Panda Cory acting weird

[vic021]

My small panda cory has been fine the last few days and was fine earlier this morning. But about 30 minutes ago i saw him in the middle of the tank start swimming up spinning around then going down and kept swimming downwards and spinning in a circle. After he did this he went back to normal staying at the bottom and eating but then about 5 minutes later he turned upside down and stayed at the bottom completely upside down and breathing hard and then starts floating up and not moving then he goes back to normal. What should I do? I have another cory in the tank and hes not acting like this and no one in the tank is sick. The only new fish in the tank are some babies the guppies had and the parameters are fine.

[mudraker]

The poor panda is obviously in terrible distress.

What are your water parameters (besides fine) exactly?

Temperature?

How big is the tank?

What kind of fish are tank mates?

What and how often do you feed the tank mates?

How often do you do a PWC? How much?

What, if any, additives are you using?

Have you added anything else new to the tank lately like driftwood, rocks, decor, etc.

How long has the tank been up and running?

Include all detail about the tank as possible.

The cory may or may not be gone already, but other terrible problems could be averted...

[Jason7894561230]

Mudraker perfect questions once these have been answered it will be better for you

[vic021]

What are your water parameters (besides fine) exactly?
ammonia 0 mg/l
ph 7.4
GH 10
KH 6
nitrite .5 mg/l

Temperature? 75-76

How big is the tank? 30 gallon

What kind of fish are tank mates? 3 adult guppies 2 small one's about 1/2 inches. 2 balloon mollies and 2 silver mollies along with plenty of fry. and 2 yo yo loaches for snails

What and how often do you feed the tank mates? I feed them once a day. Once a week i will feed frozen brine shrimp. mostly feed hickari color flakes and fanncy guppy food from there. For the corys i will toss in shrimp pellets. Also maybe once every other week i toss in a net full of fairy shirmp. Also toss is bladder snails for my yo-yos to eat about once a week.

How often do you do a PWC? How much? 25% bi-weekly

What, if any, additives are you using? Don't know what you mean so i say none

Have you added anything else new to the tank lately like driftwood, rocks, decor, etc. nothing is new

How long has the tank been up and running? about a year already

[mudraker]

Nitrite is poisonous, your reading should be 0. Not good for cory or any of the fish.

There has been a mini-cycle of some sort or you would have no nitrites in the water.(unless there is something weird like ammonia in the water you use for PWC)

How often do you test?

And what was your last nitrite reading the last time you tested?

You didn't post a nitrate reading; what is it?

Numerous factors can cause your tank to cycle or go through a mini-cycle, which is so stressful and potentially fatal to fish.

Cleaning a filter with water that is not dechlorinated, as can overfeeding, which can cause a bio-overload.

By additive, I meant dechlorinators, water conditioners, fertz. etc.

Is the cory still alive?

And I'm sorry to keep asking so many questions, but the goal is to save the cory if possible, and address problems that could effect the other fish.

[Jason7894561230]

After reading your story again that behaviour is normal mine do it all the time. They swim up to theetop for aawhile then they stay at the bottom looking for food. Or they may be wanting to get some air. Do you have a bubbler in the tank or any water irritation on the top of the tank?

[mudraker]

That nitrite problem needs to be dealt with, regardless if the upside down behavior is a normal one or a death spiral, which only Vic can see or determine exactly.

[vic021]

Originally Posted by mudraker

Nitrite is poisonous, your reading should be 0. Not good for cory or any of the fish.

There has been a mini-cycle of some sort or you would have no nitrites in the water.(unless there is something weird like ammonia in the water you use for PWC)

How often do you test?

And what was your last nitrite reading the last time you tested?

You didn't post a nitrate reading; what is it?

Numerous factors can cause your tank to cycle or go through a mini-cycle, which is so stressful and potentially fatal to fish.

Cleaning a filter with water that is not dechlorinated, as can overfeeding, which can cause a bio-overload.

By additive, I meant dechlorinators, water conditioners, fertz. etc.

Is the cory still alive?

And I'm sorry to keep asking so many questions, but the goal is to save the cory if possible, and address problems that could effect the other fish.

On my testing kit it says fish con tolerate 1.6mg/l but no higher and that anything lower then .8 mg/l is good
I test before i do water changes and about 3-4 hours after or a day after i do a PWC.
the last nitrite reading was .5 mg/l ill test again right when im done with this post.
My testing kit only has nitrite not nitrate
I use RO water to clean my filters.
I use Tetra Aqua Aqua Safe Water Conditioner and right now im useing some aquari-sol
Yes the cory is still alive but is still acting weird my other cory the albino one is fine and eating.

Originally Posted by Jason7894561230

After reading your story again that behaviour is normal mine do it all the time. They swim up to theetop for aawhile then they stay at the bottom looking for food. Or they may be wanting to get some air. Do you have a bubbler in the tank or any water irritation on the top of the tank?

Yea i have seen them do that sometimes but what he is doing now doesn't seem like hes trying to get air. Yes i have a air stone in the tank and the water is agitated.

[vic021]

Ok just did the new test nitrite reads <0.3 mg/l

[vic021]

Ok just looked at my tank and I think the cory died its on its side and just laying still. When I'm done eating ill take it out and do a PWC.

[vic021]

Ok never mind he is alive i was looking for him to catch him and saw him at the bottom looking for food and eating. What should i do to help him?

[mudraker]

Do at least a 25-40% water change daily until your nitrites and ammonia stay at 0 for several days. Do not change your filter media or clean out the filter in anyway until it is cycling properly again.

It is really irresponsibe for test kit makers to state nitrite is acceptable or safe at any level. It is less toxic than ammonia, but it is still flat out poisonous to your fish.

If you want to do yourself (and your fish) a real favor, get yourself an API master test kit. They are much more accurate and reliable than test strips or cheaper liquid drop test kits. It also includes a nitrate test, which is important to have.

An overload of nitrates can cause your tank to cycle and also creates an environment for your fish that leaves them highly vulnerable to totally preventable diseases and infections.

[vic021]

My test kit right now is tetratest laborett. I will look for a API test master kit.
And so far its been 2 days with ammonia and nitrites at 0.
Sadly i think the cory is gone he was moving around and now he's just stopped moving again I'm going to give him a little time if he doesn't move ill take him out and do a 40% water change.
Thanks for the help though really appreciate it.

[mudraker]

Here's to a New Year for you and your fish!