Swim Bladder problem??

[PaintballFan07]

Hello. One of my tetras in my community tank has a swim bladder problem bcuz it is literally swimming around in my tank light this /. if it doesnt try to swim it will sink. Wat should i do to cure him/her so it doesnt die on me? thanks for the help in advance

 

[Raechal]

I've heard swim bladder can be caused from constipation so maybe try a shelled pea. I didn't have any luck as my opaline gourami had swim bladder and died last month.

 

[SHANTYMAID]

One of my gold fish has it , but it only occures every now and again then she will swim around like normal for quite a while. Her appetite is big and she generally looks well except for when these episodes happen with her losing her balance. What i normally do is add aquatic salt to the water and that improves her condition and puts her back to normal. She has had this problem now for about 8 months, but she is still plodding on bless her. I hope your fish gets better, never give up on them its amazing how they do right them selves
Good luck Shanna

 

[PaintballFan07]

thank you for the replies. I will try to move the tetra to a 10g tank n give him some frozen shelled pea's n add a little salt.

 

[BettaMomma]

Hi - What you're describing can be caused from a few things - swim bladder, which can in turn be caused by a few things (eek!) - it can be caused by the way a fish' body is made up, and just genetic, because the body shape of the fish doesn't allow the s.b. to be shaped correctly - and also it can be caused from constipation from overfeeding, which will expand a fish's belly and cause it to make the s.b. not function properly.

Stop feeding him for a few days, then try the shelled pea method.
If the combo of taking a few days off from feeding and the pea doesn't straighten her out, your s.b. problem is from a bacterial infection and will need to be treated with meds.

 

[rdd1952]

I would agree with BettaMomma about isolating him and with holding food. I had a cory with the same problem. It happened 3 weeks in a row. The only difference was that he floated to the top rather than sink. I would give him a pea (actually put several shelled peas in the tank - all the fish got some) and he would be ok for a week and it started again. The last time, I isolated him in a breeding box (I didn't have another tank) for 3 days without food. By the 3rd day he was getting very active again. I gave him a shelled pea, left hm about another 12 hours and then put him back in with the rest. That has been a month ago and he has been fine ever since.

 

[The Mohave Kid]

I have a simalar problem with my Serpae tetra ... they seem to be working a bit hard to stay motionless.

I've read it could be caused by poor acclimation to temperature as when buying new fish. ...

Good Day ... B)

 

[rdd1952]

Tetras in general will have to "flip" their fins every so often to stay "still". At least mine do. If they seem to start floating up, sinking or tilting to the side, that would tend to indicate a swim bladder problem. My cory would have to kind of anchor himself under or against a plant leaf to stay still. Otherwise he would start to fall over sideways and float to the top.

Mohave, you said tetra as in one. I don't know if that is the case or not but tetras are schooling fish and prefer grops of 5 or more. Also serpaes can get nippy with their tankmates when in smaller groups.

 

[The Mohave Kid]

Hello rdd ...

I have three .. I would like to get more ... they are quite tuff with each other ... seem OK with other tank mates. I'm just curious as to this swim bladder condition ... they seem to have developed this early on after i purchased them ...

Good Day ...

 

[rdd1952]

My tetras love to chase each other around, especially my red eyes but as you said, they pretty much leave the other fish alone. The swim bladder or constipation thing is just something that all fish can get. Below are a couple links to information about it:


http/petplace.netscape.com/Articles/artShow.asp?artID=2551
http/bettas.fishjunkies.com/Disorders/constipation.php

As for your tetras, they would definitely be happier if you aded 3 more. In my new 75 gallon, someone had said I could put 6 each of 2 different species of tetras along with the other fish I picked out. I have decided to just make one large school of 12 of the same kind but haven't figured out which ones yet.