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Need quick advice here... just got home with a freebie cory rescue...

I believe he's c. schwartzi or a similar species. He's got the first big spines on dorsil and pectoral fins, the big upper spine on the tail, and maybe 1/4 of the bottom spine... not much fin other than that. His barbels are slightly eroded. Other than that, he doesn't seem to have any obvious deformities or redness. He's breathing quickly, but that's expected, as he just got dropped at the store today and tonight he's coming home with me. Poor thing must be scared out of his mind.

I'm currently floating his bag in a two gallon kritter keeper with sponge filter running... QT him until he gets better. I'm sure he'd be better off with the support of a school around him, but from what the LPS guy could tell me, the lady who dropped him off only had just the one cory. When he gets better, he can join the motley cory crew, but until then, he gets solitary.

I was told that he was kept with tetras and that's why his fins are half-gone. I don't know how much I believe that, but that's what I was told. The fact that the bottom of the tail is worse damaged than the top seems a bit at odds with that idea.

In any case, he also seems to be suffering from some sort of swim bladder and/or equilibrium issues. He's flashing his white belly in when he flips over, sometimes staying upside down for long moments. Another thought is that he just can't handle the current, not being able to stay upright or right himself if knocked around, because he really doesn't have much finnage at all.

I'm going to go release him into the tank and see if i can't get a picture of him to give you an idea of what his fins (or lack thereof) looks like.

First pic cory in bag, floating in tank.



Out of bag, in tank. Don't think he's moved much.



Opinions and help needed... The tank has been melafixed and pimafixed... figured it couldn't hurt. Otherwise, I don't know what else to do for him. I'll probably hold off feeding him until tomorrow as he doesn't seem much interested in anything right now.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Misty eyes general poor condition, missing fins, all sounds like the usual fungus and bacterial finrot issues.That fin looks more consumed by bacteria than bitten to me, the thicker tissues are the main remaining bits. I think metabolically speaking melafix and pimafix is about as hard as you dare go, I think antibiotics would be too much for him right now, although if hes a bit more vital in about 4 or 5 days it might be worth considering them, especially if his fins arent responding well and continue to shrink.

Sounds like youre doing the right things so far, hes probably come from a filthy environment. I think his system needs some clean cycled water pretty much as soon as possible, im betting he has plaques on the gill tissue, and he needs as much oxygen as you can give him. Hes probably way too contagious to put into community for a couple of weeks though.

Hope he makes it, little fellas obviously had a rough time of it.

Good luck kitten.

Should I add an airstone as well, then? The little sponge filter doesn't do much to move the water around, which I think is about all the current he can handle right now.

Should I dose mela and pimafix daily for a week or every other day or.... what? Other than the stress coat I used to dechlor the water, that's all I've added to the tank.

As for the state of his fins, yeah, I didn't really buy the fin-nipping excuse. I've seen nipped fins and they're ragged... unless the fin rot (which is what I'm assuming I'm really dealing with) is a result of an infection of sorts in nipped fins.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Id definately add an airstone asap, and perhaps do a daily half dose of melafix and pimafix until he gets a little stronger.Its all about low impact consistant treatment at the moment, as he sounds like hes about to keel over. You may not win, but you will optimise his chances, and I think thats the best you can do for now. Id also keep him under relatively low illumination, and give him something like freeze dried tubifex or bloodworm to get the calories up, and keep him interested.

Everything to give him something to live for and think about in a good way, keeping his energy levels up, and otherwise minimal disturbance. Might even find that keeping him within visual contact of other cories might help a little.

All right, let me dig out another air pump... I don't think the one I have is powerful enough to power the filter and the airstone. I've had his light turned off except for the pictures... I'm going to have to unplug the light in order to get another airpump on there anyway... out of outlets on the power strip.

How about frozen bloodworms? I've had fish that actually grew worse with freeze dried foods after SBD, one fish, in fact, who couldn't eat more than a little bit of it without getting SBD issues.

