agabr123

Our panda cory cat looks really sick. I just checked one everyone and his gills look bloody and red and his fins look bad too. He's also breathing heavily. He's in a 10 gallon tank (sand and minimal gravel substrate) with 3 male guppies, one leopard cory, a snail, and two peppered cories. The temperature is 78F and constant, ammonia 0, nitrate 3, nitrite 0 at the last test a few days ago but I'll test again just to make sure. We change the water every five-seven days. The tank has been set up for 3 months and is completely cycled. Does anyone have any ideas? His gill on the other side looks completely normal and he was fine yesterday.

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Sophism

Possibly fin rot?

http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...h+Images&gbv=2

agabr123

I don't think so...we've had a fish with fin rot before and it doesn't look similar...

agabr123

Also, there have been no new fish added to the tank he was in for over a month and we haven't had any other illness in any of his other tankmates, if that helps...

agabr123

This is also in the catfish forum threads but I thought it might be more appropriate here....

Our panda cory cat looks really sick. I just checked one everyone and his gills look bloody and red and his fins look bad too. He's also breathing heavily. He's in a 10 gallon tank (sand and minimal gravel substrate) with 3 male guppies, one leopard cory, a snail, and two peppered cories. The temperature is 78F and constant, ammonia 0, nitrate 3, nitrite 0 at the last test a few days ago but I'll test again just to make sure. We change the water every five-seven days. The tank has been set up for 3 months and is completely cycled. Does anyone have any ideas? His gill on the other side looks completely normal and he was fine yesterday. We haven't added any new fish to the tank for quite a while and no one else is sick.

Attached Images

icarus 1.jpg (61.4 KB, 64 views)

musicman4567

Well, let's go through a list and see if anything sticks. No flukes that I can see on the gills (though they are hard to notice), not fin rot, not ammonia poisoning if you are truly at 0. Oxygen deprivation is possible, but unlikely if you have an aerator and surface aggitation. Plus it would affect the other fish as well. Perhaps the guppies are picking on him? My suggestion would be to use a broad range medication treatment to help and prevent infection of that sore (something like mela/pima fix combination). Feeding some antibiotic food is probably wise as well. I'm the type that would rather say I had attempted to do something instead of waiting for more symptoms. Mela/pima fix shouldn't hurt your inverts as well. What type of behavior are you seeing from him (lethargy, hyperactivity, etc)?

agabr123

Lethargy definitely, he is always so incredibly active and right now is just lying on the bottom of the tank breathing rapidly... There is a four or five inch air stone in the tank. I thought the guppies might be at first but this just happened recently and they can't even do damage to each other's fins.

Shawnie

what test kit are you using?

musicman4567

It could be a form of velvet. I had that kill off a large portion of my fish and it presents with different symptoms (not always the ones on the list). I can't tell if those yellow spots are actually on the cory or if they are just iridescent glows from the flash. There are a few products out there for velvet, but, unfortunately, none of them have proven effective to my knowledge (personal use). If it is velvet, it will spread fast. a med like Rid-ICH will help and not be dangerous to your inverts (as it is based on malachite green, not methylene blue).

agabr123

API master test kit.

For some reason I have no idea where our melafix is so I used Pimafix.

Shawnie

is the lot number expired on the kit?(last 4 numbers on the bottle lot# is the expiration date of the kit) because that surely looks identical and the symtoms are also the same for ammonia poisioning...hmmmm

musicman4567

Have you done a current test? What are the readings. I would try to get some melafix as well, as it is for wound healing whereas pimafix is more based on fungus... But, good that you dosed something.

agabr123

It's not expired and he's not in the same tank as the betta that we thought had ammonia poisoning.

The last test was a few days ago and the readings are in the first post.

musicman4567

When was the most recent water change?

agabr123

Just a few days ago, either Wednesday or Thursday I believe.

musicman4567

Hmmm... So after your last reading. Well, I'm out of ideas. I would try the meds I told you and just observe to see if any new behavior arrises. Perhaps some of the others on here have some more ideas.

agabr123

Still laying on the bottom....not moving but breathing heavily....and the redness looks a little worse.

Shawnie

50% water change with some prime and stress coat will help..may not heal but will make him feel better...still for some reason is total signs of ammonia...i hope he gets better!!!

Lucy

I hope you don't mind, I've merged your threads. It'll be easier for you and the members to have the answers in one place.

It might be a good idea to move him into a nice warm quarantine tank.
Is your aqaurium info correct? Is he being picked on? It looks like your tank is overstocked which can lead to aggression and higher ammonia readings.

I agree with Shawnie that the red inflamed gill is a sign of ammonia poisoning as is heavy breathing.

agabr123

That's not a problem.

He's not being picked on at all, he's actually the biggest of all of our corycats and is the most established in the tank. It's possible that the guppies may have been bothering him (although I've never seen this) but the other cory cats are definitely not.

Our tank is not currently overstocked, but we are planning on getting Icarus and Hermes (two of the cory cats) a new home when we have more space for another tank. We got the peppered cory cats as babies and they are still less than an inch in length, but will grow fairly quickly. The guppies are fairly small as well.

He has been moved into QT.

Lucy

Is it possible that it's an injury and he got caught on something in the tank?

agabr123

That was my first thought...the only things that I think may have happened are that our snail may have gotten him, or that the filter may have gotten him. We have a whisper 10i, I believe. neither of us really like it, it's pretty bulky in the tank, but it gets the job done.

Other than that, I really don't know what else could have done it. I'm positive it wasn't one of the other cory cats, and I very highly doubt the guppies could do that much damage.

agabr123

I just checked the water again. Ammonia is still 0, so are nitrites, but the nitrates are somewhere between 5 and 10, probably closer to 10. Could that be the cause?

Lucy

I don't see guppies in your aquarium info. What size tank and what other fish are in with him?

A nitrate reading of 10 shouldn't be a problem.

Check for sharp areas on the tank decorations.

agabr123

That's my fault actually, I forgot to update our aquarium info. We have a 10 gallon tank, 3 guppies, one snail, two peppered, one panda, and one leopard cory cat.

Lucy

That's overstocked, but if your levels are fine and your keep up with maintance then that shouldn't be the issue with your little guy.

How are his barbels, are they intact?

agabr123

Yes they're fine.

agabr123

He's laying on his side now and can't swim straight...

agabr123

He didn't make it.

jgon_

There's just something about panda corys that has always frustrated me. They can be the picture of health for as long as you own them, and then just up and die one day. Sorry to hear about your little guy.