The "Swim Bladder" disease problem

[Byron]

One of the most frequently mentioned disease problems is "swim bladder disease." As other members as well as myself have repeatedly stated, actual swim bladder disease is rare, and the real disease/issue is usually something else which happens to produce symptoms that appear similar, namely, the fish cannot keep itself buoyant or swim normally in the water. An article by the noted fish biologist Dr. Peter Burgess in the current PFK explains this very well.

What causes swim bladder disease?

Dr. Peter Burgess advises on possible remedies to treat fish with swim bladder disease.

www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

 

[Colin_T]

psst @Byron, fix the name up (peter andrews)

Adding to the above article, if you have a fish that sinks to the bottom or floats to the surface when it stops swimming, it might have a swim bladder problem.

If the fish floats to the surface, it can be air in the intestine. To test this, stop feeding the fish dry food for one week and feed it on live or frozen foods instead. If the fish no longer floats after a week without dry food, then the problem was air in the intestine.
If the fish still floats after a week without dry food, then it has a swim bladder problem.

If a fish sinks to the bottom when it stops swimming, it has a swim bladder problem.

There's no cure for swim bladder problems so don't buy swim bladder treatments, because they won't help.

 

[Byron]

psst @Byron, fix the name up (peter andrews)

Got it, thanks. I mentally got Chris Andrews and Peter Burgess mixed up, they are two of the authors of an excellent book on fish health. My mind is not so clear these days thanks to chemo.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Got it, thanks. I mentally got Chris Andrews and Peter Burgess mixed up, they are two of the authors of an excellent book on fish health. My mind is not so clear these days thanks to chemo.

Even on a day when your mind isn't so clear, you're still pretty brilliant Rooting for you and always have you in my prayers.
Appreciate the link to some real research! Thank you

 

[Byron]

Even on a day when your mind isn't so clear, you're still pretty brilliant Rooting for you and always have you in my prayers.
Appreciate the link to some real research! Thank you

You are indeed kind, thank you so much. It is names I have trouble with, probably a combo of aging and the drugs.

 

[itiwhetu]

Got it, thanks. I mentally got Chris Andrews and Peter Burgess mixed up, they are two of the authors of an excellent book on fish health. My mind is not so clear these days thanks to chemo.

You are doing just fine; the names don't really matter. The information is what is important.

 

[Stan510]

Thats been the main killer of my fish the last two years. Like you said,treatment went nowhere. Maybe what's needed is a way to euthanize fish instantly while not giving yourself PTSD.
External diseases are easy to cure. What happens inside is the polar opposite to cure. Always fatal and watching a fish twist for two months before it expires? Has to be a better humane way.

 

[Stan510]

Interesting thar after all these decades- no cure for distended stomachs unless it's as simple as an egg bound female. If it's the swim bladder,no cure at all. Fish medicine seems to be behind in advancement.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Interesting thar after all these decades- no cure for distended stomachs unless it's as simple as an egg bound female. If it's the swim bladder,no cure at all. Fish medicine seems to be behind in advancement.

Fish medicine isn’t profitable, dog, cat, other exotic furry and feathered pets, people will pay good money to save their pet… fish not so much. If there’s no profit, research will be slow

 

[Colin_T]

Fish medicine isn’t profitable, dog, cat, other exotic furry and feathered pets, people will pay good money to save their pet… fish not so much. If there’s no profit, research will be slow

It's also a lot harder to operate on something that doesn't breath air. And operating on the internal organs of a small fish that lives in water, well that's incredibly hard to do.