Salt & Pepper Pygmy Cory is acting weird- constantly gulping for air

[DragonScales+Doubletails]

Gravel vacuum of course! Sorry my mistake
I read that they lose their barbels from an infection and if you have gravel it needs to be gravel vacced weekly.

good I was worried there for a sec

 

[outofwater]

Staying constantly near the top could be in mi limited experience; a sign of swim bladder issues... does it look like he's trying to or struggling to come back to the bottom?
I don't know whether isolation would stress or benefit him at this point. If there's no treatment yet indicated I don't see a need for that, unless he was getting bullied some spreadable disease was suspected.