New to the forum- Need help with my male

[OUBrook]

Hi, I just joined this forum today and I've done a bit of browsing. My male erectus may have the gas bubble disease. I've done two pouch evacs on him, but he keeps inflating the next day. I thought I saw a few white balls in his pouch, and since I'm somewhat new to this hobby, I'm not sure if they are eggs. I have a female in with him, but I've seen little signs of courting. I just have several questions:

Is it normal for an expecting daddy to get air in his pouch?

Can anyone tell me a little more about this Diamox drug? I looked at the link earlier posted to it, but I'm very weary to use something like that.

Is there a less chemical way to get him to stop inflating?

I do not have my protein skimmer running, so I know the bubbles are not from that. Any ideas why he's inflating?

Thanks for all the help!!

 

[ReefNutPA]

Inflating is normal for courting/pregnant males. Was he floating at the top and couldn't swim that you elected to do a pouch evac? If he was floating erradically and you properly did a pouch evac twice, IMO your next step is a medicated pouch flush. Before you do anything else drastic....let us know if he was floating or just inflated.

Tom

 

[OUBrook]

Yes, he was inflated and floating. I was really nervous to do my first evac, but I was afraid he'd die if I didn't. Now (it might be my imagination, but) I think I see something in his pouch... Should I stop doing the evacs in case he's carrying? How stressful is this medicated flush? Not so much on the horse, but moreso on me! Haha. Thanks for all the help. Look forward to picking ya'all's brains!

 

[JennyL]

When you did these pouch evacs, did you see bubbles being released from his pouch which would indicate air (gas) in the pouch?

Is he having trouble with bouyancy, unable to control his motions?

 

[OUBrook]

Yes, air has come out all three times. I had a friend say that he'll keep inflating until whatever is in his pouch gets out. He has problems swimming when he's really inflated. After about 3 days he can't really do much but float on the surface...
Help!

 

[JennyL]

OUBrook,

The first thing to do is check your tank carefully and make certain there are no very small bubbles that your male is taking into his pouch while displaying. If you do have these bubbles, you need to do something to defuse them.

Once you have ruled this out and the problem persists, this is Re-occuring Pouch Emphysema(PE) and this needs to be treated with a medicated pouch flush using Diamox.

What are your water perams including temp?

 

[OUBrook]

Sorry for being away so long! I checked the tank for bubbles. I didn't find anything that should cause that. All looks normal. I do notice that he spends a lot of time hanging onto the filter intake and so is close to the water coming out of the filter. I suppose this could cause that.
My water perams look okay. Nothing wrong. I know it's suggested to use Diamox, but I hope you can understand that I'm a little weary to the first time. I'd love to find another solution. He actually stopped eating for a few days and I thought that was the end of him, but he ate today and looks a little more like his normal color. He still looks like he's got air in his pouch, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him much today. I'm not sure what answers you all could offer me, but I'll sit back and take any advice you can give!

 

[JennyL]

Please specify exactly what your water perams are. What may seem ok to you may not be and could be causing problems .

Please give exact readings for Tank temp, Ammonia,nitrite,nitrate and PH.

It's very difficult to help if we don't have enough information.

If this horse needs meds and you are not willing to medicate, I'm not sure we can do anything to help. This is your responsibility to see to his proper care.

I don't mean to sound rude but it's just a little frustrating because this horse needs help.