My Betta Fish has a swim bladder infection, how do i cure it?

Question

my betta fish is about 3 years old and has been living well with me for a while. A few moments a go i noticed that she cannot swim down . every time she tries she floats back to the top and all my sources say that she has a swim bladder infection, does anyone know how to cure a swim bladder infection?

Answer 1

This swimming problem can be caused by one of two things: constipation or an actual infection. Try fasting the fish with no food for 24 hours and get a softened green pea to feed him. Hull it first and hold it at the surface so he can eat it. it may take several tries over the course of a day for him to realize it's food, but be persistent. If the additional fiber doesn't "get things moving" and help correct the problem within a day or so, you will need to treat with antibiotics. The best method is a two pronged approach of medicated food and the right antibiotic. Medicated foods are available at better pet stores, be sure you are getting one for bacterial infections, not the anti parasite food.

Many people consider swim bladder infections to be difficult to treat becasue many antibiotics on the market for use with fish are not very effective treatments for swim bladder problems. As far as antibiotics are concerned the best choice is Furanace. After that I would use tetracycline (Maracyn TC is one brand). Treat for 10 days to 2 weeks at the dosage recommended on the package.

As a side note, ammonia nitrite and nitrate problems are important to the over all health of an aquarium and it's inhabitants, but it does not cause swim bladder problems.

MM

Answer 2

Don't feed your fish pellets, feed flakes only and when possible, pre-soak them. The pellets can swell up in the fish and result in swim bladder disease. This happened to my mom's Koi. She lost 8 fish to this. Feeding gel or live food is best. So, first, check what you are feeding your fishy. As to the present condition, there is no cure for it. Feeding medicated food, adding salt to the tank, feeding peas, and raising the temperature to 76 degrees may help but only for a short time. Eventually the fish may be unable to eat and will have to be euthanized. Or flushed. You've already fed the peas, now fast your fish some more. Fast your fish for a couple of days. Withhold all food for three or four days, and sometimes this alone will break up the impaction and return things to normal. Most fish can go a week to ten days without food and be just fine. Periodic aspiration of the swim bladder works very well. Basically, you stick a needle in the swim bladder and suck out some of the air. Not something to be entered into lightly, but does work well. This is not a cure, but a successful treatment. The head veterinarian at the Baltimore Aquarium prefers this method. Sit back and relax. Your fish will be fine :)

Answer 3

Swim bladder disease is difficult to treat. The most important thing is to keep her water parameters at prime numbers and her water in prime condition. You'll need to establish the cause and eliminate it. If it's due to wacked out water params, do a large water change in her tank to bring the numbers down to normal.

Some fish keepers advise adding some aquarium salt to the tank and other advise feeding a diet of thawed frozen peas. Simply take a small pea, thaw it in a cup of water and deshell it. Plop it in the tank for her to eat. Swim bladder disease can be caused by constipation and peas are a natural laxative for fish.

Get a good test kit and determine what you ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are and address them if needed.

Answer 4

Crushed peas are a good cure for swim bladder.


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Answer 5

Get fresh food. Fast fish for a few days. The food has gone bad.

Answer 6

I don't really know any medications. I just wanted to say sorry.

Answer 7

These links will help you, please visit them for remedy:

http://www.oneworldinternetcafe.com/betta/betta_fish_diseases2.html
http://www.aliveanimals.com/fish/betafishdisease/bettafishdisease.htm

Nemo