Sept 18, 2012 14:41:00 GMT
Katie
Normal Violet
Posts: 139
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Post by Katie on Jun 14, 2013 5:56:52 GMT
And what is the solution, Katie? I have heard this being a problem, but not sure anyone I knew ever knew there was a solution. They might have thrown away a fish still alive! It's only happened to my fish three times, but we were able to prevent it from happening again by feeding him a little less, and soaking his food before we put into his tank. Soaking his food helps because it causes it to sink to the bottom quickly, so he doesn't have a chance to suck in any air at the surface. It also makes him slow down and look for his food so he doesn't eat it too quickly. I've heard that feeding a fish peeled, thawed peas can help with swim bladder problems too, but I didn't try that lol. Sadly, I'm sure a lot of fish have been flushed or tossed because swim bladder problems. =C Although it's probably really uncomfortable for the fish, I think it just looks a lot worse than it actually is. But obviously if it kept happening there would be a cause for concern lol. Apparently it's more common in round bodied goldfish like ryukins, fantails, orandas etc.
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Sept 18, 2012 14:41:00 GMT
Katie
Normal Violet
Posts: 139
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Post by Katie on Jun 14, 2013 6:18:18 GMT
Hi Katie... How is your fish now? Is he/she continuing to turn on its side or upside down or is everything back to normal? It can be worrying when they aren't able to maintain a proper posistion in the water. As you say it is usually caused by problems with the swim bladder. This may be caused by a bacterial infection. Sometimes a careful and part water change can help but be sure to keep the water temperature the same. Also reduce the quantity of dry food offered as left over / stale food in the water doesn't help. Here's hoping all is well - they can be tricky things to treat when anything goes wrong. Good luck. My fish seems to be healthy at the moment lol. It's only happened to him three times over a long period of time, so I think mostly it was just due to the way he was eating. My mom usually feeds him and I think she may have accidentally fed him too much, but it could have easily been because he ate too quickly or sucked in too much air. Soaking his food and feeding him a little less seems to have worked for us, but there are probably other causes/solutions for swim bladder problems that I don't know of. Thanks. =) Fish are definitely a bit tricky to treat and maintain, but at least they give us obvious signs when something's wrong. =S
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Post by Learner on Jun 15, 2013 23:06:55 GMT
Pleased to hear your fish is fine! As you say... it may simply have been sucking in too much air. Do you change some of the water every now and then to keep it fresh? I used to do this every two weeks when I kept tropical fish. The trick was to change only about a 1/3rd of the water at a time and to make sure the temperature of the fresh water was the same as the water in the tank.
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Sept 18, 2012 14:41:00 GMT
Katie
Normal Violet
Posts: 139
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Post by Katie on Jun 17, 2013 4:04:11 GMT
Yeah, we change a about a quarter of the water every other week or whenever it looks like it needs some new water lol. We fill up a container with water and let it sit until it's the same temperature as his, and then we take out some of his water and put in the new water.
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