# Fish falls over on its side



## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I went to the pet section to get a can of moist dog food and ended up with THREE fish :shock::-?:shock:

One male has fin rot, one female my boyfriend picked out and then there is the sympathy purchase. If she lives, she will be a pretty girl. I have seen ones on AB that look like her - peach body, see through fins and some black scales here and there. Very Pretty girl. However there is something wrong with her and I am not sure what it is. She can't swim right. I dont think its SBD, its not that she floats up to the top or sinks to the bottom. She isn't really lethargic, she tries to swim around but when she does her back end kinda flops over to one side. I am wondering if she got a spinal cord injury during shipment or something. She also has trouble trying to reach the surface to get air. 

I currently have her in about an inch of water, stress coat and a pinch of AQ salt. She ate fine, her little side fins go a mile a minute but she doesn't really swim anywhere. 

advice??


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## earthworm88 (Jul 8, 2011)

it sounds possible that she may have SBD. The swim bladder sacs are on both sides of her body, and one side may have more air in it and therefore would be lopsided and flop to a side and make swimming difficult.

If you observe from above, do you see any swelling near her tail end? And is the swelling equal?

I am sure more experienced gurus here will come to your rescue. This is just something for you to think about in the meanwhile  I hope she gets well soon!


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Should I fast her for a day or two? or try epsom salt?

I didnt see any swelling but I can be wrong...


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)




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## earthworm88 (Jul 8, 2011)

What a cutie! 

great picture of the top view. You are right, I don't see any obvious swelling either, may be a slight asymmetry on the right which could be just the way she happened to position herself. 

The second picture appeared there is a "S" curve to her resting position. Is that her "normal" resting pose on the bottom? or just the shot of that instance?

Is there a bulge under her belly? 

Sorry I seem to have more questions for you than answers. If it is SBD problem, epsom salt 1 tsp/gal for 10 days can be tried to see if the condition improves. 

Hopefully this will bump your thread up so some experts can give you a definite help on this one. 

Good luck with her!


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

My rescue Chance was the same way, "S" shaped, couldnt really swim, same symptons, I thought he has SBD and treated him for it but he died two days later... Im not sure if was SBD and it just wasnt treated soon enough or i it was something all together, my guy wouldnt eat though...
Pics of Chance:










He seemed to get better:









then took a turn for the worse and I woke up to find him laying on his side on the bottom of the tank


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

She looks like she might have back issues, like my Scooter. Try her in 1 tsp of epsom salt per gallon for 10 days to see if that helps. Make sure she has a plant she can perch in. Hopefully it's an SBD thing. If it is a back problem, it's not a death sentence but it does mean she can't go into the sorority and she'll always need to be kept in a shallow tank. She looks so pretty.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

well she hasn't pooped in 24 hours, so I am hoping its a SB issue and not a back issue. She seems a little better today. I guess I am going to fast her again tomorrow and I cant find non scented epsom salt ANYWHERE :evil:

She does eat when I give her food.

She seems to only have the S thing going on when she starts to fall over. Its kinda like she is drunk and all wobbly. Its not like her spine is permently in that position.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Wow, no non-scented epsom anywhere? That's unusual. Do you have any frozen brine shrimp? When you're done fasting her, try that. Brine shrimp or daphnia help with the constipation thing. Can you get a video of her swimming?


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

There are only 2 places that would have epsom and walmart only had lavander. Maybe fred meyers will have it?

I can make a video later on today via my camera.

What's daphnia??


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

Thats what happened to Chance...
The espom salt that has no smell is usually in the medicine area, if you ask someone who works there they will help you find it.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Daphnia is water mites. You can get it frozen or freeze-dried. Brine shrimp is usually a lot easier to find (and feed). Daphnia is really small and is often used as fry food.

Definitely try to get a video. I'm curious to see how she swims because if it's similar to my guy Scooter, I might say it's a back deformity. She's so cute, it would be a real shame if she had a permanent problem.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Crap. I forgot all about the video. I'll go do that right now

ETA

she took a poop at some point and she dosent seem to drunk when she swims now


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Swimming video
http://youtu.be/HOIEASk1Vuk


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Epsom salts, 2 tsps per gallon. It looks like an SBD thing, not a back deformity. Is she bloated? Might try fasting her for a day, too.


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## earthworm88 (Jul 8, 2011)

thanks for putting up the video. To me it looks like an SBD issue. She seems to be using her caudal fin frequently to propel her upward at a 45* angle and sinks down if she stops for a moment. I think the water may still a bit too deep for her.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

yeah, that's what she has been doing today. Today when she sits on the bottom she is in a straight line. Yesterday her body had the S curve. The water was lower but I added a little more. I'm gonna fast her again tonight and try epsom salt tomorrow. 

I like how in the video you can see amaratsu swimming back and forth in the background. Neither one seems to take much notice of the other.


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