Not sure where I could put him in view of my 20 gallon with the cories... I have his little 2 gallon on the bottom of the stand with the 12 gallon tank over it... the best I could do near the 20 gallon would be about 2-3 feet away on the dining room table, and I don't think I have enough outlets there. Blah. I don't know how long the lady had him, but he's been without cory buddies for at least long enough for him to get in this state...

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Im sure a little frozen bloodworm will be fine.

Well, I waited until today after work to feed him and he doesn't seem too interested in the frozen bloodworms (even though his compatriots in the 20 gallon are going bezerk over them). He hasn't been moving much, but will move when startled. Not sure if he just isn't seeing too well or what. The long planting tweezers I used to deliver the bloodworms in his general vicinity were okay, but the bloodworms drifting down in front of him seemed to scare him.

I'll try again tomorrow or later tonight, with the brine shrimp pellets that my cories go nuts over. Hopefully I can get him to eat... if he won't eat, no matter how carefully medicated or taken care of, it's not going to help.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Just checked on my new cory buddy.

I'm wondering if he's scared of food. He's fine when I put the food in the tank, but then all of a sudden he's like, *sniff sniff* "Food?! RUN!" Maybe he was picked on at feeding time?

In any case, I think he may be eating... I walked away from the tank for a moment, then came back and he was rooting around where I dropped the brine shrimp pellet.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

I hope your new friend is doing good kitten, it sounds like he is. I dont have enough experience to help on this but i wanted to add my hope and concern that your new friend will get better. Is he moving about more in the tank since you got him?

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

He doesn't move a whole lot... I mean, when I look in the tank now, he's usually in a different position than when I last saw him, but he's not actively swimming around. He'll wiggle in place a bit if I disturb him (open the tank lid, drop in food, etc) or swim about then, but doesn't seem to be swimming other than that, really.

I need like, a fish cam on him. Half the time when I look in on him, I have to look really hard and make sure he's still breathing.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Probly just nervous cos hes on his own, and preserving energy cos he feels ill. A lot of schoalers stay still if theyre on their own, saves drawing attention to themselves.

Yay... good news. A month has passed and lil Eeyore (hey, Eeyore was always losing his tail!) has regained a pretty full tail, and pretty much all fins except the dorsil have had nice regrowth. Not sure if the dorsil will ever regrow, though there is a tiny bit of fin on his back, but

He's more active and seems more interested in his tank. He has not exhibited any signs of illness beyond the loss of his fins which as I've said, have been regrowing nicely.

I'm going to take the step of adding him to the rest of the motley cory crew. He's currently floating in a large betta cup in the 20 gallon. Shortly, he will be introduced to his new extended family. Also, in a short while, the whole motley crew and company will be interred into the incoming 55 gallon (hopefully soon!).



~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Excellent news ! /:'

Very nice results, it almost seems like a different fish from the one we saw initially!

Glad to hear that the little guy is doing ok...

Good job on turning him around

good job. he is looking great, the dorsal fin will grow back eventually. Make sure you let us know how things go.

mts.gif" border="0"> I vote do you?
My Tanks at Photobucket

Good Job Kitten Im really impressed with what you have done.

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

I am, too, actually. Impressed, I mean. I didn't expect him to last very long, as I never really saw him eating or responding to food (beyond the first few times when he panicked when food was introduced into the tank.

He loves his new buddies. Frankly, I expected him to hang out with the ambiacus or the triliniatus, as those have the most similar patterning. However, he's seemed to have decided that the pandas are his special friends. Not that he doesn't hang out with the others, but he seems to be side by side with a panda every time I look in on him. He's much more active (and I'm sure that's due to having the protection and company of the school).

In any case, I'm happy that he's happy and healthier than when I brought him into my home. It's amazing what a little melafix, pimafix and loving can do.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Great job kitten!!
He's beautiful and looks a lot better!!!!!!!

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl