# Is This Swim Bladder Disease?



## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

I've had my crowntail, Candy, for a week now and I think she has swim bladder disease. At first I thought she just had a peculiar way of swimming, but now I've come to think it's more than that. Most of the time she's resting on the gravel but when she does swim higher the lower part of her back droops down. Her body's kinda at a 45 degree angle when she swims up. When she goes to the surface to breathe it looks like it's taking her all the energy she has, then when she takes a breath she will slowly sink back down to the bottom and go back to resting on the bottom. If this is swim bladder disease I've heard it's uncurable, is this true?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

It's true that swimbladder disease can be uncurable but that depends on the severity and what caused it. For instance, a fish whose swimbladder was permanently damaged by aggression or by having bloat for a long time probably can't be cured. But some fish experience swimbladder disease suddenly and with no apparent reason. My guy suddenly lost the ability to swim downward after I fed him his meal. It turned out he was constipated and a few nights in epsom salts cured him. Other fish will get swimbladder disease as a result of temperature shock - once they acclimate, they regain their buoyancy.

It's hard to say what might be causing Candy's swim problem so if you could fill out the stick that would help a lot. Also, is she eating all right and does she seem bloated? And finally, have you seen her poop?


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

Yep, pleasure fill out the sticky and included the brand of food are you feeding her.

You can try treating her with 1tsp/gal Epsom Salt (not aquarium salt-it's sold in most pharmacies including walmart) for a week and see if that helps. IMO this sounds like a birth defect, not an illness. As long as you provide for her special needs she should live a relatively normal life.


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 22 degrees celcius
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari Betta Bio-Gold Pellets, frozen bloodworms, a pea once a week
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day, 1 day of fasting a week

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Once or twice a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50-80%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: N/A
Nitrite: N/A
Nitrate: N/A
pH: N/A
Hardness: N/A
Alkalinity: N/A

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? It hasn't
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lying on the gravel, having trouble getting to the top
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A few days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? I got her a week ago and she's pretty small, so not old


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

At only 22*, she might be rather cold. Ideally you want somewhere around 26-27* so you may want to pick up a heater for her. Does she seem to be having any trouble breathing? Is she bloated at all?


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

^Agreed, your betta needs a heater. At cooler temperatures she will have more trouble digesting food which in turn can lead to constipation and chronic bloat. Try to pick up a heater asap. 

Otherwise, Hikari isn't the best food. It is high in wheats and low in meat so it is known to cause constipation, impaction and bloat. If you can, pick up a new food like New Life Spectrum or Omega One Betta Flakes. 

For now, treat conservatively with Epsom Salt at 1tsp/gal to see if there is any improvement. If there isn't don't worry too much. It sounds like it might be a birth defect.

Good luck!


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

She isn't bloated and she's been eating normally. I haven't SEEN her poo but I'm not sure. The temperature changes depending on the time of the day.


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

I'll try and get a heater for her. I'd heard some good things about Hikari, so I though it was a good choice. I don't have any Epson salt so I'll see if I can pick up some of that as well.


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

If you haven't seen poop, then she is probably bloated. Epsom salt will clear that up. It's really cheap. 



Ashleigh said:


> The temperature changes depending on the time of the day.


^this isn't a good thing. You want a constant temperature. Temperature fluctuations are stressful and increase the likelihood of your girl getting sick. Heaters prevent that so they are really important.
Good luck with her!


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

DarkMoon17 said:


> If you haven't seen poop, then she is probably bloated. Epsom salt will clear that up. It's really cheap.
> 
> 
> ^this isn't a good thing. You want a constant temperature. Temperature fluctuations are stressful and increase the likelihood of your girl getting sick. Heaters prevent that so they are really important.
> Good luck with her!


 I'll moniter the temperature changes throughout the day and let you know the results.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hikari _used_ to be good, that's why you hear good things. But they've changed their recipe so it has more wheat meal in it than fish product.


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

Turns out we already had epsom salt. Do I need to take out all the decorations and gravel before I put it in?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I don't, although they might get a little slimy.


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

How long do you reccomend keeping the salt in? I might be able to use a 1.5 gallon bowl we have for a quarantine tank.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I'd start with five days. If there's no improvement, ten days. I know OFL said you can keep them in epsom salt indefinitely. But if isn't a genetic problem like DarkMoon thinks, and she hasn't shown improvement in ten days, something else might need to be done.


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

My sister won't let me use her fish bowl so I'll just take a few of the plants out of her normal tank and put the epsom salt in that. Do I still do the regular amount of water changes or do I need to do more?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

How often are your regular changes?


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

Once or twice a week, changing around 80%


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

It sounds like a water quality issue...start by making 50% water change today and 100% tomorrow and then get on a regular water change schedule of twice weekly...1-50% and 1-100%......


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

@Oldfishlady
So you don't think there's anything wrong with his swim bladder?


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

There is something wrong with his swim bladder, but you also need to perform more water changes. More water changes and Epsom might help. Add the Epsom directly to his tank water (after dissolving it in dechlorinated water). Increase water changes as OFL advised... Good luck!


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

Woops, I called Candy a him >.< She's in a small container of dechlorinated water and Epsom salt now. The water temperature is actually more stable than I thought, about 22-24 Celsius.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Its not that I don't think its swim bladder so much as starting with the least and moving to most kinda issue.......rule out water quality and that may fix the swimming problem....


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

It may have been the water quality that made her sick, because she was fine when I first got her. She's definately gotten worse since I first noticed the symptoms, anyone know how long it'll take with the Epsom salt and daily water changes for her to get better?


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

Just thought I'd let everyone know that Candy's slightly improved, swimming a bit better now. What I think is her waste looks kinda funny though. I've been feeding her only peas.


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

I'm glad she's feeling a bit better. Peas aren't very good for bettas though... Frozen daphnia (sold at Petsmart) is a much safer option. You can use Epsom salt long term. Just keep up the water changes and epsom. 

Sorry, but I have to ask, what does her poop look like? Is it white/stringy?


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

I don't think we have a Petsmart in Australia. I'm not sure if it's poop or not because it doesn't really look anything like betta poo. It's sort of a yellowish clump thing :/


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

If you've been feeding her peas, then her waste will reflect that. I'd say it's natural for her current diet.


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

I plan on slowly getting her onto a normal diet again, now that she's improving. She's swimming much better now, only a little crooked.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

That's great! I love happy endings.


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

I know, me too! Thank you so much for your help and the others who replied to this thread. I am forever in your debt. -bows down-


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

You're welcome, but you did all the hard work.  And it's always worth it when the fishy gets better.


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## Ashleigh (May 28, 2011)

I don't really mind the work involved, I'd change her water 100 times a day if I needed to. :-D


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