Swim Bladder Infection

[oilhands]

I have a Serpae Tetra which I have been treating for a swim bladder infection. I have been using Jungle's Fungus-Eliminator. It has been a week and he is still swimming tail down/head up. Anybody have any idea how long before I should see some results?

[Diana]

Unfortunately with a swim bladder problem you really do not know what agent is at the root of the problem. Might be bacterial, fungal, or even damage done in an argument with another fish.
Unfortunately, also, by the time the fish cannot maintain its balance, the damage is often irreversible, even if you do manage to kill the infection that may have started the problem.

I know the labeling is really weird on the Jungle product line. Is this an antibiotic?

[oilhands]

Unfortunately with a swim bladder problem you really do not know what agent is at the root of the problem. Might be bacterial, fungal, or even damage done in an argument with another fish.
Unfortunately, also, by the time the fish cannot maintain its balance, the damage is often irreversible, even if you do manage to kill the infection that may have started the problem.

I know the labeling is really weird on the Jungle product line. Is this an antibiotic?

Thanks for the response.

I think it is an anit-biotic. It says it is for Fungus & Bacteria.

So, if the fish doesn't get better what courses of action are open?

[Graeme McKellar]

Hi Oilhands, You could try Nifurpirinol which is a broad spectrum synthetic antibiotic that was designed exclusively for fish. It is very effective against internal and external bacterial infections and can be used with anti-parasitic and anti-fungal medicines. It will also kill the bacteria in your filter and tank so is better done in a Hospital Tank.
I keep some on hand justincase - I have Aquafuran which is made by a German Company called "Aquarium Munster". They are IMHO the best fish medicine manufacturers in the world.
Cheers Graeme.

[oilhands]

Hi Oilhands, You could try Nifurpirinol which is a broad spectrum synthetic antibiotic that was designed exclusively for fish. It is very effective against internal and external bacterial infections and can be used with anti-parasitic and anti-fungal medicines. It will also kill the bacteria in your filter and tank so is better done in a Hospital Tank.
I keep some on hand justincase - I have Aquafuran which is made by a German Company called "Aquarium Munster". They are IMHO the best fish medicine manufacturers in the world.
Cheers Graeme.

Thanks for the response. The question now: if the swim baldder will not heal itself after being damaged what was the point of treating him? If he is going to slowly starve to death when I take him out of the hospital tank and put him back in general population why even bother? Sigh.

[Diana]

That is a very good question, and one that each fish keeper needs to settle on their own.
I will usually choose to treat, then is recovery is possible, then there is the best possible chance. However, as I pointed out above, it is almost impossible to know what to treat for, so a broad spectrum antibiotic is often my first choice. (along with pristine water conditions, of course)

Graeme, what are the active ingredients in these products?

[iam1ru12]

You may want to go through this article at KokosGoldfish.com ->

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/Swim%20Bla ... order.html

Caused by:

1. The swim bladder is an air-filled organ which the fish uses to balance itself and swim up and down by regulating the pressure inside. If the airbladder becomes compressed, deformed or diseased the fish cannot regulate it and therefore 'loses its balance'. Fancy goldfish frequently suffer with SB problems due to their compressed body shapes; the cause may therefore be internal physical deformity. Other causes are constipation - which compresses the SB - gulping air whilst feeding at the surface or eating food with too much air inside, such as dry floating foods, Fatty Liver Disease or kidney cysts. Bacterial or internal parasitcial infections can also be involved, and egg impaction in female fish is an occasional cause.

Treatment:Initially, fast the fish for 2 - 3 days and then feed peas, lightly boiled/steamed, de-skinned and mushed (this is a cure for constipation). If this is not effective, increase the tank temperature to approx. 78-80F and add Epsom Salts - an eighth of a teaspoon per 5 gallons. If this is not effective, treat with a medicated food or a broad-spectrum antibiotic (suggestions are Medigold or MetroMed or Maracyn 1 and 2 in US, Myxazin in UK). If this is not effective, treat with an internal parasiticidal medication. If this is not effective, ask a vet to X-ray the fish to check if the swim bladder or surrounding organs are physically deformed or if the swim bladder is over-inflated; sometimes this can be surgically corrected.

