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Post by hutch828 on May 22, 2011 10:12:59 GMT
Hi all One of my females is having trouble swimming. She seems healthy enough but is having trouble with her buoyancy. Does nyone have any ideas?
Paul
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Post by charliem177 on May 22, 2011 13:10:38 GMT
I read an article that said that a fish which floats or sinks usually had swim bladder disease however a fish which has trouble swimming or cant keep upright usually has something else wrong with them.
If they do have a SBD first thing is diet, fast her for a day or two and feed a deshelled, cooked pea. Unfortunately if she does have a swim bladder disease its likely that she will never fully recover. Poor diets are one of the biggest causes as well as bacteria and viral infections, so try and incorporate as many different food sorts you can as well as increasing the quality of your water. It might be useful to separate her and treat her for a week or two in a general medicated tank if the pea method doesnt work, somthing like 'fungistop' could be used. This might help if its an infection. Fish that cant swim properly have something fairly seriously wrong with them so try and treat her as soon as you can.
charlie
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Post by nataliey on May 22, 2011 13:59:07 GMT
I had a crowntail male recently that had a problem with floating on its side on the top of the tank i also noticed he had a bend in his spine. I dont know if it was SBD but he lasted well over 3 months but sadly died last week...didnt have a clue what it was, he was eating normally but the only thing he couldnt do was swim about he'd just float! =(
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Post by hutch828 on May 22, 2011 15:12:42 GMT
Mine is swimming but struggling.
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Post by charliem177 on May 22, 2011 17:43:08 GMT
i reckon its a viral or bacterial infection.
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Post by Roxane on May 28, 2011 20:37:07 GMT
Buoyancy is an incredible thing in fishes. I assume everyone knows what a swim bladder is and it's function. However the misconception is that fish gulp air and send it to their swim bladder. This is not the case. It is completely autonomous and has no connection with the fishes mouth at all. If you think about it, a swim bladder works by filling up with air to make the fish less dense compared to the water around it. As a fish dives deeper in the water, the water pressure increases making the fish 'lighter' so the swimming bladder must deflate in order for the fish to remain balanced ( and vice versa for swimming upwards ). If a fish is deep in water and wants to swim to the surface and needed to gulp air to inflate it's swim bladder, it wouldn't be able to do it! So instead the swim bladder is autonomously inflated and delayed by the absorption of gases obtained through the respiratory system, mainly via the gills. The gases are absorbed into / expelled from the swim bladder via the blood and glands. Very clever indeed!
Another fact about bettas that most people misconceive is that the labyrinth organ is how a betta breaths. Yes, but not entirely true. The bettas primary respiratory organ is still the gills. They also have a secondary organ or 'accessory organ' known as the labyrinth organ. This as you will know is a lung-like-organ that allows the fish to breath atmospheric air. Bettas usually only use their labyrinth if there is a shortage of dissolved oxygen in the water.
Roxy
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Post by Roxane on May 28, 2011 20:48:29 GMT
Back to the original problem. As Charlie said, it sounds like a swim bladder problem. I heard that high salt levels help as salinity increases water density and helps the fish to fish.
Another fact- do you know why freshwater fish cannot live in salt water? It's because they would dehydrate!
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Post by hutch828 on May 29, 2011 6:57:23 GMT
Thanks for all the advice i noticed like your ct rox she has a bend in her spine. Will try the things you have mentioned and see how she goes.
Paul
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Post by Roxane on May 29, 2011 10:03:20 GMT
Completely forgot to say my main point. If it is a swim bladder problem, try checking your water quality. Contrary to popular belief, bettas need high quality water conditions. As I said, they primary use their gills to breathe. In the wild they live in hot shallow waters where oxygen levels are low, hence the development of the labyrinth. A wide range of ph and hardness can be tolerated but polluted water cannot.
What is the temperature? Try doing a 50% water change, raising to 28-30C, add 1 tablespoon of salt per 10L of water.
Roxy
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Post by hutch828 on May 29, 2011 14:16:11 GMT
Ok will try that Rox thanks.
Paul
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Post by nataliey on May 29, 2011 15:29:44 GMT
Good luck hope she gets better soon
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Post by charliem177 on May 29, 2011 15:54:41 GMT
the thing with the bettas 'lung' is that if they do not have access to air they will drown even though it is a 'secondary' organ - hence why in transportation there is usually very little water and mostly air as this is the most important source of oxygen even if as rox says they get most of their oxygen from the water normally
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Post by hutch828 on May 31, 2011 18:43:59 GMT
She is swimming around with the other girls looking a lot better.
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Post by fuzzynicki on May 31, 2011 18:55:19 GMT
ah that's good news!
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Post by nataliey on May 31, 2011 19:13:53 GMT
thats fantastic news
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