Help with skinny, pale corydrora

[Klair]

Hello all!!! 

This is my first time posting as I am a new member. Unfortunately, I am having an issue with my panda corydoras. 

I have had my Corys since the end of May. I have noticed some flashing with them here and there but have chalked it up to them being itchy because they were breeding, eating, and acting like normal Corys. 

Since then, I have added cardinal tetras with ich who I didnt quarantine (I learned my lesson and won’t do that again). I treated with ich-x and the ich went away with a couple days of treatment. 

This was about a month ago. I am unsure if the ich treatment has caused further issues with my fish because now I am seeing one of my panda corydoras looking incredibly thin and pale. The Cory also has a sunken belly and is overall very lethargic. I am currently treating with ParaCleanse (last dose is tomorrow), but the fish are flashing more since the treatment. The sickest fish (the pale cory) was even flashing today. I see absolutely no signs of external parasites - they all look great externally except for the one skinny, pale corydora. I am thinking it is either gill flukes or internal parasites, but am wondering why the ParaCleanse isn’t touching whatever is going on. 

I also have PraziPro on hand and was going to do a treatment in 2 weeks, but I am not sure if this is the best route to go. I realize that PraziPro and ParaCleanse both have praziquantil, but I have heard that praziquantil is better for gill flukes? I am a newbie that loves to do research, but I feel like I am at a total loss. I dont want to lose my Cory and I really want to figure out why my fish are flashing. 

What would be the best course of treatment? Below are my water parameters: 

Temp: 76-77

pH: 7.8

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 20-40 depending on when I do a water change. It is currently 20. 

Attached are pictures of the skinny, pale corydora. Thank you in advance!!!

Ps. The cardinal tetra in the picture has torn fins because of the newest addition of gobies who are being pretty aggressive. The aggression is going down by the day, but I am still trying to figure out what to do about it. I just wanted to add this in case someone notices and wonders what happened 🙂 

 

Edited August 18 by Klair

[Colu]

What are you feeding and how often it's very easy for Cory's to be out completed for food have you notice any rapid breathing hanging out near the surface lethargy spitting food out  white stringy poop inflamed gills red spots on the body @Klair

[Klair]

On 8/18/2024 at 5:55 AM, Colu said:

What are you feeding and how often it's very easy for Cory's to be out completed for food have you notice any rapid breathing hanging out near the surface lethargy spitting food out  white stringy poop inflamed gills red spots on the body @Klair

Thank you so much for the reply!!
 

I am feeding a mix of Repashy Bottom Scratcher, frozen bloodworms, black worms, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, and Fluval Bug Bites. I am pretty certain that she’s not being outcompeted as I have Pygmy corydoras in the tank who are all very fat and happy. I also considerably over feed because I don’t want my Pygmies to get outcompeted. This makes me need to do water changes every couple of days, which I know isn’t ideal. I am still trying to find a good balance. Maybe this is causing stress? Or could I still be under feeding? I feed every day. 
 

I notice absolutely no rapid breathing or stringy white poop. I haven’t noticed anyone hanging out at the surface except one female CPD who I think has claimed the territory as her own (she doesn’t breathe at the surface, she just hangs out up there in a branch). 
 

I do have ONE panda corydora who has red gills. They don’t look inflamed and when I showed a picture of him to my LFS owner, he said that some panda corydoras gill plates show through the scales, which I believed (maybe I was wrong for believing this). I can get a picture of that male corydora - his gills aren’t inflamed but they are always red. He is also one of the fish that tends to flash! 
 

I also haven’t noticed any red spots on anybody’s body. I am at a loss 😞 

Edited August 18 by Klair
Forgot details

[Klair]

@Colu here is a picture of the male with red gills! He’s been like this since I got him in May. From what I can tell with my current knowledge (I am newish to the hobby), I don’t notice any labored breathing! 

@Colu and here is a picture of what I would consider one of my healthy corys (but again, I’m new to the hobby so maybe I am wrong?) Does he look healthy? 

[Colu]

Redden Gills that can be caused by ammonia burn  Gill flukes or a bacterial infection of the Gill some times you can notice a slight pink or red  to the Gill plate  in healthy fish  With the sunken belly that can be caused by wasting disease for that you would want to treat with levamisole active ingredient in expel p once a week for four weeks @Klair

[Klair]

On 8/18/2024 at 11:11 AM, Colu said:

Redden Gills that can be caused by ammonia burn  Gill flukes or a bacterial infection of the Gill some times you can notice a slight pink or red  to the Gill plate  in healthy fish  With the sunken belly that can be caused by wasting disease for that you would want to treat with levamisole active ingredient in expel p once a week for four weeks @Klair

@Colu thank you for the reply. Should I finish off this last dose of ParaCleanse and then treat with Expel-P? I’ve been avoiding expel-P because I have shrimp and snails, but I can move them to my sisters tank temporarily while I’m treating with Expel-P! 

