red bay snook.

[fishguts]

i was wandering what you guys would do? my red bay snook has swim bladder disease. when he swims his ass off he can get down to the bottom but when he stop swimming hes like a bobber and and floats straight to the top with his dorsal fin and about 3/4 inch of his back sticking out of the top of the water. i tried melaifix for the hell of it knowing it wouldnt help. from what i have read all over this site swim blatter is almost a death sentence but ive also read that a very small percentage have survived just by given them time. mine has been like this for a few weeks now and im not sure to just leave him be or to pull him out and cut his head off ending misery. not quite sure what to do here seeing this is the first case of this ive seen in my 10 yrs of fishkeeping. thanks.

[Adhlc]

Never dealt with this particular issue myself. However I hear feeding peas can help...?

[gnuisance]

Isn't there a way you can puncture the swim bladder and release the pressure allowing the fish to swim normally? I know this is risky but if your fish is suffering already it might be worth a shot.

[Camshaft Ramrod]

Peas are the only thing I know of. I have tried it on numerous goldfish with
much success. I dont know how it would be with a snook though. I don't see why it would be much different. I dont know if he'd eat them though. Hand feed him if you have to.

A needle to the gut would be last resort.

[mr-t]

my girlfriends parents used the pea trick and it sorted the fish right out (some cold water species), from what they said they are supposed to be shelled

good luck

[Red Devil]

is he still eating... ? i will move this to fish diseases and health forum..

[fishguts]

yes it he still eats floating pellets. hes not going to eat peas.

[Camshaft Ramrod]

updates?

[fishguts]

updates?
no hes still doing the same as before. wont eat peas. but eats all of his regular food that hes been on forever. im going to give it some more time and then maybe try the needle.

[perfect_prefect]

starve him a couple days to try to get him to eat the peas. he might just get hungry enough to eat them.

[mssassysan2000]

Try the peas they maybe the best thing to do.

[Morledzep]

copied and pasted from stickies in Freshwater Diseases and Health Issues (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=35)

Swim Bladder Disorder
Symptoms:
Limited signs of bloat though usually no physical damage is found, fish struggles to balance itself sometimes going “belly up” due to lack of proper buoyancy

Causes:
Often indigestion with goldfish, blood parrot cichlid and “balloon” strains becoming more vulnerable to the disorder rather than most fish species, bacterial infections, damaged swim bladder, the use of floating foods which when ingested allows entry of air to the digestive system, congenital or development causes, birth defect, sudden trauma from sudden changes in water conditions or failure to acclimatize the fish properly.

Causes can be difficult to determine although possible causes are often leaned on the use of floating foods, indigestion and damaged organs by assumption. It has long been argued that floating foods should never be used at all especially for goldfish. It is in the best interest of the safety of the fish that sinking foods be used instead of floating foods or try to squish the foods until they sink.

I’ve personally seen the crossbreed of the parrot cichlid and flowerhorn struggling to swim properly due to its balloon appearance. It will always be noted that balloon strains are rather deformed and should be avoided at all costs. Their vulnerability for this disorder renders them incapable to live a longer life span in comparison to the normal fish species.

Treatment:
Change of diet with foods containing high fiber content, fasting for several days or antibiotics. Unfortunately, there is no cure for such disorder although in some cases, the fish can recover depending on the cause of the disorder. Fish that suffer from this disorder due to sudden trauma from improper acclimatization usually will never recover at all. In this case, it is recommended to destroy the fish.



__________________

~Lupester

[Morledzep]

the peas are a very good idea, but i understand that you're not going to get a red bay snook to just eat peas..

you have a food processor or a blender? take your machine, whichever one is fine, i like the food processor better. put a cup of peeled raw shrimp, some blood worms for color, and a 1/2 cup of thawed frozen peas in. and beat it to a pulp.. "liquify' on the blender, make a paste out of it in the food processor.

on a cookie sheet, pipe out 3/8" lines of the goop and freeze it. then you can easily break off a piece and drop it in the tank, and it'll float because it's frozen and your fish will eat it because smells and tastes like meat and it has peas in it which will help him get rid of his swim bladder problem.

takes about half an hour to make, an hour (maybe 2 depending on your freezer) to freeze, another half hour to break into pieces and put into bags..

[fishguts]

i made him eat the peas but to not. was sideways today so i took him out and ended it quickly.

[TheFishJunky]

wow-that sucks!Was he big?I wanna try to start saving my skeletons of big fish and once theres only bone left-maybe try to paint it somehow with silicone and put them back in the tank as decoration.I know it sounds pretty sick but still kool in my opinion.

[wannaarro]

i made him eat the peas but to not. was sideways today so i took him out and ended it quickly.

Hey, fishguts, sorry to hear you lost your Snook. I have a great pair which have tons of personality. Very much a pair!! Can't imagine losing one . . .

[Morledzep]

sorry for your loss.. when i lost one of my big snooks i went on a "gotta have snooks" binge and bought 3 more babies.. i still need more snooks.. but i need em to be over 8"..