Cory Cat Spinning Like Torpedo

[Frostycolt]

I have a 10 gallon tank. Have has this tank setup for about 2 years. Right now I have a mystery snail, dwarf Gourami & Cory cat.

For the last 3 days my Cory has been swimming funny. It started with him just laying on his side at the bottom of tank. When I tapped the tank he got up & swam normally. A little later he was on his side again, but when I tapped the tank, he was swimming upside down. I noticed he seems slightly bloated. Read about swim bladder, thought this was it & offered peas. He ate them, seemed fine rest of day.

The next day, he was doing it again, but worse. I did a 10% water change. He seemed better.

Today, he is much worse. Laying at the bottom on his side again, but barely moving. When I tapped the tank he didn't move. I made peas again & when I put in the tank he swam straight up, but was rolling like a torpedo! Wouldn't eat, did the same movement to go to the bottom, & is laying there again.

Please help! I've had him from the very start of this tank & don't want to loose him!

PH: 7.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 30

 

[nic1]

Hi,
Have you added anything new to the tank recently?
This could be a parasite... All fish have them by they only attack when their immune systems are compromised.
As he is spinning out of control I would quarantine him and lower the water level so he can't spin too much.
I'm thinking whirling disease but I could be wrong. If it is there aren't any medications that can help him.

But I would q him and add a general tonic, also raise the temp....

 

[Frostycolt]

I added 2 new shells the week of 4th July. I don't have a q tank. Can I just get like a beta tank or does he need filter? I have a small heater in the tank. Can't remember what temp it keeps it at, just that it is made for tropical fish & 10 gallon tank. Is there a general parasite med I can treat with?

He is def worse. I keep checking & it looks like he's dead, but he is breathing. I've only seen him move a few times & he spins up about halfway up hpthe tank, then falls back down on his side.

Tried talking to the people at petsmart (where I got him) but they were NO help! That's the only fish store within an hour & half drive for me. If I have to, obviously I'll go where I need to, just don't know what to do!

So sad! My poor Mr. Kitty!

 

[Frostycolt]

You know, I should've mentioned that I had a frog in there as well. Had flippers for 5 months, he was doing great, went on vacation, & he was dead when we got home. Neighbor was taking care of all our critters for us daily, & has done so several times. (Meaning he had cared for the frog before with no problems). His body was very shrunken looking. This was 2 weeks ago.

Of course I do weekly water changes & always check levels then. All was normal.

My Gourami is acting normal, looks normal. Same with snail.

Would I be able to see worms or parasites? I've read in some forums that you can. I don't see anything abnormal in the tank, nor when I did water change yesterday.

Ugh! Someone PLEASE help!

 

[Frostycolt]

Anyone?!?! Please! I need ANY ideas or suggestions.

I went back to petsmart & got a 5 gallon tank to put him in. I added water from the main tank & put him in it. Has a heater for that size.

Should I have put in new water & used quick start?

Any advice at this point is very much needed as he isn't improving. In fact, barely moving. He looks healthy other than slightly bloated. He seems to be breathing somewhat slower than normal. I'm so worried.

 

[nic1]

Hi. I'm really sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I only really come on here once a day,
How's Mr Kitty today?
I have no experience with frogs so I'm not sure... I know that they need different requirements by the way of food and external places to go if he isn't fully aquatic?
But regarding the cory, it's good thy you now have him by his self, he will need a filter but that would mean cycling it so I suggest that you change his water every day so the ammonia cannot build up. Put in his heater as he will need a constant temp to get back to normal. Put in half water from the main tank and also half fresh water. Make sure you condition the water before it goes in.
There is a medicine called 'tetra general tonic' you can use that as we don't know what he has.
You can see some worms that protude from the anus, these are red but I honestly dot think it's internal worms as he will have a sunken appearance and will be very lethargic with the obvious protruding worms.
Parasites can be seen, e.g velvet, white spot... But there's no evidence on his skin of these. Whirling disease is still my number one prediction.
Keep the aquarium lights off also, parasites are more active when they are on And also it will relax the cory more.
Raise the temp to around 28 degrees, but do this slowly rather than whacking it straight up. Do 1 degree every 2 hours till it's 28.

I will try and check this post again soon.
Nicola

 

[Frostycolt]

Nicola,

I GREATLY appreciate your feedback. He's not any better today. Pretty much looks like he's dead, but he is breathing. I'll change the water as you said, then go get the tonic. They didn't have any at petsmart when I went yesterday, so driving into town.

Do you really mean for the temp to be 28 degrees? That seems way too low. I thought it should be around 80 degrees. I do have a heater in with him, that is for a 5 gallon tank. The package on it said it will be between 78 & 80 degrees. I'm gonna check with the thermometer from my main tank as soon as I get off.

Flippers was an Amercan Dwarf frog. The are aquatic & live at the bottom of the tank. I had the appropriate places for him to hide, & he ate frozen bloodworms. Petsmart people & research I'd done said that it was safe for him to be with my Cory,Gourami, & snail. Also said the bloodworms were a good food for everybody. I'm thinking that while we were gone, my neighbor didn't feed appropriately & that's why he died. I just don't know for sure, & thought I should mention it in case it could help diagnose Mr. Kitty.