[Klair]

I must add that today, the skinny, pale Cory is moving around a lot more. I observed her swimming the glass with 2 other Corys and now she is swimming on top of my hardscape pieces looking for food! Is this a sign of her getting better?! Her outward appearance hasn’t changed, however 😞 

[Colu]

On 8/18/2024 at 5:06 PM, Klair said:

I must add that today, the skinny, pale Cory is moving around a lot more. I observed her swimming the glass with 2 other Corys and now she is swimming on top of my hardscape pieces looking for food! Is this a sign of her getting better?! Her outward appearance hasn’t changed, however 😞 

With a sunken belly it can take a while to go away even with treatment tape worms can also cause a sunken belly active ingredient praziquantel treats that it would take three full courses of treatment two weeks apart so you would treat week 1 week 3 week 5 with prazipro or  paracleanse  if your going to use levamisole active ingredient in expel p remove all your snails and shrimp and do three full courses of treatment on week 1 week 2 week 3 do a couple of large water changes and add active carbon for 48hr to remove any remaining medication before putting your snail and shrimp back in 

[Klair]

On 8/18/2024 at 5:34 PM, Colu said:

With a sunken belly it can take a while to go away even with treatment tape worms can also cause a sunken belly active ingredient praziquantel treats that it would take three full courses of treatment two weeks apart so you would treat week 1 week 3 week 5 with prazipro or  paracleanse  if your going to use levamisole active ingredient in expel p remove all your snails and shrimp and do three full courses of treatment on week 1 week 2 week 3 do a couple of large water changes and add active carbon for 48hr to remove any remaining medication before putting your snail and shrimp back in 

@Colu thank you for the response. Would you recommend the Prazi-Pro for another 2 rounds (I have it on hand), or should I just go for the big guns and get Expel-P? What are you thinking this is? Do my other fish look like they have sunken bellies to you? 
 

Again, I really appreciate your time and knowledge! 

[Colu]

On 8/19/2024 at 12:46 AM, Klair said:

@Colu thank you for the response. Would you recommend the Prazi-Pro for another 2 rounds (I have it on hand), or should I just go for the big guns and get Expel-P? What are you thinking this is? Do my other fish look like they have sunken bellies to you? 
 

Again, I really appreciate your time and knowledge! 

Could be tape worms or nematode worms You could do two more rounds of prazipro if your not seeing any improvement then you could switch over to expel p or you could do@odduck treat protocol for parasitic infections that will treat a wide range of parasites 

Edited August 19 by Colu

[Klair]

On 8/19/2024 at 3:39 AM, Colu said:

Could be tape worms or nematode worms You could do two more rounds of prazipro if your not seeing any improvement then you could switch over to expel or you could do@odduck treat protocol for parasitic infections that cover all bases 

Wow, thank you for this. I will follow this protocol and hope for the best! I appreciate your time!

[Klair]

@Colu today all but the pale panda corydoras have shortened barbels. I am stumped. I have had them for over 3 months, they are on sand, and they have never had an issue. Could the paracleanse cause this to happen? My Pygmy corydoras barbels are totally fine.

I dont see any kind of rot, they just look drastically shorter. I am so confused because those pictures that I look were taken the day I posted - today their barbels are practically gone/bent. What in the heck is going on with my panda corydoras. Do you have any suggestions on what to do?

I am sorry for tagging you, I have seen that that you are the disease guru, so I feel like my fish have the best chance with you knowing what is going on 😂

[Colu]

Paracleanse won't cause Barbel erosion. Barbel erosion can be caused by Sharp substrate wearing down the barbel or buildup of waste in the substrate or a bacterial infection your substrate looks fine do you regularly gravel vac the substrate any visible redness or cuts to the barbels @Klair

[Klair]

On 8/20/2024 at 5:43 AM, Colu said:

Paracleanse won't cause Barbel erosion. Barbel erosion can be caused by Sharp substrate wearing down the barbel or buildup of waste in the substrate or a bacterial infection your substrate looks fine do you regularly gravel vac the substrate any visible redness or cuts to the barbels @Klair

I gravel vac every water change, but I havent done a water change in about 5 days because of the ParaCleanse treatment - I plan to gravel vac and do a 30% water change when I get home from work. I don’t notice any cuts or redness to their barbels, and also dont notice any white tufts. 

 

I am wondering if the newest addition of gobies is causing issues in the tank. Maybe they bit off my poor Cories barbels? I have been feeding very very lightly during their treatment - maybe the gobies are hungry and are chewing on my cories? I also noticed a chunk taken out of one of the panda corys dorsal fins. But for all of them to be eroded within a night seems odd.

[Colu]

It's possible i have never kept gobies what species of gobie is it can you post a picture of the fish with barbel erosion @Klair

[Klair]

@Colu of course! I tried my best - it’s not the easiest because it’s feeding time lol. 

