Dying Cory?!?!!??!

[Sami]

This is the wierdest thing..
For the past 2 days my albino Cory has been lying on her side. She is breathing.. When I try and take her out (when I think she may be dead), she wiggles away, but she floats to her one side.. When she tries and eats, her whole body looks like it wants to float and then she turns over on her back.

I have examined her closely a short while ago, and she seems to have a little red SOMETHING on her one fin.. Im not sure what this could be and im not sure if this was there yesterday.

I think she could very possibly be dying, but do you think its "contagious" to the other fish? Should I take her out NOW before anything happens??

All the other fish still look very happy and are still eating etc.

What do you think this could be??

Please help!

Thanks a mill!

[Fishnut2]

Hi Sami,
I bet that your cory is an albino paleatus. I've heard of this happening with the paleatus species before. I actually had a female that did the same thing. It's a swim bladder problem...that is probably caused from too much inbreeding. It is genetic, and not contagious. Your fish can live like that for a long time. Unfortunately; there's no cure for this that I'm aware of.
Why it happens to the paleatus species...I'm not sure. The only thing I can think of...is that some breeder, or fish farm, is inbreeding thier stock. Too many generations of brother/sister or parent/fry spawns...will start to produce genetic faults. This was common with the albino bristlenose plecos when they 1st started to appear. With them...crooked tails were a common defect. This problem has almost dissappeared entirely now...as more diverse breeding stock has become available.
Enjoy your fish...it is just physically challenged!