Gas bubble disease treatments

[ScooterMom]

I have a new set up with no protein skimmer. I put my first seahorse in the tank, a male H. barbouri and he must have snicked some air as he came out of the bag. He went straight to the surface and started blowing bubbles. He has gotten worse, and now just floats at the surface upside down. I can't see any air bubbles or bloating.
He has been in a diamox bath for three days now and I don't see any improvement. Any ideas?

 

[TamiW]

I don't think that the problem your describing sounds like ingested air; ingested air only is a problem in fry. Can you get a picture of how he's swimming? Upside down could mean gas in the pouch, gas in the tail, or a swim bladder issue, depending on the orientation. And you may not see bubbles, especially if it is in the pouch. Some horses are better (or worse) with dealing with air in the pouch, so in some it only takes a small amount of gas to cause buoyancy issues, in which case you wouldn't see a hugely bloated pouch.

If it is in the pouch, you may have to manually express the air before seeing any improvement; but I wouldn't try it yet until there is a clearer picture of what is happening.

Also, could you respond with your tank perimeters, (ammonia, ph, nitrite, nitrate, kh, temp, salinity); the tank history, and the source of your seahorse? I don't believe any of that is the culprit, but knowing all the background information will make assessing the problem much easier.

 

[ScooterMom]

Gas bubble disease?

Gas bubble disease?

Thanks for the reply.
My tank is a new set up. I just got the seahorses a week ago. The tank is either 25 or 28 gallons, and about 20 inches high. Here are the tank parameters:
Nitrates: <20ppm
Nitrites <.5 ppm
Alkalinity 300ppm
pH 8.1
Temperature 78F
Specific Gravity 1.022 to 1.023

He floats head down at the top of the tank and can't get down to the bottom. The female is okay and swimming normally. The diamox bath helped a little- he can swim a bit more upright but he still bobs at the surface and cannot descend. His pouch is very small. What should I do?

 

[ReefNutPA]

Where are you located? That will help determine what meds may be available and treatment options. What is available here in the US isn't readily available outside the US. Is this a CB seahorses or WC?

Tom

p.s. on a side note, your temp is too high (should be 74F MAX) and you shouldn't have any detectable Nitrites in the tank. Was this tank cycled properly?

 

[ScooterMom]

Gbd?

Gbd?

I live up in Canada. I have already turned the heat down to 74F. I tried diamox already. Do you think it is air in the pouch? The pouch is tiny. I am attaching a photo.

 

[TamiW]

Thanks for the picture. This is almost certainly a problem with the swim bladder. It may be an infection, it may be an injury. Diamox won't help.

One thing that concerns me is that your tank doesn't sound cycled. You said that the nitrite is "Nitrites <.5 ppm". It should be 0. How long has the tank been set up and running? What is the ammonia at? While I doubt this is the cause as it started immediately, an uncycled/partially cycled tank will compound matters.

Also, are you treating in tank? Medications shouldn't go directly into your aquarium as they can cause problems with your biofilter. Treatments should be done in a hospital tank. At the moment though I wouldn't really treat for anything, I would work on getting your tank stable and try to get foods to him even if it means feeding from a turkey baster or placing in a net breeder.

 

[ScooterMom]

Gas Bubble disease

Gas Bubble disease

It is a brand new set up, about 6-7 weeks old. I got the seahorses one week ago, and the problem started immediately with the male. The female is fine and eating, but she is paler yellow.
On the dipstick, the nitrate pad is whitish, slightly pink. The nitrate pad is on the lowest level. There is probably a trace of ammonia on the ammonia stick.
I already dropped the temperature to 74F. I put the male in a 1 gallon container for three days to treat him with diamox.
Now I am thinking of treating with antibiotics. What should I use? I would also like to start force feeding him, but I am afraid of hurting him. Any suggestions?

 

[TamiW]

Okay, glad to hear that the tank has been set up for a while.
Dipstick tests are highly inaccurate. I would get yourself a good liquid test; because it will be important to know what is going on with the water quality before you do anything else. And if you treat with antibiotics, you'll want to know what the hospital tank water is.

Is he eating at all if you put food in front of him? I wouldn't start force feeding unless absolutely necessary. Try live brine shrimp too since they'll swim near the top.

I have not dealt with the swim bladder issue myself other than in dwarf seahorses and some fry, which almost always has resolved itself within a week or two, but they are able to eat on their own. Because it might be an injury, I don't know that antibiotics will help. I did find this interesting post on swim bladder problems though:
http://www.seahorse.com/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,218/func,view/catid,2/id,12039/

I wouldn't attempt to use the above treatment on your own, but see if you can find a vet willing to help. Even an exotic vet who isn't specifically familiar with seahorses could probably offer some help. I have a local vet that while not a fish or seahorse expert, goes out of his way to help out and contact other vets so he can treat them. But I had to speak to several vets before I found one that could help.

 

[ScooterMom]

Seahorse improving

Seahorse improving

Good news, the little guy is looking better. :spin1::spin1:

I massaged his pouch (didn't see any air coming out) and put him in a hospital tank overnight with diamox and kanaflex. I put him back in the main tank and gave him some live brine shrimp. He ate them!
He is swimming upright and can descend to the bottom of the tank. I hope he continues to improve.

 

[TamiW]

Glad to hear he's doing okay. I'd watch for a few days for a relapse but it really sounds like he's on the road to recovery.

One important thing to note, you should never use antibiotics for less than 10 days. There is a very real risk of creating antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.