Today, the panda corydoras are breathing heavily. I am going to do a water change because I know that ParaCleanse depletes oxygen. 
 

Pale panda is still looking really bad and doing this odd wiggly thing with its body. I will post a video 

[Klair]

@Colu I can’t upload a video, but the gobies are bumblebee gobies. I’m likely going to rehome them or move them to my 20 gallon once it’s cycled 

[Colu]

From what I have read bumblebee gobies can be territorial and aggressive when kept in small numbers keeping  them in groups of 6-8 helps  to spread out the aggression what I would do is add some Indian almond leaves as they have antibacterial and antifungal properties you might have to add one leaf per gallon to get a beneficial effect that  will  help prevent secondary infection and speed up the healing process @Klair

[Klair]

On 8/20/2024 at 7:36 PM, Colu said:

From what I have read bumblebee gobies can be territorial and aggressive when kept in small numbers keeping  them in groups of 6-8 helps  to spread out the aggression what I would do is add some Indian almond leaves as they have antibacterial and antifungal properties you might have to add one leaf per gallon to get a beneficial effect that  will  help prevent secondary infection and speed up the healing process @Klair

Thank you! I have a group of 6, but I notice them getting nippy during feeding time especially. I will add some botanicals and remove them from the tank, thank you!!! 

[Klair]

@Colu woooohooo my pale corydora is finally getting its color back and NO FISH ARE FLASHING ANYMORE! Can I assume the ParaCleanse did the trick? I am going to dose another 2 rounds of antibiotics, one week apart, to ensure the fish are entirely parasite free. 
 

Since ParaCleanse seemed to work, should I forgo doing Expel P? 
 

Additionally, I only have PraziPro on hand now and was going to dose with that instead of ParaCleanse for the next 2 treatments. Do you think this would be okay or should I go out and buy more ParaCleanse and stick with that? 
 

Thanks a lot!!! 

[Colu]

You can use prazipro instead of paracleanse both treat flukes and have praziquantel as one of the active ingredients as your seeing improvement I wouldn't treat with   levamisole see how they are doing in a couple of weeks  @Klair

Edited August 23 by Colu

[Klair]

On 8/22/2024 at 8:49 PM, Colu said:

You can use prazipro instead of paracleanse both treat flukes and have praziquantel as one of the active ingredients as your seeing improvement I wouldn't treat with   levamisole see how they are doing in a couple of weeks  @Klair

Sounds great, thank you! One of my Corys did flash yesterday after a water change but I didn’t notice anyone else do it. the pale Cory has a lot more energy and is schooling again 😁 I appreciate all your feedback and knowledge! 

[Klair]

@Colu things aren't going well over here after the first dose of PraziPro on Friday - most of my fish are aggressively flashing and one of my zebra danios is spending all his time riding the filter flow due to what I would assume is irritated gills. 

The pale corydora is looking pretty bad again also. I don’t understand how they would still be flashing since there is PraziPro in the water currently - wouldn’t the supposed flukes die before being able to attach to a host?

I am at a loss and really don’t know what to do. My fish are obviously not happy and it is very sad and unenjoyable to watch them like this. I am thinking of giving up the hobby due to this whole mess. Do you have any ideas before I throw in the towel and give them to someone more experienced (if someone will even take sick fish). 

Thank you! 

[Colu]

On 8/26/2024 at 12:56 AM, Klair said:

@Colu things aren't going well over here after the first dose of PraziPro on Friday - most of my fish are aggressively flashing and one of my zebra danios is spending all his time riding the filter flow due to what I would assume is irritated gills. 

The pale corydora is looking pretty bad again also. I don’t understand how they would still be flashing since there is PraziPro in the water currently - wouldn’t the supposed flukes die before being able to attach to a host?

I am at a loss and really don’t know what to do. My fish are obviously not happy and it is very sad and unenjoyable to watch them like this. I am thinking of giving up the hobby due to this whole mess. Do you have any ideas before I throw in the towel and give them to someone more experienced (if someone will even take sick fish). 

Thank you! 

As the parasites die due to the medication you can get more flashing the medication doesn't kill the eggs that why you need to do the three courses of treatment 2 weeks apart I wouldn't give up on the hobby I keep treating with prazipro monitor the flashing shouldn't start to reduce in frequency @Klair

[Klair]

On 8/26/2024 at 6:48 AM, Colu said:

As the parasites die due to the medication you can get more flashing the medication doesn't kill the eggs that why you need to do the three courses of treatment 2 weeks apart I wouldn't give up on the hobby I keep treating with prazipro monitor the flashing shouldn't start to reduce in frequency @Klair

@Colu thank you. So do the eggs get laid inside of the fishes gills and stay in there until they hatch? I was under the impression they were in my substrate and would die immediately after hatching. Thank you for clarification!