SOMEONE HELP PLEASE! ASAP!

[sostoudt]

btw the peas suggestion is for fancy goldfish, because alot of time swim bladder disease in them is related hard stool stuck in there intestines, all there organs are smashed together due to body shape. i dont believe it will apply to flowerhorns, yours is probably related to bacteria or virus, probably brought on by poor water quality.



edit: i would consider going to a 24 hr walmart if i was you to look for a test kit and possible a antibiotic.

 

[Lupin]

Alrite People.
The Reasons upon me NOT giving out TANK info is because he's in a small tank.

Doesn't matter which tank it is still in. They asked for water parameters and other details. All questions in connection to this are extremely relevant.

I have been around MFk long enough to find that there are many people on here that just wanna talk Trash to someone for poor tank size and such.

If you ask me, most of the people who posted here are not talking trash on you nor calling you out rudely in any manner. There are far worse threads than this. All they are doing is showing initiative in trying to help a fellow member. This is exactly why they are posting here or you will find them avoiding the thread like plague instead. Which of the two would you like?

So i dont need that right now.
Criticism is something i really dont have time or the patience for.

With all due respect to you, most of the criticisms given here are valid, factual and relevant aside from constructive. How else will that open up truth, reality and possibilities what exactly is happening here?

But Since You All Seem To Bug Constantly About the Tank Size.
The FlowerHorn is in a 50 Gallon with a AC110 Filter.

My Water Changes Are usually 40%-50% every 2-3 Weeks.
The Tank Was Bareback, but i thought that the flowerhorn would enjoy some substrate.

The only issue I find is inadequate maintenance. It would depend how many times and how much foods you used however and that would play a big difference in your maintenance routine.

Tcarswell: "... Do Some Research...."

-i did. What i found was to feed it peas. Fish is not eating currently. Some even suggest poking it with a needle to release the trapped air. Not going to happen~

I find it rather horrible of some people to suggest puncturing the internal organs without exactly analyzing the options. I am glad you are not allowing this because that was an inappropriate suggestion.

The peas will not help much when a fish is extremely bloated. The first thing we need is water parameters which we will be waiting for. Deteriorating water conditions can damage the internal organs of the fish especially the kidneys. Assuming you are feeding your fish more than once a day, whether overfeeding or not, the maintenance itself is inadequate. By the time you do a water change in 2-3 weeks, the water conditions would become severely deteriorated. When you do a massive change, the fish's osmoregulation becomes shocked by the sudden change in its environment. When this process is repeated, the fish becomes extremely weak to the point that the damage in its organs may not be reversible anymore.

NavyGirl76: "... are you sure thats not air trapped in the fish that can be expelled? Add Epson Salt... "

-How Would One Expel Such Trapped Air? I've read somewhere online that adding Epson Salt isn't always a good idea.

Epsom salt is best done as a bath or dip rather than added to the tank.

Air is expelled only by addition of acidophilus tablets in its diet or high fiber diet.

OscarCrazy: "... Why is Your Water Level So Low? ..."

-When it first had Swim Bladder Disease, i put the water level low and it went away.

Swim bladder itself is an organ. Adding the term "disease" derives from misconception of what swim bladder exactly is. In this case, proper term has to be "disorder" to convey meaning the organ itself is not in normal function order.

When a fish gets a swim bladder disorder, the following should be looked into: genetics, ingredients of the food, quality of food and water conditions.

Navygirl76 has explained everything regarding the foods to you however I will clarify a few more points why the things she suspected, are also one of the main contributors to your fish's issue.

When a fish suffers swim bladder disorder as a result of the food, chances are good that the fish has been ingesting air aside from the food itself. In this case, floating foods should be avoided completely. Anything else that produce gas such as foods comprising mostly of starch and vegetables such as broccolis should also be avoided.

If I were you, do a total revamp on the food menu. Considering your fish is already an adult, the protein diet should not exceed more than 30% anymore. Adult fish cannot utilize the excess proteins anymore. It either gets clogged in their digestive system or expelled in vast amounts thus polluting the water rapidly. Focus on high fiber diet. If at all possible, take your time to start looking at gel recipes. Encourage your fish to take gel foods. Gel foods have multivitamins, calcium and acidophilus added although none are that compulsory depending on the dietary requirements of your fish however I advise you add all three on the gel foods as the acidophilus itself neutralizes the gas produced by bacteria lining the GI (gastrointestinal) tract as it digests the starch-based food products.

 

[buck_wildest]

I would keep doing daily water changes.... probably going to help the most, start small 20% at first maybe 20 % 2x a day, then move up to 50% a day if he makes it another week or so......this will probably be your BEST BET. you can medicate all day long, but if you dont fix the problem it will happen again and again.

i would use some anti bacterial medication, something not to harsh and start with half doses every day, then move to full dosses after a few days. remember anitbiotics take at least 7 days to start working, remove carbon. He could have a secondary infection caused from the HITH lowering his immune system. Im not good with the pet store products since i have acess to pure meds. Flagyl is used for parasites. If you can get it you can use with with anitbacterial meds also.

