Red Devil swim bladder problem

[doctorbenway]

Folks,
I have a 4 year old male midas cichlid in a 75 gallon tank. For the last 2 months he's been constantly swimming sideways and upside down. Often times he floats vertically, head down, caudal fin up, almost as if it's an effort to stay horizontal. Otherwise he eats regularly and appears healthy and occupied.

It was suggested that this might be a swim bladder problem -- and my searches on the internet confirm this. Many remedies are proposed: epson salt, tetracycline hydrocloride, antibiotic food, Paragon II powder.

Has anyone successfully treated this?? What do you recomend?

Thanks!

[Boilermaker]

Hi Doc, I haven't ever seen this problem with my own fish, I do remember reading a thread where the person used a fishing bobber,fishline,and paperclip through the dorsal of an Oscar to keep it upright.
I also remember that post turned into a huge debate because others thought it was inhumane.
Hopefully someonelse will pipe in here.

[merlyn2221]

If the fish has a swim bladder issue, I would ask myself why?

Is the fish harboring an infection?
Could there be some underlying problem causing the fish to behave in this manner?
Does any other fish in the tank display this behavior?
Are there any conditions in my tank or its water that could contribute to this problem?
What is the fish's diet and overall feeding regimen?

The swim bladder is normally full of nitrogen/oxygen gases that help the fish stay afloat. Since the fish is able to control the level of gasses present in the swim bladder, there is some reason why he currently cannot.

Check this link to see if you can get any other info. You can also go to fish-disease.com and do a search.

http://www.fish-disease.com/Diseases/SwimBladderDisorder.htm

[Rudy]

Boilermaker. You got me curious. What was this about a bobber? Are you serious?

[doctorbenway]

Folks,

Here's an update for posterity. The swim bladder problem has not abated -- my fish still floats tail end up although lately he seems to be developing his own strategies for coping; e.g., wedging himself between objects in the tank.

There are no other fish in the tank for comparison and the water chemistry is great so I methodically tried different remedies. First I hoped diet was the issue -- maybe the fish was constipated? I've fed this fish an exclusive diet of Wardley's Cichlid Ten, a high protein, hard pellet food, for the past 4 years. This was simply ignorance on my part. Since then I've learned that, among other things, these pellets can expand in the digestive tract, exerting pressure which impedes proper function of the swim bladder. So to encourage the fish to eliminate any intestinal blockage, I stopped the pellets, fed it slightly crushed green peas, and added epsom salts to the tank at a 2 tsp/10 gallons. The fish did eliminate quite a bit but no real improvement over 10 days.

Parasitic infection is another cause of swim bladder disease so for the past week I've been treating the water with Paragon II, an anti-parasitic powder that claims to cure swim bladder disease -- assuming it's parasite related. I've also been feeding the fish anti-parasitic pellets (pre-soaked in water). I don't have a microscope in my apartment to analyze my water so this parasite angle is just more wishful thinking I suppose. I began last Sunday. Today is the last treatment using Paragon; I continue with the medicated pellets for another 5 days. Again no real improvement, more my imagination.

So that's where I'm at for now. I probably won't try using a bobber...

[merlyn2221]

Isn't Wardley's way too high in protein? I thought mbuna were supposed to get less than 40%. If it's the same Wardley's that I read in the store then it has like 49% protein and I would think that is too much for a staple diet.

Did you ever try the Epsom Salts? I have talked to a few people at several lfs who are knowledgable and every one of them said to try that.

Just trying to help!

I was thinking too, couldn't someone come up with some kind of a "swim brace" for a sick fish in this condition? Something weighted ever so slightly so that the fish could swim and maintain a normal upright position. (It was actually my husbands idea, but I'm the crazy one who would actually try it!)
Just wondering. :lol:

[Overawed]

Yep pellets can cause problems. Thats why I soak mine to soften them up before feeding.