Swim Bladder Problem

[bflack]

I have inherited two goldfish in a small tank . One of them is a black big eyed fish. Sorry, I don't know much about them or what they are called. This fishes name is Joey. A few days after they came to my house Joey had a very long ribbon looking emission. He swam around for a while with this emmanating from his poop shute. It was not poop. After this long (10 inches or more) mucousy looking ribbon fell away, he began to have trouble swimming. He just seemed really heavy. I know now that his swim bladder is impared. I have tried the fasting and frozen pea remedy but he is still heavy, and sitting on the bottom. He does come to the top to eat and his appetite seems good. It has been a week since this happened. Is it possible that his swim bladder ruptured and he expelled it? Can he live without it? Is he suffering? I have read several articles but I am at a loss as to how to proceed.

 

[Redd]

I'm having a similar problem with a green/white veil-tail betta of mine. He has a bubble in his swim bladder and just floats. I push him down and he pops right back up like a cork. I've tried the pea remedy, but he doesn't even eat it, so i'd like to hear the responses you get on this post.

 

[jlk]

Hi & welcome!!! The black 'bug-eyed' fish is a black moor. You didnt describe the other fish. When you say its a small tank, exactly how big is it? Fancy goldfish need a minimum of 20gal for the first fish, 10gal for each fish after. They would need atleast a 30gal tank with alot of filtration & oxygen for them to be happy & thriving. Goldfish are prone to swimbladder issues but poor water quality can make them worse.Have you checked your levels of ammonia, nitrites, & nitrates? What are your exact readings? For food-related swimbladder issues, feeding lots of cooked, plain greens (deshelled peas, broccoli heads, zucchini, spinach, etc) regularly along with a quality sinking goldfish food (such as Hikari) can be enough to alleviate symptoms. Non-food related swimbladder issues are usually due to an internal bacterial infection or parasite issue &can be addressed with a metronizadole medicated food (such as metromeds). Unfortunately, due to the physical build of goldfish, some swimbladder issues are of a genetic/poor breeding design & can not be cured with diet or meds. Please let me know tank sz & water parameters & we can go from there!

 

[bflack]

Well thanks for your response, We repeated the fasting and peas routine and Joey is fine. He's back to normal.