New Cory catfish looking sickly

[em_18]

Hello!
I am new to having a tank and I recently purchased a Cory catfish. (I have only had my tank set up 3 days previous) and it’s looking quite ill. All of my other fish are doing well, including mg other Cory, but this one seems to be struggling to breath. The first few days I’ve had him he stuck to the top of the tank, but in the last 24 hours he’s been laying at the bottom and has only moved once. He is also taking quick shallow breaths and I noticed his fins are ‘bunching together’ for lack of a better description. Can anyone help?

 

[Aiken Drum]

There are a few reasons why your fish may not be doing so well.

If your tank is only 3 days old, it wont be cycled. What do you know about the nitrogen cycle? Do you know how to cycle a tank?

How did you acclimate your fish to the water in the tank? If the water conditions in the tank are different to what was in the bag you brought the fish home in, and you didnt acclimate them properly it could cause some shock to the fishes system and take a while to recover. In some cases this can cause fish to die.

Is there plenty of surface agitation in the water? Either from your filter or an airstone? Surface agitation oxygenates the water.

Perhaps the fish wasnt in the best of health when you bought it, and what you are seeing is the result of ill health combined with the stress of the move.

Could you let us know what fish you have and how big the tank is?

Are you in a position to test your water? pH, ammonia, nitritre and nitrate? If not i would change 50% of the water every day until you are able to test the water and we can look at getting your tank cycled.