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Post by youthanize on Jan 14, 2006 19:48:33 GMT -5
My fish definately has something wrong. Though he is still quite active and swimming around he cannot seem to keep his balance, his abdomen seems swollen, and he seems to be a bit more buoyant than normal. He is eating fine and I just did a full water change today. There are no signs of fungus.
Is this just a bit of swim blatter that will go away with a few days of fasting?
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Post by amanichen on Jan 14, 2006 20:59:33 GMT -5
This is probably related to the water change. While it's not obvious, the fish's swim bladder problem is due to a sudden change in the dissolved gas in the water.
Fish take nitrogen and oxygen from the water using their gills to inflate or deflate their swim bladder to regulate buoyancy and equilibribum. A water change (especially if there's a temperature change) can significantly increase the dissolved gas in the water, which means the fish will encounter swim bladder problems.
Because the dissolved gas of your water source may vary depending on season, you can avoid this by letting your water outgas before you do a water change (let it sit out for 24 hours.) You can also perform smaller, more frequent water changes so that the dissolved gas content doesn't change as much during any single water change.
For now, don't disturb the fish -- turn off the lights and don't dump any in medications. While the cause is not food-related, I'd suggest not feeding the fish until tomorrow morning. This problem should go away in a few hours.
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Post by youthanize on Jan 15, 2006 18:00:27 GMT -5
He was back to his normal self this morning when I woke up. :-D Thanks so much for the wisdom.
(I tend to freak out when my fish get sick...)
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Post by abm on Jan 15, 2006 19:43:26 GMT -5
We all do  |
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Post by youthanize on Jan 15, 2006 21:57:39 GMT -5
Yeah, it's rather nice being around other people who don't think you're crazy cause you obsess over your fish.
I can't obsess over anything else...I'm allergic to everything with fur or feathers!
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Post by bort on Feb 9, 2006 3:27:16 GMT -5
This is probably related to the water change. While it's not obvious, the fish's swim bladder problem is due to a sudden change in the dissolved gas in the water. Fish take nitrogen and oxygen from the water using their gills to inflate or deflate their swim bladder to regulate buoyancy and equilibribum. A water change (especially if there's a temperature change) can significantly increase the dissolved gas in the water, which means the fish will encounter swim bladder problems. Because the dissolved gas of your water source may vary depending on season, you can avoid this by letting your water outgas before you do a water change (let it sit out for 24 hours.) You can also perform smaller, more frequent water changes so that the dissolved gas content doesn't change as much during any single water change. For now, don't disturb the fish -- turn off the lights and don't dump any in medications. While the cause is not food-related, I'd suggest not feeding the fish until tomorrow morning. This problem should go away in a few hours. Okay looking through these old posts I found this explanation for a problem with my crowntail. He is always floating and his abdomen seems swollen. Sometimes he even floats on his side. He's been like this ever since I put him in his new tank. (maybe a week now) I tried feeding him peas because I thought he was constipated but it's probably just the change in water/temperature. The good thing is that he doesn't seem to be suffering in any way. I will try fasting him and see how it turns out. I'm just worried because it hasn't gone away yet... |
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Post by Rachel on Feb 13, 2006 10:19:10 GMT -5
Okay looking through these old posts I found this explanation for a problem with my crowntail. He is always floating and his abdomen seems swollen. Sometimes he even floats on his side. He's been like this ever since I put him in his new tank. (maybe a week now) I tried feeding him peas because I thought he was constipated but it's probably just the change in water/temperature. The good thing is that he doesn't seem to be suffering in any way. I will try fasting him and see how it turns out. I'm just worried because it hasn't gone away yet... How is your fish doing? What you've described is different than what amanichen mentioned above. If it's due to the difference of dissolved gas in the water soon after a water change, the symptoms will only last for a few hours. If it lasts for days, it's another problem. What's your feeding schedule like (what/how much/how often)? |
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Post by SkiTheBerks on Feb 20, 2006 21:23:20 GMT -5
I am wondering if my male Betta has a swim bladder problem too. I can not seem to figure what is wrong and I do not want to start dumping meds into the tank.
Prior to tonight my Betta was very active. Whenever I entered the room he would come out from where he was and do the "food dance". He was always swimming around. This morning around 7am I fed him two pellets. All was well.
