Adolfo Cory - small, darker, lethargic, doesn't eat much, independent - help?

[Eridinus]

Hi guys.

I currently have a small Adolfoi corydoras which I bought at the same time as 3 others (about an inch or so long each).

This one is slightly smaller than the rest, he has always been more independent - going off on his own, and he moves very lethargically and sits around most of the time. He is also slightly darker in colour than the others.

Do you think he has something wrong with him? I suspect he is just the "runt" of the litter.

Parameters are:
NO3 0-10 mg/l
NO2 0-1 mg/l
General Hardness 7 degrees
Carbonate Hardness 12 degrees
pH 7.2 (approx.)

Thanks in advance.

 

[Colin_T]

Set your camera's resolution to its lowest setting and post a picture of the fish. If you can, post a short 20 second video of the fish too.

 

[Eridinus]

Set your camera's resolution to its lowest setting and post a picture of the fish. If you can, post a short 20 second video of the fish too.

 

[Eridinus]

Kinda just sits like this and doesn't move much. But does so lethargically.

 

[Colin_T]

It's skinny and emaciated. It probably has intestinal worms and or gill flukes.

You can treat tapeworm and gill flukes with Praziquantel. And you can treat thread/ round worms with Levamisole.

You remove carbon from filters and treat the tank once a week for 3-4 weeks to kill any baby worms that hatch from eggs. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate 24-48 hours after treatment. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Do not use both medications at the same time. Use one medication and then do a few water changes before using the other medication. Then do a few more water changes before using the first medication again.

I would use Praziquantel first.

-----------------------
Feed the fish more food. Feed them 3-5 times per day and use frozen (but defrosted) foods to try and fatten them up. The extra food will help keep the fish alive until the worms have been killed, assuming it's worms.

 

[Eridinus]

Yeah today he is doing really bad, swam up to the surface and then just let himself fall back down. He looks skeletal. I have him now in a separate little container with medicine and food, and a small amount of aquarium salt. Doesn't look promising though. Will keep changing the medicated water every now and then.

Edit: The medicine I have is anti flulke and wormer. Will that work?

I have snails in shrimp in the tank so can't really medicate the entire thing

 

[Colin_T]

what are the ingredients in the medications?

do not use salt on corydoras because it can kill them, especially if they are already weak from some other health issue.

If the problem is intestinal worms they only need to be dosed once a week for 3-4 weeks.

 

[Eridinus]

what are the ingredients in the medications?

do not use salt on corydoras because it can kill them, especially if they are already weak from some other health issue.

If the problem is intestinal worms they only need to be dosed once a week for 3-4 weeks.

Flubendazole.
Bottle says "Suitable for coldwater and tropical aquariums. Treatment for internal worms and external parasites such as skin and gill flukes."

Okay I have just changed his container and redosed/ removed the salt.

 

[Eridinus]

Any idea how long I can keep him in a little jug floating in the water? Like is it okay overnight/ while I'm at work?

 

[Colin_T]

I would have just treated the tank personally. If you put the fish into a separate container and treated it, then make sure it has some aeration. If you plan on keeping the fish in the small container you will need to change the water every day so it doesn't die from ammonia poisoning.

 

[Eridinus]

The medicine will kill snails and shrimp
The little guy died yesterday, I think acted too late - I’ll make sure I look out for it next time and act immediately.