Thanks again! I'll let you know what happens!

 

[Lunar Jetman]

Do you really mean for the temp to be 28 degrees? That seems way too low. I thought it should be around 80 degrees. I do have a heater in with him, that is for a 5 gallon tank. The package on it said it will be between 78 & 80 degrees. I'm gonna check with the thermometer from my main tank as soon as I get off.

 
Nicola is in the UK so meant 28 degrees Celsius not Fahrenheit. I'd make sure it's kept around 75-77 degrees Fahrenheit as 78-80 is a bit too high. 
 
Its possible your fish is lonely. Corys are best kept in shoals of at least 5 so they don't really thrive on their own. Its also possible that whatever killed off your frog is affecting him or the dead frog being left in the water for a period of time polluted it and with your cory already stressed by being on his own has succumbed to some sort of illness. 
 
How often have you been changing your tank water?

 

[the_lock_man]

Do you really mean for the temp to be 28 degrees? That seems way too low. I thought it should be around 80 degrees. I do have a heater in with him, that is for a 5 gallon tank. The package on it said it will be between 78 & 80 degrees. I'm gonna check with the thermometer from my main tank as soon as I get off.

 

 
 
Celsius & Fahrenheit ;-)

 

[Mamashack]

Just a little suggestion for temperature aspect - as the temperature of the tank goes up the oxygen level goes down so keep an eye on that.
Can increase surface agitation or add an airline to improve the O2 level.
Can't help with the spinning cory as I've never kept them or come across this phenomenon before.
I know they like sandy substrate to snuffle about in, but that's about all I do know - sorry!

 

[Frostycolt]

I thought that was the case about temp, but wanted to ask to make sure. I'm going to adjust it lower as y'all suggested.

I wasn't aware that Cory's needed to be in groups until I started reading about them on here. I feel absolutely horrible now! All this time, I thought I was taking such good care of him, yet I was depriving him. Ugh. I'm the type of person that does research on things, & I know I did on Cory's before/after I got him, yet I don't recall seeing anything about that. I feel rotten.

I do weekly water changes. Always check my levels @ that time, & I haven't had any issues since my tank cycled almost 2 years ago.

He looks bad guys. I don't know what to do. I feel like he's suffering, but at the same time I don't want to give up. Gah!

 

[star4]

A bacterial infection can cause spinning motion. If you have a spare heater, pop Mr. Kitty in a small container, Ice cream tub or similar with shallow water - be careful where you place the heater so it does not melt the plastic. Or if possible secure an ice cream container inside your main tank (so the main tank water keeps the tub warm) and pop him in, Keep him in a couple of inches of water, so he is covered. Add an antibacterial medication. You will need to keep a VERY close eye on the water stats (ammonia etc) while he is in the tub, after 2-3 days offer food and raise the water level see if he can swim normally. Only raise the water by 1", if he still cannot swim normally lower the water again.
 
If you do not have or cannot get an antibacterial medication do 50%wc twice a day, with a fish in this condition it is very difficult to save them, this method does not always work I am afraid.
 
If he does pull through, raise the water level very slowly, by 1" a day until he is swimming completely normal again.
 
Best of luck

 

[Frostycolt]

I'm very sad to report Mr. Kitty has passed. Thanks to everyone who tried to help.

Now I'm worried about my dwarf Gourami. Should I do anything?

 

[star4]

What are the symptoms of your gourami?
 
Thoughts until you post the gourami symptoms....
 
Your cory sounded like a bacterial problem. what sort of filter are you using and when was it last cleaned? Scanning back through your posts, you say you had a frog that died in the tank while you were away and it was very skinny. Do you know how long the frog had been left dead in the tank? 
 
I am still guessing with the death of the frog, the recent holiday (possible over feeding, missed water change) that you have a bacterial problem in your tank which is now showing up.
 
What substrate do you have? if gravel do a wc with gravel vaccing thoroughly, then do small daily water changes approx 10% and keep a note on the fish's behaviour, particularly swimming action, breathing and appitite. do this for about a week then reduce down to a wc every other day, then every third day, then every fourth day and so on until you are back to your normal weekly routine. This should clear out any unwanted bad bacteria without using medication. However if the fish does not appear to improve after 3-4 days then you may need to go straight to an antibacterial medication.
 
Unfortunately bacterial problems cannot be tested for, you may have 0 ammonia, nitrite and trace nitrate and have a bacterial problem.
 
Hope this helps

 

[Frostycolt]

I'm sorry! My head was hurting & I layer down, ended up falling asleep!

I should've stated in previous post, my Gourami seems completly normal. Looks great, eating very well, swimming fine. My concern is that my frog & Cory looked normal too, then bang! Guess I'm scared as I don't know the cause & if it's contagious. Kicking myself for a lot of things right now, one of them being not having a sick tank.

Also worried Gourami will be lonely, but scared to get anything else right now & putting them at potential risk. Well, not to mention it would feel like I'm replacing Mr. Kitty.

I do have small natural pebbles as sub right now. I will start with the wc & vacuuming now.

Tank readings are the same.

Thank you.