I came home tonight to a fish that does not seem to be quite right. He his hanging around the top of the tank with his head under the rim. He is not gasping for air. When he does swim he is kind of off balance and when he tries to swim fast it is like he is "twirling". He is eating but can not seem to get his coordination together and misses the food. When he does get it he eats and swallows.
He does not seem responsive either. I did a 1/4 water change and filter cartridge (Eclipse tank) change on Wednesday.
I tested the water using strips for aquarium a few minutes ago. The pet store chain sold me aquarium salt and Maracyn. I have BettaFix already.
The strip for Ammonia shows the color for the 0 or "ideal".
The test strip for the following:
Nitrate = looks to be between 0 and 20 ppm "safe"
Nitrite = came back clear or "safe"
Total Hardness = looked about 75 or "soft"
Total Alkalinity = looked between 80 and 120 "moderate to ideal"
PH = looked to be between 6.8 and 7.2 "neutral"
Temp 79 degrees
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Post by Rachel on Feb 21, 2006 10:32:28 GMT -5
What and how much do you feed him on a regular basis? You mentioned that you feed him pellets, what brand are they? Do you feed a variety of foods?
Is he bloated or displaying any physical symptoms?
If it's a case of swim bladder disorder, before considering any medication I would fast him for a few days. After a 2-3 days, take a small bit of the inside of a cooked pea and feed to him on the end of a flat toothpick.
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Post by SkiTheBerks on Feb 21, 2006 17:47:04 GMT -5
Mostly I feed the freeze dried bloodworms but I have been feeding a pellet or two a day and the worms. The pellets are the Hiroki Gold.
He is the same today. Before I read this, I fed him 1 worm, he struggled to get it as his balance is way off. When he did jump for it and grabbed it he went all over the place and was tumbling.
It sort of looks like his body is "bent" when he swims.
There is no physical abnormalities, like swelling, discoloration, fading, ick, etc. He looks perfectly normal.
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Post by Rachel on Feb 24, 2006 12:37:52 GMT -5
How is your guy doing a few days later?
Just to mention with the food...Hikari Bio Gold has been known to cause constipation and related problems in some bettas. This may or may not have anything to do with his buoyancy/swim bladder issues.
Otherwise, your water readings looked ok and since it happened a few days after the water change it doesn't seem like that would have necessarily contributed to his problem.
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Post by SkiTheBerks on Feb 25, 2006 15:54:25 GMT -5
Rachel, I kind of gave in and put "meds" in. I read the HB main page under diseases and eventually I found the info on "Tank Buddies" by Jungle. I went to the pet store and returned the Maracyn that I had bought. I broke one of the Tank Buddies tabs in to 1/4 pieces and took a little of the 1/4 piece off and dropped in to the 2 gallon tank. I removed the filter cartridge containing carbon, per instructions. I am using a piece of foam for fish filters. It is a sponge like piece and I trimmed it to fit. This was all done on Tuesday night around 9pm. On Wednesday I noticed an improvement and he has been getting better to the point where he swims normal and can dive to the bottom correctly. I sort of gave in to the fast. I gave it one worm on Thursday. That is all he ate, he did not want any more. Today he is swimming around the tank but has a slight struggle when turning left. I did notice he does not seem as active and responsive as he was prior to this. He used to swim (actually darted) to the front of the tank when I approached it. Now he hangs out in the back and looks and will slowly come over. He just does not seem his happy self. Perhaps it is the remnants of the meds?  He did eat three small bloodworms aggressively a few minutes ago. On Sunday I am going to do a 1/4 water change and place the filter cartridge back in. |
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Post by Rachel on Feb 27, 2006 10:19:14 GMT -5
That's great that he's shown improvement.  Out of curiosity, what specific Tank Buddies product did you use? It could be the medication that caused him to be a bit lethargic. Treating fish with chemicals can be both helpful and stressful to them. |
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Post by SkiTheBerks on Feb 27, 2006 21:16:43 GMT -5
I used the Fungus Clear. I just did a 1/2 water change tonight and replaced the filter pad I was using during the treatment with the cartridge. Those Tank Buddies must have dye as the filter pad was green.
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Out of curiosity, what specific Tank Buddies product did you use?