For fish which are sitting on the bottom, it helps to reduce the water level in the tank to about half to lessen the water pressure on the fish. For fish floating at the surface, reduce the filter current if the fish is being swept around helplessly and put in plants which reach to the surface to provide the fish with some areas of gentle support. If the fish's tummy or back is constantly sticking out of the surface and is exposed to the air, coat the area with a light layer of Vaseline (petroleum jelly) to avoid it drying out and becoming sore.

Please note that sometimes it is not possible to cure chronic SBD. If the fish is obviously distressed and is completely unable or unwilling to eat then painless euthanasia might be the kindest thing for it. Most fish will deal quite well with mild SBD for long periods of time however; even completely upside-down fish usually cope for a while..

Precautions:Salt and medications affect the cycle so monitoring water quality during treatment is essential, especially if the tank volume has been reduced to half. Hand-feeding may be necessary as SBD-afflicted fish often cannot feed for themselves. Tank-mates may harrass a sick fish; if so then remove it to a hospital tank. Even after a fish has been cured of a bout of SBD, the disorder can return at any time so always pre-soak dry foods, use sinking rather than floating foods and keep the tank temp in the high 70's. Note: if tank temp is above 76F, ensure plenty of oxygenation is supplied.

*EDIT: Recent research has closely linked high nitrate levels with SBD; in many cases, 'floaty' fish were restored to normality fairly quickly when placed in nitrate-free water. It is therefore recommended to check the nitrate levels in tanks with fish suffering from SBD, and try to keep the nitrate level below 20ppm, max., at all times.

[Graeme McKellar]

Hi Diana, The Active Ingredient for Aquafuran is listed as Nifurpirinol with 1 gram containing 24 mg Nifurpirinol. There is 4 sachets each containing 500 mg with each sachet to be premixed and added to 50 ltrs of tank water. It is a powder/granulate and non active ingredients are listed as Lactose-Monohydrate and Sacharose.
Some other medicines that have the same affect but are absorbed too slowly are Furazolidone, Furaltadone and Nitrofurizone.
Some other brands of Nifurpirinol available are Prefuran by Argent and Furanace by Dainippon. Hope this helps.
Cheers Graeme.

[Diana]

Thanks, Graeme.
I know that not all products are available everywhere, but the active ingredients may be packaged under other names.

[oilhands]

So, it has been about 12 days since I treated the fish with the anti-biotic/anti-fungal medicine. I'm sad to say he just doesn't seem to be getting any better. Indeed, I sat and watched the hospital tank for about 5-10 mins every night since I posted here and the poor fish spent every second swimming (no resting) with its head pointed straight up and its tail straight down. Non-stop treading water. I can't imagine it is any kind of life to be living. Thanks for all your advice.

[chefkeith]

I had about 12 serpae tetras for a few years . It seemed that about half of them had this same problem swim bladder problem when it was there time to expire. They lasted 1 - 6 weeks swimming crazily, like they are trying not to sink to the bottom. The Serpae's are the only fish I've ever seen that has had this problem.

I though it was caused by old age. Nothing bacterial.

[tariesindanrie]

I had about 12 serpae tetras for a few years . It seemed that about half of them had this same problem swim bladder problem when it was there time to expire. They lasted 1 - 6 weeks swimming crazily, like they are trying not to sink to the bottom. The Serpae's are the only fish I've ever seen that has had this problem.

I though it was caused by old age. Nothing bacterial.

I had an elderly glass cat (Kryptopterus bicirrhis) that had this problem. Poor old devil hung in there for about a month. Toughest fish I ever saw, and I was tempted to euthanize him, but he just seemed determined to survive.

Oilhands, is the tetra still kicking?


Kate

[oilhands]

I decided to put him down. I watched him struggle in the hospital tank for another week and a half. I think the constant swimming overcame his ability to take in food. Over that week and a half he lost even more weight.

[tariesindanrie]

Darn. Sorry to hear it .


Kate