Hi All,
So to cut the background to a shorter story.
I have a Carpintis tank, and guess what, a pair formed of the largest male and one of the females, they ruled the tank for a few weeks and chased the others around a bit but the aggression was shared and tank life moved on after all the fry got eaten (I saved some and I am growing them out)
Then he seemed to pick another female that was ready to go and within a week another batch of eggs were laid, got to wrigglers but i noticed the original female, well i think it is, was hiding down the back of the tank. She is the size of my hand (so 7-8 inch ish) and has grown up with all the others in the tank.
Seeing there was new fry and the pair dominating the tank i wasn't to worried, just assumed she was hiding. She was eating etc when i fed but shot back to the same spot.
Then after a week i realised i hadn't seen her move from that spot unless chased or for food, So i watched more closely over the next couple of days and realised she had some sort of swim bladder issue as when she swam off the bottom it was a real effort.
So i caused absolute chaos in the main tank and got her out into a 100 ltr hospital tank
From there I have scoured the internet and tried all valid solutions for swim bladder issues
Obviously always start with the simplest solution and work your way up right ?
She is still very quick to eat but only swims for food, otherwise just basically lightly bouncing on the bottom of the hospital tank.
She doesn't look uncomfortable but i am sure she must be
So from my reading , if you take digestive issues and infection out of the equation you are left with swim bladder damage which isn't treatable if the fish doesn't come good on thier own in a week or two, all you can do is provide a quite clean environment for that period of repair.
If still no better consideration must be made to euthanasia of the fish for quality of life.
So this is where i am at, probably about 4-5 weeks from initial damage
I would really like to hear of any other proven method for treating swim bladder damage if there is any
Also
I believe when considering euthanasia the most humane method is to remove the fish to a small bucket/container and lower the temperature with ice (not directly on the fish) or in a freezer till the fish passes, is that correct
This isn't some moral dilemma or ethical debate, I am sure as fish keepers we unfortunately will need to all do this at some point.
I have had fish die before but this will be the first time I will need to euthanaise one of this size so just want to think it through fully before going ahead.
Thanks in advance for any help
Cheers
So to cut the background to a shorter story.
I have a Carpintis tank, and guess what, a pair formed of the largest male and one of the females, they ruled the tank for a few weeks and chased the others around a bit but the aggression was shared and tank life moved on after all the fry got eaten (I saved some and I am growing them out)
Then he seemed to pick another female that was ready to go and within a week another batch of eggs were laid, got to wrigglers but i noticed the original female, well i think it is, was hiding down the back of the tank. She is the size of my hand (so 7-8 inch ish) and has grown up with all the others in the tank.
Seeing there was new fry and the pair dominating the tank i wasn't to worried, just assumed she was hiding. She was eating etc when i fed but shot back to the same spot.
Then after a week i realised i hadn't seen her move from that spot unless chased or for food, So i watched more closely over the next couple of days and realised she had some sort of swim bladder issue as when she swam off the bottom it was a real effort.
So i caused absolute chaos in the main tank and got her out into a 100 ltr hospital tank
From there I have scoured the internet and tried all valid solutions for swim bladder issues
Obviously always start with the simplest solution and work your way up right ?
- Hospital tank and plenty of fresh water changes etc etc ( week 1 - no change )
- Fed cooked peas - just in case it was digestive which i didn't think it was but try the simplest first ( week 2 - no change )
- Treated with Tri-Sulfa in case of bladder infection (reasonably savvy with this medication as it is generally my go to for anything bacterial) ( week 3 - no change )
She is still very quick to eat but only swims for food, otherwise just basically lightly bouncing on the bottom of the hospital tank.
She doesn't look uncomfortable but i am sure she must be
So from my reading , if you take digestive issues and infection out of the equation you are left with swim bladder damage which isn't treatable if the fish doesn't come good on thier own in a week or two, all you can do is provide a quite clean environment for that period of repair.
If still no better consideration must be made to euthanasia of the fish for quality of life.
So this is where i am at, probably about 4-5 weeks from initial damage
I would really like to hear of any other proven method for treating swim bladder damage if there is any
Also
I believe when considering euthanasia the most humane method is to remove the fish to a small bucket/container and lower the temperature with ice (not directly on the fish) or in a freezer till the fish passes, is that correct
This isn't some moral dilemma or ethical debate, I am sure as fish keepers we unfortunately will need to all do this at some point.
I have had fish die before but this will be the first time I will need to euthanaise one of this size so just want to think it through fully before going ahead.
Thanks in advance for any help
Cheers
