New Panda Cory seems stressed ....

[Spesh1969]

He’s in the corner breathing really fast. My eyesight is not great close-up, but he doesn’t look great. I tried to upload a video but it wouldn’t let me.

The other (5) guys look fine. They were added yesterday. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0 and Nitrate was 5.

Anything I can do? If he’s sick, I don’t want the rest of the tank getting sick!

 

[fishorama]

I'm concerned that near his vent & "chin" look red to me. That suggests bacteria infection to me. Do any others have this redness?

I rarely dose antibiotics & haven't in years but this site http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumMedication2.html might help choose if you decide to try 1.

I guess it could be from capture stress/injury, like bruising. Did your lfs worker have trouble catching the fish?

Clean water (lots of water changes) can help but don't wait too long before trying antibiotics if others are showing signs.

Good luck & keep us updated.

 

[Spesh1969]

Thanks for responding.

He had to work a little hard at capture and this guy is one of the smallest of the bunch. So far the other 5 look good and are acting normal.

I did a 4 gallon water change so hopefully that helps although I feel bad. As I was pouring the water in, one of my dogs bumped into me so my arm tilted and poured some water in pretty quickly and he got a little tumbled and jostled from the current. He hasn’t moved since.

Other inhabitants are: male Betta, nerite snail, 5 cities and 3 Amano shrimp.

I will check out that link.

Thank you so much.

 

[Spesh1969]

I also just increased the aeration by turning up the air filter. Not sure that will help, but we will see. He still hasn’t moved after being tumbled around.

Lights have been off in the tank for a while as well. I might leave them off tomorrow, too.

 

[fishorama]

What are cities? I think it must be a spell check thing...cories?

Keep in mind most fish bacteria infections are gram negative, but not all. Corys have their own issues that can make treating them difficult. They have "plates" rather than scales & are often sensitive to medications. If you choose to try meds, it's often best to add half a dose in the am (or pm) & half 10 or 12 hours later. It's slower but safer sometimes for sensitive fish.

I've never seen the red "chin" before. It makes me think it might be bruising. If everyone else looks ok, I think I'd wait on antibiotics but keep up WCs (without the dog's help ). You may lose that 1 but you won't be stressing everyone else with unnecessary medications. That's another thing to look at before drugging, invert safety. I've kept snails & shrimp but never with medication. Be careful!

 

[Spesh1969]

Yes, cories. Darn spellcheck!

I’d prefer not to dose the tank if at all possible. Plus I know it will kill all my good bacteria which means another cycle. I will do a bigger water change tomorrow with the dogs outside. Poor little guy. I’m not optimistic he will make it through the night. If he’s still in the same spot tomorrow AM, I will give him a nudge to see if he moves.

 

[fishorama]

No need to harass the poor unhappy cory, he'll live... or not, that's the brakes .

Not all antibiotics nuke the beneficial cycling bacteria, as the link I provided says. But you're wise to consider it.

 

[Spesh1969]

I definitely don’t want to harass him, but he’s at an angle now (after the water tumble) where I can’t see if he’s breathing so the nudge would be my “dead or alive” test.

 

[fishorama]

Yeah, I'm not holding out for his survival, I'm sorry (heavy sigh).

Keep a very close eye on the other corys...If it's bacterial you'll need to act pretty fast.

Good luck!

 

[Spesh1969]

He didn’t make it. Poor guy.

I will have to take a closer look at that medication page and see what my options are that:

A). Won’t harm my shrimp and snail
B). Won’t harm my beneficial bacteria

Sigh.

Will the group be ok with 5!or will I eventually need to get another?