Swim Bladder

[ray john]

hi all need advice pls about swim bladder ? i think one of our fish have this its a male butterfly ram in my 5ft tank all other fish seem ok not sure about test results going to do that soon. it was just lying on the sand bottom on monday night so put him in a breeding trap but need to know what to treat him with ? thanks we had him about 1 year .

 

[WILDER]

Post water stats.
What do you feed the fish?
Once swim bladder has advanced hard to cure.
http/www.fishtanksandponds.net/care-main...swimbladder.htm

 

[ray john]

put stat up later as for food i use tetra pro colour morning and night .
and thanks for the link very good

 

[WILDER]

Need a better diet to many dried foods lead to constipation and swim bladder.
At the lfs you can buy frozen foods they have 5 different foods in a pack.
Also need veg in there diet like peas,broc,sproats, cucumba, lettuce, anything green really.

 

[ray john]

ok done test all same ok
ph =8.2 was 8.4 last time test at the end of aug
ammonia=0.0
nitrite=0.0
nitrate=0.0

 

[WILDER]

Very rare to have a nitrate of 0, what your tap nitrate reading, and do you use live plants.

 

[andywg]

Need a better diet to many dried foods lead to constipation and swim bladder.
At the lfs you can buy frozen foods they have 5 different foods in a pack.
Also need veg in there diet like peas,broc,sproats, cucumba, lettuce, anything green really.

Sorry, this is just rubbish.

Dried flake food is scientifically designed to be the best food for fish to have. Particularly smaller community fish. The flake food has the best mix of foodstuffs that fish require. While I am sure the fish may benefit from the occasional treat of veg, just as they will from protein, most fish will live fine on flake food all their lives. It's only the more specialised eaters that require other food. Even snakeheads can grow nicely on flakes.

Swim bladder problems are a symptom, not a disease. The cause can be any of a number of things, and as such there is no "advanced" nature to it from which the fish cannot recover.

 

[ray john]

just to let u know the ram died today R.I.P

 

[WILDER]

To many dried foods can cause swim bladder in certain fish, as it causes consitpation that why they need a varied diet of frozen foods and veg.
If we eat dry foods all the time we would have trouble going to the toilet.
R.I.P.

 

[WILDER]

Every site on the net will mention diet with swim bladder.
Look under swim bladder.
http/www.fish-disease.net/diseases.htm

 

[jayjay]

Wilder, you can't compare us to fish, we aren't even close to being the same.

I feed some of my tanks just flake and I don't see a problem they do as well as my other tanks.

Rams, won't do well in such a high pH so that's what I would blame, though I'd like to know how you have 0 nitrate aswel?

 

[WILDER]

Thats up to you, but i like to feed my fish a varied diet, I wouldn't like the same food everyday never mind a fish.
What your tap nitrate reading, and do you have live plants in the tank.

 

[andywg]

Every site on the net will mention diet with swim bladder.
Look under swim bladder.
http/www.fish-disease.net/diseases.htm

That site says that the disease is swim bladder disorder. Problems with a swim bladder are symptoms of other diseases and problems, not a problem in itself. Dried food is put together after years of research into what is best to include in fishes diets.

To quote Baensch: "80% of fish today feed their fish flake and tablet foods exclusively". The flakes are carefully balanced to ensure the right amount of fats, fibre, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and trace elements.

Are you seriously suggesting that a couple of webmasters know more about what is required for the fish than people who have invested huge amounts of time and money in getting the mix right? One problem that can occur is if the flakes are eaten too quickly after contacting water as the flakes tend to swell. This is not related to the actual content though.