Oranda With Swim Bladder Problem

[sandra_may]

Hi,

My favourite oranda (Fishy) has been suffering from almost constant swim bladder problems for the last month or more. We normally feed a sinking pellet which caused no problems for the first few months of having her but now as soon as she eats she is suffering. I've cut right back on feeding as this is the only way to keep her upright for any amount of time. I've tried soaking the food before feeding and that doesn't help. We used medication on the tank and added salt as recommended and that helped until I fed her again and after just one feed she was bobbling about again. I've also tried a flake food but that didn't help either, just casued the same. I have been feeding frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp every few days instead of dried food and this doesn't seem to cause the problem, same as feeding peas which also helps.

Can anyone suggest anything that might help? Is it ok to feed just blood worm, brine shrimp and peas and cut out dried food altogether?? We have 3 orandas, a black moor and a ranchu and it is only this one oranda that has this constant problem. Our Black Moor (Manny) does suffer with swim bladder now and then but has since we got him and seems much more easily treated.

Thanks in advance.

Sandra

 

[mark4785]

The best thing you could do is check all of your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH) to ensure they are at suitable levels. If they are not, go about doing daily 50% water changes and cut down on feeding (especially avoid bloodworm and other natural foods; they are a more substantial source of ammonia build up. Keep to feeding them small peas without the skins. Ensure there is a reasonable amount of salt within the tank (1 teaspoon per 5-6 litres) as this will deplete the fishes stress level which is bound to be high if the water quality is inadequate.

Another solution may be to warm the water using a heater if it is very cold. There seems to be a positive correlation between very cold water and swimbladder in my opinion. Warming the water should in theory help the swimbladder issue. The temperature of the water should only be changed gradually; once source says 1 centrigade per hour to avoid causing stress to the fishes.

I hope the situation gets better

 

[sandra_may]

I tested my water this morning and these are my readings:

PH - 6.6
Ammonia - 0 -0.25 (in between)
Nitrite - 0.25
Nitrate - 0 - 5 (in between)


I think the parameters are where they should be so they can't be causing the problem. The temperature is normally around 21 - 22 degrees, thats without a heater in. I need to do a water change today so will add some more salt.

Is there anything else I can or should be doing to help?

Thanks in advance.

 

[silverrabbit]

Just to let you know that for a properly cycled tank, Ammonia and Nitrite should be at 0, and Nitrates should be something like 5-20, depending on tap water and if you have live plants

Are you using a liquid test kit or strips? Strips are really inaccurate, so if you are using them it's be beneficial if you could get your hands on a liquid kit.

 

[mark4785]

The slightest amount of Ammonia especially in it's most toxic form, NH3, is sufficient at causing issues such as swimbladder. Ammonium (NH4) is less toxic, but nevertheless it should be removed. The concentration of each type of ammonia is determined by the PH level of your water; at a PH of 7 or less only ammonium is present. If your PH is above 8 the concentration of ammonia (NH3) gets higher. So if you have tested your PH and it is above 8, I would personally purchase a PH stabiliser product or 'PH down' IF the type of fish you have can tolerate lower PH levels.

Alternatively, you could purchase a bag of charged zeolite. Place it in the aquarium and it will absorb harmful components in the water (i.e the ammonia and nitrite) in exchange for neutral components. Zeolite must not be used if salt is present in the aquarium; you will need to remove all the salt as if you were to apply zeolite in salt contained water the zeolite will not absorb the toxins, but will eject any toxins it has absorbed. A good alternative to zeolite is ultrazorb by NT labs.

Have you observed your fish (the one with swimbladder) scratching/itching itself or darting around numerous weeks/months before it began to lose its balance? If so, or if you see other fish demonstrating this behaviour, certainly consider going about lowering the toxicity level of your ammonia by altering the PH level or using a remedy to absorb it.

Hope that helped.