Not to sure about epson salt, but it is used for bloat, i believe it draws the exess water out of fish. i acctually cured a betta that had bloat with this a few years ago. along with raising the temps.

what usually causes these symptoms is bad water, usually from high nitrates, hence why everyone is telling you to get a test kit. small tanks and big fish have a problem with this.....but you can save your fish from this by uping the water change scedual to as much as you can. like 50% a week. remember start slow you cant just change 50% of the water if you havent been doing it regularly.


hey man, also dont let the morons on the WWW get you down. take care of your fish and just ignore them. we all make mistakes, just learn from them. there will always be sad people that are going to try and bring you down to there level.

even the best fish keeper here will tell you how they killed at least once.....

good luck

 

[AQUATiC213ZOMBiE]

No, No, Definitely Not At The Moment they are not trash talkin me.

But after i probably indicate tank size, they would bash on me over and over.


Lupin, i really appreciate your input.
You are a great person~

 

[kdrun76]

I would keep doing daily water changes.... probably going to help the most, start small 20% at first maybe 20 % 2x a day, then move up to 50% a day if he makes it another week or so......this will probably be your BEST BET. you can medicate all day long, but if you dont fix the problem it will happen again and again.

With out knowing KH, GH and nitrate levels.... this is probably too fast.

For the sake of argument lets presume them to be sky high. Daily 10% changes for a week will reduce them to about half of what they are right now. If they are low, a 50% reduction wouldn't be a problem, but if they were high, a 50% reduction is a MASSIVE change. Going from nitrates of 10 to 5 is great, going from nitrates of 200 down to 100 is going to put a fish into osmotic shock and cause it to have the same symptoms this flower horn is experiencing. Its not actually the nitrates that cause the problems is the GH and the DOC's. (DOC's can't be easily tested for though, so use the nitrates as a gauge of where they're at.)

If the KH is low and you drop the GH, the pH will crash. That will kill the fish. If the KH is high and you drop the GH, the pH should remain reasonably stable.

A large fish in a small tank that is not getting weekly water changes is going to have sky high nitrates (which shut down immune systems), DOC's (which causes a list of maladies too long to print) and GH. Sky high nitrates and GH can be adapted to over time, but it renders the fish unstable and any major shift in them causes swim bladder mal function, kidney shut down, neurological problems etc... the entire ionic, and osmoregulatory capacity of the fish is thrown out the window.


Once the numbers are known, larger water changes can be suggested, but with out the numbers, the only safe bet is lots of small changes. If we knew the nitrates were only at 70 or 80ppm, a daily 20% change for a week followed by 50% changes for a few days would be great. But if the nitrates are at 200+, that would kill the fish.


AQUATiC213ZOMBiE you can hate me if you like and you can continue to insult me. I am trying to help you to help your fish. I have not said anything insulting to you. No one that can't afford to spend $7 on a test kit should be keeping live fish. If the $7 test kit is too expensive, then you have other priorities that need to be met before investing in fish like flower horns. If you can afford the test kit, but are simply not testing your waters, then perhaps some coaching to help you to understand what your pets need is most appropriate. However, you said you couldn't afford to test the water. I am not speaking poorly of you, I am not insulting you. Please don't insult or threaten me. I am trying to help you, perhaps insulting me isn't the best method to get my help.

 

[AQUATiC213ZOMBiE]

ROFL- all ofa sudden huh?

at this point. i'd happily accept anyone else's advice other than yours.

"Thanks" for any information you have previously provided.

i think i will go with other people's info~

Have A Good Day.

 

[kdrun76]

at this point. i'd happily accept anyone else's advice other than yours.

"Thanks" for any information you have previously provided.

i think i will go with other people's info~

Have A Good Day.

And you continue to insult me. Best of luck to you. I do hope that you learn the needs of your fish and are able to meet them.

 

[AQUATiC213ZOMBiE]

And you continue to insult me. Best of luck to you. I do hope that you learn the needs of your fish and are able to meet them.

Not an insult buddy. Just how i feel.
Your negativity earlier is something that makes your words seem very unwanted.
Though i did Thank you for what you've shared.

I think i said it friendly enough though, didnt i?
Thank you for your gesture.



-=-=-=-=-=-=-


About to go out right now to score a test kit as well as some Erythromycin.
Anything else i should buy just in case while i am at the fish store?

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

Sorry, i do not test my waters.

Never believed in doing so.
Also, its way too expensive to keep testing waters.

Any idea?

even if you don't test the water regularly, at least test it when something is clearly gone wrong. I'll admit I don't test my water often at all, but if something were a problem with the fish, my first step is to test the water.

 

[AQUATiC213ZOMBiE]

Broken Record?


i AM GOiNG TO BUY A WATER TEST kiT.

NOW LETS MOVE ON.