Poor Cory :/

[saphphx]

I got 7 panda corys on 02/03/07. They had bad fungus issues so I treated them with 1/4 the dose of Mythelen Blue as directed by my local fish shop. I had 4 fish die: 1 on 02.03.07, 2 on 06.03.07, and 1 on 09.03.07. The remaining 3 healed wonderfully, though they were stained blue and lump free:

http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/BluePan ... index.html

as you can see in the above pic, all fish are fine and healthy looking except the panda corys are blue where the albino bronze corys are not. I got them together, quarinteined them together, and so on, but they're fine and all lived. Go figure.

Anyway, on 15.03.07 we moved them in with the other panda corys in our downstairs tank. On 19.03.07 he started tilting to one side and having swimming issues, so we treated the tank with half a dose of the swimbladder stuff, did a full corse and he was fine.

On 29.03.07 he started having swimming issues again, basically:

* Fish's back end started floating, had what looked like white spot
* removed and treated for white spot
* noticed white spot vanished, was sand, he went belly up
* started draining tank, and swished him gently in water without touching him as I noticed a large lump at the base of his tail
* went normal
* went belly up again
* put new water with swimbladder treatment in, started swishing again
* after a few mins he zipped off then settled down

So we chose to remove him and save treating the whole tank as everyone else seemed fine. When we got him into the hospital tank we noticed a large lump on the back of his fin. We have been treating him non stop with swimbladder medication and on 03.04.07 (I think, very early april either way) I started to treat him with Flubenol-15 as well as recomended by Ian (http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showuser=24242) in this post (http://www.fishforums.net/Panda-Cory-Em ... 87838.html). We've been treating him non stop, he seems to get better, then have swim problems, then get better back and forth. the lump hasn't changed in size, he is still blue and still swimming weird and tilting to the side or having his tail end drift up on him.

Pics from 29.03.07
http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/lb1.jpg
Red Arrow points to bulge
http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/lb2.jpg
Red arrow points to widest part of bulge, blue arrow points to base of tail, it sticks out way far...
http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/lb3.jpg
http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/lb4.jpg
Quite a dark one but shows where the tail starts and how far the bulge sticks out the best of all the photos.

Here are pics of him and his lump that I took earlier this month:

http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/fishief ... eBlue1.jpg
http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/fishief ... eBlue2.jpg

What should I do with him? Keep him on his own and keep up with the constant treatment? Put him back with his panda friends (who are all still normal and lump free, also less blue then he is)? or should I be thinking about putting him to sleep? I would guess as there has been no change that it is some sort of tumor and the tumor itself is causing the swimming issues.

Tanks he has lived in:

