Swimbladder issues

[babybetta]

One of my fishies lost his buoyancy completely for awhile. The poor thing had to pump his pectoral fins constantly to keep from sinking. He couldn't even rest at night. His stomach also looked deflated. I figured he was a goner. He looked so thin that I was sure the exhaustion would do him in.

But the little champion's still here! He's also been able to inflate his swimbladder somewhat. The hind end of his abdomen is "inflated." He still has to work harder than the others to maintain position, but he's a lot better than he was.

He never stopped eating the whole time. But because he was at the bottom of the totem pole to begin with, I'm sure being chased around doesn't help him. I tried separating him to nurse him back to health, at least make sure he was getting plenty to eat. But being away from his tankmates bothered him more than the chasing.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[maco5]

swim bladder problems

have you tried seperating him into a fry container?
that way he can still stay in the same tank and see all of his friends...

 

[Endgame319]

He may have a clog in his intestines or something. Try a blanched pea (nuke or boil a pea, cool it down, then peel the skin of and feed). Its like a laxative for fish and will clear out any constipation. If its due to some infection then antibiotics are the best route.

 

[babybetta]

hmm, well whatever it was seems to have cleared up. the little guy is almost completely normal now. i don't know if there are diseases that will cause a swimbladder to deflate and not be able to fill with air. maybe he somehow tore it and it gradually healed. i don't know if i'll ever know. i'll try to research it and maybe post what i find, if it would help someone.

 

[jonstinton]

We had this recently with a tiger barb, see post http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=24863 we werent unfortuately able to save the fish.

Can anyone suggest the best thing to do with this problem, i heard about lowering water leve, or raising the temperature, but is ther anything else that can be done too?