Swim Bladder Disease?

[hawkfish21]

What medication is best used to treat swim bladder disease? Thanks.

 

[Pandora]

To my knowledge, there is no one medication that will remedy this problem. The cases I have seen have to do with either a direct trauma, sudden shock (sudden change in environment which doesn't allow them to equilibrate properly) or sometimes, GI blockage. Time usually takes care of these issues, unless the shock is too much to recover from.

 

[hawkfish21]

He was fine at first, then it all of a sudden happened. Would a antibiotic be worth trying? Like Maracyn II?

 

[Pandora]

What exactly is he doing? When people say "swim bladder" they mean all sorts of things. I've seen people describing anything from a fish that is desperately twirling in the water, totally unable to keep upright and perform any kind of goal-directed swimming (eventually exhausting at the surface or on the bottom of the tank in an inanimate fashion) to a fish that just looks a little more bloated than usual and hangs out near the surface, but can still swim if he needs to.

 

[hawkfish21]

He lays on the bottom upside down & sometimes on his side. Breathing is normal. When I feed him, he pushes himself to the food, but he still loves to eat. All of his fins are in working order. I appreciate your help.

 

[tokitay]

Hawkfish21,

I'm facing the exact same problem with my red-headed fairy wrasse, except he has stopped eating. He's swimming on his side, in circles, etc. I've talked to my LFS, searched on RC, and posted a thread.

I have gotten no suggestions. Like you, I have moved him to a QT tank, given him an airstone (which he is in and out of constantly), and am hoping for the best.

I'm gonna hitch along in your thread and hope someone can suggest a treatment.

 

[tatoofr]

hi,
I have a watanabei angel that had this, after about a month it seemed that the air trapped inside the swim bladder worked its way out.
I dont know of any treatment.

 

[Pandora]

I'll be honest, I haven't seen a lot of cases of swim bladder problems getting better with treatment if it is due to shock or trauma. In some cases, it is a digestive issue (not really directly the swim bladder not working, but compression of it by being so bloated) and can get better once the blockage is gone, and I've seen a few rare cases just get better with rest and time... and in FW, with a bath in epsom salt, which can relieve some of the osmotic stress (but in SW, there's a different gradient, so I don't think this would work in the same way).

 

[hawkfish21]

Would an antibiotic hurt anything? If not, what would you recommend?

 

[Pandora]

Personally, I try not to use antibiotics unless necessary, for the same reasons as we don't promote them unnecessarily in people (problems with resistance, side effects can also harm considerably, risk of overdose; additionally with fish, there's the issue of what they do to the biofilter). If he's been languishing for a few days and not improving at all with rest, I think it'd be reasonable to try. It is possible to get a swim bladder infection, but this doesn't usually happen spontaneously.

 

[hawkfish21]

What would be the best medicine to use?

 

[TerryB]

It depends on the cause of the problem. It can be toxins in the water. In that case some LARGE water changes may help if you are careful about the water source. The water source can be the source of the toxin. I doubt that it is a toxin because your fish is still eating. I would try using some Focus (polymer containing an antibiotic. Focus contains nitrofurazone. You could add some Maracyn-Two (crush to powder) to the focus and put it all on the food. I would also add some Beta glucan to the food to enhnace immune function. Start it all with a LARGE wate change using well aged and aerated saltwater. Trauma, especially thermal stress can cause problems with the swim bladder. How long have you had this fish? When did the problem start? Has the fish been moved recently?

Terry B

 

[hawkfish21]

I have had the fish for 1 week now. He has been in my QT since. Problem started on day two. Where can I find these Meds? Thanks.