Epsom Salt for Swim Bladder

[dsm7]

I have a cherry barb with swim bladder disorder. Before going the boiled peas route, I was thinking of feeding spirulina and mysis shrimp, in addition to adding epsom salt to the water, in order to promote healthy digestion and reduce inflammation.

As far as dosing the epsom salt goes, however, I have seen a great deal of mixed advice. Specifically, I've seen each of the following dosing instructions:

• 1 tbsp / 1 gal
• 1 tsp / 1 gal
• 1 tbsp / 10 gal
• 1/8 tsp / 1 gal

For reference, I have plants in my tank and no snails (though I think these are more sensitive to sodium chloride than magnesium sulphate).

Can someone help me make sense of this?

 

[Colin_T]

I can't help with Epsom salts but are you sure the fish has a swim bladder problem?
What is the fish doing that makes you think it is a swim bladder problem?

Swim bladder problems cause fish to either float up to the surface or sink to the bottom when they stop swimming. However, air in the fish's intestine can cause them to float too. To test this, stop feeding dry food for a week and feed the fish frozen or live foods instead. If the fish stop floating up when the dry food is taken out of their diet, it was air in the intestine. If the fish continues to float after a week without dry food, it has a swim bladder issue.
There is no cure for swim bladder problems.

Most people that use Epsom salts will do it in a bucket of tank water. They add the salts and let it dissolve, then add the fish for a period of time.