Swim Bladder...what Do I Do Now?

[Meggie :)]

he was in his cup and every 7-10 minutes we would pour out some of his water and add some of the tank water...did that about 4-5 times (the temps in the cup and tank were the same) and then we put him in.

 

[afremont]

Salt wont really do anything for swim bladder. Fast him for a day and feed him a deshelled pea. Swim bladder issues are likely due to constipation and the pea will clear it up. Is the tank heated?

If the cause of the swim bladder problem is constipation then epsom salt is a far quicker and better remedy. A 20 minute bath in a 1tsp per litre solution often clears the blockage immediately. If the fish gets stressed then remove it early.

Why thank you. I have never heard of that as a remedy. I learned something new.

Epsom salt is apparently a pretty good laxative and works real fast. It has the added benefit of the fish not needing to eat it in order for it to work. I find that bloodworms seem to help keep the fish regular. I feed them to them once or twice a week as a treat, I try not to give them too much but some of them go wild and end up looking like they have dropsy. They're pretty high in fiber compared to flakes so they seem to have the same effect as a human stuffing down a box of high fiber raisin bran. It seems to really clean them out good. I also fast them for a day once every week or ten days.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

bloodworms seems to be what constipated mine the one time it happened, and i corrected it with a pea. i had honestly never heard of epsom salts as a rememdy, but I going to keep it in mind

 

[afremont]

Ideally you want something a bit bigger than that, like an ice cream tub (well washed and rinsed, of course).

Too funny, my favorite dip bucket is a one gallon ice cream container. It's got great proportions and has a handle and even a lid.

 

[afremont]

bloodworms seems to be what constipated mine the one time it happened, and i corrected it with a pea. i had honestly never heard of epsom salts as a rememdy, but I going to keep it in mind

Hmmm, they have pretty much the same amount of protein as flakes, just more fiber and I guess a little less fat. I too give my fish a pea once in a while just as a variation in their diet and to prevent constipation. I like to try to give them something different every day if I can, mostly just different branded flakes though. I got some flakes with garlic in them and the fish really seem to like them. I just realized that my fish eat better than I do.

 

[Meggie :)]

Okay quick question, is the salt supposed to work immediately after? How long until I start seeing results (if it is constipation)...because I just did it and he looks no better (and I did a 20% water change on his tank and fed him a bit of pea)

 

[Prime Ordeal]

If you used epsom salt the result can often be immediate. When you first bought him was he having this problem, did he look like he had the problem when he was in the shop?

And for future reference when you acclimatise fish you shouldn't remove any of the water that the fish comes in, you just keep adding small amounts of tank water. In this case you should have transferred the Betta and his water to a larger container first.

 

[Meggie :)]

Wait you talking about acclimating him initially to his new tank, right? If so, I had to dump out some of his water to do this because it was too full...

And he was like that when we bought him...we wanted to give the poor sick betta a good home

If this didn't work, what do I do now?

Thank you for all your help!