Help! Panda Cory looks like a football!

[Sara]

We got 2 Panda Cories and 1 Black Phantom Tetra two weeks ago - all were living comfortably in the QT. Yesterday, since everyone looked good (except for one of the cories having a bit of a clamped fin and being a bit quieter than usual), we decided to move the three into their permanent home (10 gal with 5 Neon Tetras, 1 Black Phantom, 1 Panda Cory). We did not acclimatize them because the original QT water was taken from this tank, along with the daily 25% change water as well. The QT was also 'insta-cycled' by taking the extra sponge out of the 10 gal tank and putting it in the QT.

So after a relatively painless netting, all of the fish go into the 10 gal, but the cory I mentioned earlier is decidedly unhappy. He's settled right up against a piece of driftwood, not moving, breathing heavily and has turned a dark grey colour.

This morning, I turned the tank light on expecting a dead cory, and see that he's moving around a little, but travelling kind of like a football - spinning around as he swims and very erratic.

So my questions are:
(1) What's going on?
(2) What do I do?!? I'm afraid that trying to net him again to put him back in the QT will be too stressful for him...

I found this thread that seemed to have a similar problem, but no solution... http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=18088

TIA!

 

[Hypostomus]

I can't give you a specific on the disease it might have, but if you have a diseased fish or a fish that's acting funny in the QT *DO NOT* put it in your main tank. In fact, don't put any QT fish in your main tank while one of them is acting strangely. You must have patience. The QT is there for a reason, and by just tossing the fish into the main tank while one fish is sick you have eliminated the purpose of it.

 

[Devilishturtles]

just a quick question... The temps in the 2 tanks were very similar correct? Initial symptoms sounds like some sort of just "shock" to me, but maybe not also.

Sounds like it could be swim bladder problems, with which I have only dealt with once. A couple of questions though...
How much do you feed the fish, and how often? Does the cory look bloated in the belly at all? Also, did you test the water in the QT? You wrote that you didn't acclimate because the water was taken from your already cycled tank, but that doesn't mean that it will constantly stay the same as each other... Just a thought, let us know!

 

[Sara]

I know...I just assumed he was stressed out because there was a lot of activity around him that day. If I'd at all thought he was sick I would have kept him in the QT, but we honestly just thought that he was sleeping when we got home right before we moved him. He'd been acting totally normally when we left in the morning...

Talk about bad timing!

He's now lying on his side on the gravel...its not looking good...

 

[intensity68]

Check out this link it might help you zero in on it.

http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseases/behavioral_disorders.html

 

[Sara]

Thanks for the link, intensity68...that's definitely one to bookmark.

Well, I'm sad to say that the little cory died a few hours ago...I'm not surprised, I guess.

So my question now turns to: has anyone had experience with this? I'd like to try to figure out what it was so I can have a better handle on it should it ever happen again.

Thanks again!

 

[Allivymar]

There are a number of things which can cause whirling sort of behavior; swim bladder problems, parasites (aka whirling disease), infections of either the swim bladder or the brain, or physical damage to the swim bladder or brain. Its hard to say, without an autopsy, what the cause was, although I suspect disease; most likely a bacterial infection.