Why Is My Panda Cory Breathing Rapidly and Not Eating?

[littlefishies]

Hi! I am new to this forum and glad to be here!

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that one of my panda cories was breathing rapidly and not eating. He was the only fish behaving this way. Since my water tested okay (current parameters below), and I read that rapid breathing can be a sign of gill flukes, I thought perhaps that was the problem and treated the tank with ParaCleanse (metronidazole and praziquantel). You treat one day, skip a day, then treat a second time. Both times, the day after the treatment, he seemed much improved, breathing normally and eating. After the treatment ended, he did well for a week, but now he's back to breathing rapidly and not eating again. I treated the tank yesterday, but he is still breathing rapidly so far today.

I'm unable to take photos, but I don't see anything wrong with his body or fins. Since he improved after each treatment during the first round of medication, I figured the medicine was helping, but now this most recent time, it hasn't made a difference, so I'm not sure what's going on.

Does anyone know what could be wrong?

Water parameters are: Ammonia 0, GH 60, KH 80, pH 7.0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20. Temperature is 76.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Struggle]

You may want to try adding a air stone if you have the ability to. I use extra air in my qt tanks especially when medicating because I’ve noticed gasping before as well.

[littlefishies]

1 hour ago, Struggle said:

You may want to try adding a air stone if you have the ability to. I use extra air in my qt tanks especially when medicating because I’ve noticed gasping before as well.

Hi Struggle, thanks for replying! Unfortunately, I don't think I have a way to do that. The pump in my tank seems to give pretty strong flow, but maybe I can try moving the nozzles around to see if I can increase the amount of aeration.