Tank 1 - Hospital/QT - 02.03.07 to 15.03.07
Species: 7 Corydoras panda, 5 corydoras aeneus (albino_
Size: a bit less then 1/2 inch each
Food: Live blood worm, frozen blood worm, live brine shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, sinking pellets, microworms
Feeding times: frozen or live food in the morning, pellets or frozen food in afternoon, pellets in the evening
Temerature range: 24C to 25C/75F to 77F
pH: 7.2
GH: no test kit for this test
KH: no test kit for this test
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0.2ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Water change frequency: 25%-30% weekly
Tank set up
Size: 27ltr
Substrate: sand
Filtration: built in
Furnishings: small pots to hide in
How long has it been set-up? used established water and filter from a 6 month old tank
When was the last new fish added? he was the last fish added late feb to early march
Is there a heater in the tank? no, the room is heated
Tank 2 - Panda Town II - 15.03.07 - 29.03.07
Species: 8 Corydoras panda, 6 clown loach
Size: a bit less then 2/3 inch each
Food: Live blood worm, frozen blood worm, live brine shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, sinking pellets, microworms
Feeding times: frozen or live food in the morning, pellets or frozen food in afternoon, pellets in the evening
Temerature range: 77F to 80F
pH: 7.4
GH: no test kit for this test
KH: no test kit for this test
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0.4ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Water change frequency: 25%-30% weekly
Tank set up
Size: 40ltr
Substrate: sand
Filtration: Fluval 2
Furnishings: small pots to hide in, plants
How long has it been set-up? over a year
When was the last new fish added? 15.03.07 - panda corys
Is there a heater in the tank? yes
Symptoms / Problem description: lump on tail base, whole body tilting to one side
Action taken (if any): placed him in a breeding trap in tank 3, put small pot and sand in breeding trap, and an air stone right in the trap, with a second airstone powering the sponge filter.
Medications used (if any): Treating with swimbladder treatment from 29.03.07 and added Flubenol-15 to the treatment list on 04.04.07 (give or take a day or two, can't find my sick fish record book)
Tank 3 - QT - 29.03.07 to present
Species: 1 Corydoras panda
Size: a bit less then 2/3 inch
Food: Live blood worm, frozen blood worm, live brine shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, sinking pellets, microworms
Feeding times: frozen or live food in the morning, pellets or frozen food in afternoon, pellets in the evening
Temerature range: 77F to 80F
pH: 7.2
GH: no test kit for this test
KH: no test kit for this test
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0.2ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Water change frequency: 25%-30% weekly
Tank set up
Size: 10ltr
Substrate: sand
Filtration: sponge filter
Furnishings: small pots to hide in, plants
How long has it been set-up? filter and sand from a tank that's been going for 7 months
Is there a heater in the tank? No - room heated

[shari2]

I would venture to guess that you may be right about the tumor being part of the swimming issues.
He does appear a bit pinched behind the head, but if that is due to worms the flubenol should be helping. Have you tried spraying the flubenol on food (if he is eating)?

The decision on whether to euthanize him or not is one you must make yourself. You've gone to great lengths to try to save this little dude...

[saphphx]

The decision on whether to euthanize him or not is one you must make yourself. You've gone to great lengths to try to save this little dude...

Yeah, I don't want to give up on him.

His food vanishes, though I don't see him eat. Moving him to a small (12x8x8 inch) glass tank and will leave the bottom bare and try soaking his food in the flub before feeding it to him to see if that does any good.

I just don't want him to suffer. He must be eating as he's still alive, but living on his own can't be good for him.

[LUVaLOACH]

Best of luck to ya, I love corys.

Kris

[saphphx]

Best of luck to ya, I love corys.

Thanks. Me too. I think I'll treat him for 2 weeks then put him with a few cory friends and see if he perks up.

[loachmom]

Hoping for the best for your little friend, saphphx.

[saphphx]

Hoping for the best for your little friend, saphphx.

thank you. He's unfortunatly having a really hard day it seems.

[saphphx]

Little blue took a horrible turn for the worse. I thought he was dead, scooped him into a cup and started to go to burry him and he twitched his fin, he was breathing but just, he wiggled but couldnt swim and was stuck on his side or back, gills red, fins clamped, he looked like he was in horrible pain.

9.40pm - Started the process of overdosing on Liquisil General Tonic 4mil to around 1/2 cup of water
9.44pm - Put him in fridge once he stopped trying to swim
10.04pm - no noticeable breathing.

Blessed be, Little Blue. I'm sorry I couldn't do more, and I am sorry I tried for so long and refused to let go. I hope you are reunited with your panda friends and feel much better.

It hurts me so bad to have put him down, I wish I had clove oil as I would have more confidence that he wouldn't be in pain, but I did the best I can. Will be getting some clove oil to be ready for the next time and pray there never is a next time. I love my fish, I love Little Blue. As much as it hurts me, I know it no longer hurts him.

[loachmom]

So sorry, saphphx.

[saphphx]

So sorry, saphphx.

Thank you loachmom -hugs- this is the worst part of fishkeeping..

[loachmom]

I know. It's the worst part about keeping any pet. They really get into our hearts. Even fish.

[saphphx]

yeah. I vowed after my cat went of cancer that I would never hesitate, but I made the poor fish live longer then I should have, trying so hard and so many medications, so he suffered on his own for nothing. I feel horrible.