Sick or injured Cory Cat?

Aquafox

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I got 4 Panda Corydoras for my sister yesterday, 3 of them are around an inch long, very nice fish. I love watching them huddle together, then explore the tank together and occasionally shoot up to the surface and straight back down to the bottom. They look like they're having so much fun. They very rarely go anywhere alone, constantly together.

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The other Cory is around half the size of the other 3, it seems very lethargic, sitting in the same place for 30 minutes, then occasionally moving for 5 - 10 seconds before sitting still for another half an hour. I have seen it have a little nibble at some food once, but it didn't eat much compared to the other 3. It seems to have lost its colour a little compared to the other Cory's. Its dorsal fin looks bad, I think it could have possibly been getting nipped by other fish in the tank at the fish store. They're the only fish in the tank at the moment for quarantine before they go in with the guppies and neon tetra in my sisters tank.

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Hi and welcome to the forum :)

The smaller Corydoras might have been bullied by other fishes at the shop before you bought it. Or it could have internal parasites. If it doesn't improve in a few days you could look at treating it for intestinal worms and see how it goes.

Try feeding them on frozen (but defrosted) bloodworms and brineshrimp and see if it eats that.

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The Cories that go to the surface and come back down and grabbing a mouthful of air, which they use to help their buoyancy and to breath. Catfish swallow airbubbles and absorb the oxygen out of it. It's a survival adaptation for living in stagnant puddles with no oxygen in the water.
 
Yeah, I knew that it was normal behaviour for them to shoot up to the surface now and then.

I've just been feeding them on the small catfish pellets, about 1mm diameter, however they swell up when they get wet to around 3mm. I've been putting in 2 pellets per fish per day, takes them about 10 minutes to eat a full pellet. Is this enough? I will give more if needed, but I'm trying to avoid overfeeding to keep good water quality. I will get some bloodworms and brine shrimp next time I'm at the fish store.

The little one seems to have perked up a little since the original post, I've seen him actively searching for food today. Still haven't seen him eat much, but I can't watch him 24/7 so I cannot say he has not eaten anything. His dorsal fin seems to be healing and he occasionally hangs out with the other cory's. I think he's going to recover :), he just needs a little more time. I will give an update on his progress in a few days.
 
You should be aware that corys feed by sifting the substrate. They really should have a smooth sand substrate rather than gravel to avoid damaging their barbels. They are social fish which is why they need to be kept in groups. Right now they are sticking together for security because they are stressed by being moved, this is normal and they will relax within a few days. You will still often see them altogther but won't stick together all the time.
 
I am aware that they prefer sand over gravel. They are in that tank temporarily for quarantine, once they're all looking healthy and if there are no signs of disease, they will be moved into the tank they were bought for which has sand.
 
No obvious signs of disease or injury that I can see. Just lying on his side, sort of hiding in between a couple of decorations.








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I got 4 Panda Corydoras for my sister yesterday, 3 of them are around an inch long, very nice fish. I love watching them huddle together, then explore the tank together and occasionally shoot up to the surface and straight back down to the bottom. They look like they're having so much fun. They very rarely go anywhere alone, constantly together.

View attachment 88028 View attachment 88029

The other Cory is around half the size of the other 3, it seems very lethargic, sitting in the same place for 30 minutes, then occasionally moving for 5 - 10 seconds before sitting still for another half an hour. I have seen it have a little nibble at some food once, but it didn't eat much compared to the other 3. It seems to have lost its colour a little compared to the other Cory's. Its dorsal fin looks bad, I think it could have possibly been getting nipped by other fish in the tank at the fish store. They're the only fish in the tank at the moment for quarantine before they go in with the guppies and neon tetra in my sisters tank.

View attachment 88027
Try moving him to a new tank with no gravel. Mines where doing the same until I moved them to a tank with no gravel. Also check your ammonia and do not add salt to your tank
 
You should be aware that corys feed by sifting the substrate. They really should have a smooth sand substrate rather than gravel to avoid damaging their barbels.
You do know that they are found in a varying range of grades in the wild, from sand to gravel? (Axenrot and Kullander, 2003,Casatti, Lilian, et al 2010) free at this link http://www.corydorasworld.com/img/upload/files/C_ diphyes - O_ mimulus.pdf

Casatti L, Romero RM, Teresa FB, Sabino J, Langeani F. 2010. Fish community structure along a conservation gradient in Bodoquena Plateau streams, central West of Brazil. Acta Limnol Bras 22: 50–59

https://repositorio.unesp.br/bitstr...RECZOOR14702017178.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y
 
Don't get too carried away with this thread, it's from last year.
 
lol, ah well, it was on the active threads bit and I was just reading along, never really paid attention to the dates!
 
It happens every now and then. I responded to one a while back and put in a huge response, then I realised it was from 10 yrs ago :)
 
Corys are very prone to bacterial problems it could be bacterial gill rot. Lovely corys looking at the body of the cory and the black spots don't look very black they look at bit washed out, i think i would try a bacterial med first
 
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This thread is 2 years old and the OP hasn't been on the forum since then so we are unlikely to know what happened to the cories.
 

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