GBR's equilibrium off - swim bladder?

[Todd2]

Looking at my tank right now I've noticed my GBR has gotten worse. He's having a lot of difficulty swimming and is basically floating around the bottom of my tank. His tail end seems to be more buoyant or floats up. He'll spin on his nose when *I think* he tries to turn around. He can't really control himself.

About a week ago he first started displaying the tail buoyancy symptom. But since he was eating and swimming alright I brushed that off as "his territorial stance" and didn't really think much of it. His colors even looked good.

I saw this exact same thing happen to an african cichlid at the store. However, the cichlid's case was much worse. It was practically doing back flips floating all over the tank. A couple hours later it was stiff as wood. Hopefully that won't happen to my GBR.

I've had this thing for a couple months. Water params are fine. I even did a 50% water change today. I added another GBR a couple days ago, but there hasn't been any hostility between the two.

I don't know too much about diseases so wouldn't be able to match one to the symptoms. The first thing that came to mind was the swim bladder.

If anyone has any insight to this that'd be great.

I also have a 10g setup (not cycled) that'd I'd be able to transfer him to, if need be. I suppose I could put some filter media in there from my established tank to help out w/ the ammonia.

 

[Zagz]

I would put him into a QT tank. Is he bloated at all? It does sound like a swim bladder issue. I would first try feeding some frozen peas to rule out or help constipation.

 

[Todd2]

Eh, it's gotten worse.

He has to swim straight down to keep himself from floating to the surface. I feel bad seeing him struggle like this. Would euthanasia be the best choice now or does anyone else have any insight?

Guess I'll search around the net for a little 'n try to find a solution...

 

[Zagz]

Did you try the peas? Only you can decide if euthanizing him is the right choice. I'd still try him in the qt tank and keep the water clean and you could add some epsom salt to the water to help. Swim bladder problems can be caused by parasites or bacterial infection. I would try treating him for a bacterial infection first if you have ruled out constipation.