Sterbai Cory Lethargic And Not Eating

[Chassy]

Hello!

I've been reading in your forum for some time now, and it seems I now have a question that I hope you could help me with.

I recently bought a sterbai and albino corydora from an LFS. Now, I saw that there was a dead fish in the aquarium, but stupid me, it didn't stop me from buying the two. (Slaps my head for emphasis on stupidity)

Anyway, three days have passed and I've put them in a 1 gallon quarantine tank. I do 50% water changes twice a day. I add Stress Out (I'm from the Philippines, and this is the equivalent of Stress Coat) each change and have put a small sponge filter there as well.

However, I noticed that the sterbai cory is very still all the time, and when he goes up to the surface, he's having a bit of trouble swimming up. He also hasn't been eating anything since I bought him. I think he's a bit weak since he tires easily from all the exertion. He moves minimally at the bottom, only going a couple of centimeters or inches. However, he's still upright, and he's not lying on his side.

Now my question is is this swim bladder disease? Is it okay if I put some salt in the water together with methylene blue to help him recover? I have limited medications here, and honestly, I don't want to treat him with strong medicines if I don't know what's really wrong with him. I've done that before and lost my mollies and tetras, so I'm not going to go that way again. 

By the way, he has fin damage, possibly from fish attacking him at the LFS. Apart from that, everything is NORMAL. No red blotches, no spots, no ANYTHING. The albino one is also eating like a pig and as happy as any cory should be -- good for him.

Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Byron]

Do not use salt with Corydoras.  And methylene blue will do nothing here, and is also not good with corys.  To be honest, few medications are.  Corydoras have a high sensitivity to any chemical/medication/ammonia etc. which is why treatment is so difficult at times.
 
If it is swim bladder, and I am not saying it is at all, nothing will cure it.  The sort of behaviour you describe can be any number of issues.  The best thing is to keep him relaxed, and with clean water.  Try feeding frozen or live worms if you can, just to get him eating; if successful, change back to good sinking foods (pellets, tabs, etc).
 
What is the tank substrate?  Sand is best.  And corys are shoaling fish, so always get a group, no less than five or six of a species.  This can have an impact on their behaviour and health, though I am not at all suggesting it will cause what you are seeing, but it is something to keep in mind.
 
The dead fish in the aquarium was not a good sign, but may not have been related.  Were there other corys, or just this one alone?  I'm not suggesting you go back and buy more, just wondering.
 
Byron.