the tank with the filter. He did eat last night, though he was less enthusiastic than the others. The honey is generally the most skittish tank resident, one of the cats is honestly bigger than him, so I doubt he's picking on them.

Tank specs - 6 gallon Eclipse, cycled, moderately planted, 3 cory atropersonatus (1"+) and 1 honey gourami (1"), 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, nitrates 10. Temp is 76F, PH 7.2.

I did a partial water change just in case that would be useful, it perked up the other fish this morning, all of whom look and act well. I just picked up the three cats this week, and this guy is slightly smaller than the others, though they still try to hang out with him (he isn't very good company for rooting about right now), hopefully one of you knows if there's anything to be done about this, I'd hate to lose the little guy.
 
I had something very similar on one of my older spotted cories. As near as I could determine, it's a virus that causes the bubble--you'll frequently see more than one. It never impaired my fish too much--he would swim a bit awkwardly and keep more to himself. The bubbles would clear up, then come back if something stressed him. He lived for about 3 years with this off and on, died at about the age of 7. It never spread to any other fish (including more cories) in that time. I tried several different treatment options, and never saw any change or improvement. Always took about 2 weeks from onset to just go away.

Hope this helps.
 
A sad update, he got much worse very quickly and has died, I'm about to fish him out and head to the fish store with a water sample (just in case my tests are bad...)

Thanks for the good news that it doesn't spread though Oriongirl, that means at least that my other fish should be OK and I can pick up another cory without worry. The stress must have been too much for the little guy.

I wonder if anyone else has had the same issue as we have? Just to be more certain it won't spread.
 
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