Possible fungus infection? Pics added!

[Rinfish]

I recently finished cycling my tank, and happily headed over to petco (bad idea number one) to purchase some fish for my planted 10 gallon.

I got myself two cories and a dwarf gourami, settled them in last night, and went to bed (never turned the lights on in the tank, didnt want to stress them out).

Well, come to find out this morning after waking up, there is something seriously wrong with one of the cories. At first glance im thinking it's a fungal infection, as an entire one half of his face is covered in what appears to be a cottony orange mush, pics below.

More info about my tank


1~ Only one cory is sick, the other looks perfectly healthy

2~ ammonia 0ppm, nitrites and nitrates both at 0, temp has been 76-78 degrees, ph is 7.0-7.2

3~ 10 gallon tank, been set up for about two months, only added fish last night.
4~ Tetra whisper EX20 filtration

5~ 3 fish: 2 cories and one dwarf gourami.

6~ Two days before i purchased the fish I vacuumed the gravel.

7~ 24 hours just about, used the traditional one hour method of adjusting the water and slowly transferring my tank water into the bag, every 15 minutes or so

8~ Nothing new added to tank recently.

9~ Tetramin variety select food (shrimp, flakes, granules)


I should add that he has not been eating, and cant seem to open his mouth. Still active and swimming however.

 

[blert]

Looks like he is missing his "whiskers" on that side. Maybe he had an accident. The gravel looks pretty sharp and not very cory friendly, could be just the close up shot though.

 

[jpchin]

just looking over your water parameters and you have 0 nitrates? if the tank is cycled you should be showing some nitrates. are you using liquid tests? i think you should do your nitrate test again and make sure to shake the bottle number 2 for at least 2 minutes ( i know it says 1 minute but to get an accurate test shake it for 2) and then shake your test tube for another minute. wait 5 mins and get your reading. if you're using test strip you might be getting a false reading.

 

[jpchin]

sorry i forgot to say that i think blert is right. it looks like the wiskers are missing. maybe he got hurt at the pet store. wait a few days and see what happens. also it's not unusual for fish to not eat when they are first introduced into a new aquarium. hopefully in a day or two he'll perk up. i wouldn't do anything until he has a chance to settle in. sometimes we do more harm than good by treating too early when it's something that will heal on it's own. having said that water conditions are very important to aide in the healing process. as close to perfect is what you want to strive for. that's why i'm confused that you aren't showing nitrates in a cycled tank.

 

[Rinfish]

Thanks for your advice everyone! Unfortunately, he had already passed by the time I got back from the store I'm definitely thinking it is pet store related, as I picked the two of them out myself, and at that time they were highly active, healthy looking fish.

Ill definitely redo the nitrates test, as I was using a strip at the time. thanks again guys

 

[librarygirl]

If this is the first time you've added fish since cycling and you did a large water change prior to adding the fish it's possible to not have nitrates yet, so I wouldn't worry about that. Your ammonia and nitrite levels are perfect. How did you cycle the tank (ammonia, etc)?

Sorry about your fish. I agree it was probably sick when you got him. The store should take him back for credit or exchange.