Swim bladder problem, bacteria or dropsy?

Question

I have a 180l tropical tank kept at 23c. recently some fish have been hiding under rocks or plants, when i lift the rock they have a swollen eye and cant swim stright often spining round and round, (looks like they have lost their minds!). when i come back later they are always dead.

I have noticed in some of the larger fish that have not started hiding that there skin is becoming duller and my guppys and zebra fish stomacks are becoming unusally large.

So far one zebra, silver tip tetra, platy and a molly have died with another two hiding away now.

I do a 5% water change every 4 days and had the water checked which is susposedly at normal levels. i feed fish a mixture of pellets and life food. I DO NOT believe this is a water quality issues. solutions would be appreciated.

Answer 1

It would help to know what the results of your water tests were. I wouldn't rule out poor water quality otherwise.

The swollen eye might be pop-eye, caused by a bacterial infection. The inflated stomachs can be a swim bladder disorder, but then the fish would have trouble maintaining their position in the water - they'd either have trouble getting off the bottom, or they'd tend to float, and you don't mention this. The swollen stomachs can also indicate dropsy, in which the scales may stick out, but the main symptom is the swelling because the fish can't expel water, so it "bloats".

You also don't mention how long the tank has been set up. If it's less than 2 months old, it may still be in the cycling process.

I would suggest doing a 25-50% water change just in case. The usual suggested amount for maintenance would be more along the lines of 25% each week, so at 5% every 4 days, you're well below that. You might be able to get away with 10% in an understocked or heavily planted or filtered tank, But without knowing more, I can't say that's the case here.
If the fish respond just to the water change, that may have been the only problem. If you don't see a change within 1-2 days, I'd recommend treating fo a general bacterial infection with a product like Furanace or the combination of Maracin and Maracin 2. The maracin products treat gram positive and gram negative bacteria separately, Furanace treats both. If you need to reat with antibiotics, these will affect the beneficial bacteria in the tank, so be prepared for even more water changes as the ammonia and nitrite will be present without the previous bacterial population.

Raising your temperature a few degrees may also be less stressful to the fish.

Se the links below for info on swim bladder disorder, dropsy, and pop-eye.

Answer 2

Well unfortunately the surroundings which you've got gotten provided isn't healthful for a betta. He'll now not thrive in a bowl. a million. Betta's are tropical fish. They are local to Southeast Asia the situation it is regularly hot so the Betta's preferred temperature variety is 78F-82F. Much greater than room temperature generally is, above all this time of yr so an aquarium heater is critical as a rule. - When fish are saved in a temperature that is too low they are going to be lethargic, now not going to consume, and susecptible to disease. two. ALL fish saved as pets will have got to have filtration. A clear out now not so much amazing aerates the water, nevertheless it is accountable for the holiday down of fish waste. Fish waste is given off inside the sort of ammonia that is toxic. In case you have got a cycled filtration approach priceless bacteria enhabits the media and breaks down ammonia into nitrite (which may also be deadly) and finally into nitrates which possibly plenty much less damaging and with no trouble saved at a doable stage via appearing weekly partial water changes. Three. A a million/two gallon bowl is easily too small for any fish. Many do not forget the minimal for a betta to be approximately five gallons. It offers considerable swimming discipline, is dependable to warmth, and makes for a extra steady atmosphere than smaller volumes. - additionally, bettas are identified jumpers and might soar out of exposed bowls. So a proper tank with a whole lid is foremost.

Answer 3

unfortunately the water tests don't detect diseases in the water, too many fish to have a swim bladder problem have been lost, rule out dropsy as dropsy affects the fishes scales, so really has to be some disease in the water. i keep my fish at 25c, but that shouldn't be your problem, so my suggestion is a complete water change and full clean of the tank and start fresh with new fish. Is it possible the fish arent digesting the food or pellets expanding in the stomach?

Answer 4

its obviously not dropsy or a swim bladder problem.

id say its either a bacterial problem or internal parasites (pop-eye can be a symptom of either of these).

you need to treat the tank immediately.... treat with a bacterial remedy. the best medication for bacterial/fungal problems is Pimafix (NOT melafix).. but it wont treat parasites.

if the bacterial remedy isnt working, try an internal parasite remedy (i suspect your fish have some type of fluke).

you should have started treating as soon as you noticed symptoms - since they have already developed pop-eye, it may be too late.


NOTE: 23C is NOT a tropical temperature... its not even room temperature. Tropical temperatures are typically 26-28C.
23C is fine for guppys, but not others - increase the temp to 26C - do it over a couple of days so it doesnt stress them too much.
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