Injured (?) Cory Catfish

[Cherianne]

The cory I am writing about is approximately 6 years old. When I went to change the water in the tank two days ago, I used a tube to syphon water off the bottom of the tank, just like I've done hundreds of times. My tank is in the corner and kind of dark but I saw that my cory had gone into the large tube that I was using to suck off the bottom material. I immediately panicked (shook the tube) and then realized I just need to pull it out of the water to release the suction and he fell back into the water.

Now, I don't know if that caused his problems or if he was having a problem anyways and got sucked up in the tube cause that has never happened before. Anyways, now he seems to have trouble swimming, not alot, but just enough that I notice cause I've had him so long. He tends to want to float to the top then swim back down alot more than he ever did. I'm afraid that maybe I injured his little swim bladder? Also, it looks like one of his whiskers is gone (kind of hard to tell). He is eating off the bottom like usual but it seems he doesn't just lay on the bottom like he always did, kind of like his tail is up in the water.

Question is, is there anything I can do for him? I do not feel it's a water issue, I'm always checking my water, changing out a third every two-three weeks also.

I just can't stand to think he's sick and there's something I could do for that I am not.

Thank you!

 

[JoshuaA]

AFAIK if there has been some physical damage the best you can do is just leave him to get on with his daily routine of swimming around the substrate acting as if there is something interesting there. If however he has lost a barbel I would monitor him closely to ensure he is feeding properly. Other than that there probably isn't much you can do, perhaps closely look each day to see if an infection appears.

At this point my knowledge of treatments/advise expires. I sincerely hope someone else comes along and offers further advice, you may also be better off opening a similar post in the Corydoras section. Perhaps you may find someone who has been in a similar situation.

Good Luck!

 

[mtv8dmarine]

I have a cory or two that have come up missing a barbel and they just go on being corys like nothing is wrong. They are still perfectly social and act like little hoovers. I wouldn't be too concerned about his barbel. Even if it does pose a problem, I don't know of any aquatic plastic surgeons.

 

[Twinklecaz]

You could use some general tonic (Interpret) to try to prevent an infection if you're worried. That's what it says it's for and I think it's helped my (new)fish.

I could be totally wrong though so wait a bit to see if anyone shouts at me lol.


Ps Bless him.

 

[Harlequins]

Hows the cory doing?

I've accidently got a cory stuck to my hose before now,its easily done,i just shook it off and after 5 mins or so of being inactive he bounced back again.
If he's still floating he could have a problem with its swim bladder,but it may be the shock of being sucked up...however barbel lose can be a bit of a worry,it may stop them feeding,but worse it may get a bacterial infection...

You say you do a w/c every 2/3 weeks,with keeping corys i would advise doing weekly gravel/sand vacs to keep them from picking up infections,has they're always rooting around.especially if you have gravel has bacteria can breed if not cleaned regularly.

keeping the water in good condition will help the barbel grow back,not necessarily the full length but enough for it to fend for itself.