Clownfish with bloat

[Cheems]

So I made a previous post about this but it has developed to be worse and isnt comparable to how it was. My female clownfish in my 29 gallon has been floating upsidedown a lot lately and now she is just sitting in the corner upsidedown barely moving. I tried feeding frozen brine shrimp a few days in a row in order to see if it was some gas that would be passed but it has gotten worse and my clownfish is doing really bad right now. Do any of you have any ideas? I dont know if this is dropsy or a swim bladder issue but either way I want to try everything that I can in order to save her. I have a quarantine tank set up at all times, should I treat her for a bacterial infection? fungal? #fishmedic

This tank is around half a year old and the water parameters are somewhat perfect, my corals are doing great. I dont see any reason for this and if you want more exact info on my tank, my previous post about this issue had more detail.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I made a previous post about this but it has developed to be worse and isnt comparable to how it was. My female clownfish in my 29 gallon has been floating upsidedown a lot lately and now she is just sitting in the corner upsidedown barely moving. I tried feeding frozen brine shrimp a few days in a row in order to see if it was some gas that would be passed but it has gotten worse and my clownfish is doing really bad right now. Do any of you have any ideas? I dont know if this is dropsy or a swim bladder issue but either way I want to try everything that I can in order to save her. I have a quarantine tank set up at all times, should I treat her for a bacterial infection? fungal? #fishmedic

This tank is around half a year old and the water parameters are somewhat perfect, my corals are doing great. I dont see any reason for this and if you want more exact info on my tank, my previous post about this issue had more detail.

While the bloat is noticeable, it is best to view this when fish is in water and even a you tube video to see how its swimming and breathing.
Is fish eating? If so, feed it brine shrimp which will clear any blockage. If its a bladder issue, it will be up to the fish to release the air on its own which is often a slow process.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Tough to see in the photo, but the bloat seems lower down - so it isn’t a swim bladder issue. It may well be gas build up in the stomach due to bacterial action on the uneaten food. Feeding adult brine shrimp is one way to try and treat that. Food mixed with Focus and 3% Epsom salts is another. However, not knowing what caused the original blockage means that no treatment may succeed….it could be something indigestible that the fish swallowed, or maybe even a tumor.

 

[Cheems]

While the bloat is noticeable, it is best to view this when fish is in water and even a you tube video to see how its swimming and breathing.
Is fish eating? If so, feed it brine shrimp which will clear any blockage. If it’s a bladder issue, it will be up to the fish to release the air on its own which is often a slow process.

as I’ve said, I’ve already tried multiple days in a row of feeding nothing but frozen brine shrimp, I couldn’t tell if she was eating but I don’t think she was eating much.

I decided to put her in a ruby rally pro bath as I believe this is a bacterial infection due to this has been going on for quite a while and it has suddenly gotten worse, this is a video of her in the bath

Tough to see in the photo, but the bloat seems lower down - so it isn’t a swim bladder issue. It may well be gas build up in the stomach due to bacterial action on the uneaten food. Feeding adult brine shrimp is one way to try and treat that. Food mixed with Focus and 3% Epsom salts is another. However, not knowing what caused the original blockage means that no treatment may succeed….it could be something indigestible that the fish swallowed, or maybe even a tumor.

This has been going on a little while and it has suddenly gotten worse, so I am not sure what that would suggest, as said I’ve already been feeding frozen brine shrimp so I’m not sure what to do at this point except treat for a bacterial infection

 

[vetteguy53081]

as I’ve said, I’ve already tried multiple days in a row of feeding nothing but frozen brine shrimp, I couldn’t tell if she was eating but I don’t think she was eating much.

I decided to put her in a ruby rally pro bath as I believe this is a bacterial infection due to this has been going on for quite a while and it has suddenly gotten worse, this is a video of her in the bath

This has been going on a little while and it has suddenly gotten worse, so I am not sure what that would suggest, as said I’ve already been feeding frozen brine shrimp so I’m not sure what to do at this point except treat for a bacterial infection

I do not see this as a bacterial infection but ruby Rally covers an array of issue,. As stated and as jay stated, I suspect blockage and brine shrimp help along the way - Not cure this. Be careful trying treatments that do not address the cause however Ruby rally is acceptable

 

[Cheems]

I do not see this as a bacterial infection but ruby Rally covers an array of issue,. As stated and as jay stated, I suspect blockage and brine shrimp help along the way - Not cure this. Be careful trying treatments that do not address the cause however Ruby rally is acceptable

My only concern is that this has been building up for quite a while and I don’t know how she would survive that long if it was a blockage. But I am going to move her back to the main tank and see if I can get her to eat some brine shrimp

 

[MnFish1]

My only concern is that this has been building up for quite a while and I don’t know how she would survive that long if it was a blockage. But I am going to move her back to the main tank and see if I can get her to eat some brine shrimp

I am going to agree with you - and recommend treating for a bacterial issue. To me it looks like there is air in the tissue - not in the area of a swim bladder. It could be in the intestine - however, an antibiotic is low-risk and since you're already doing brine shrimp and it rapidly worsened IMHO it's reasonable to treat. To me this is a poor prognosis after looking at the video.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

as I’ve said, I’ve already tried multiple days in a row of feeding nothing but frozen brine shrimp, I couldn’t tell if she was eating but I don’t think she was eating much.

I decided to put her in a ruby rally pro bath as I believe this is a bacterial infection due to this has been going on for quite a while and it has suddenly gotten worse, this is a video of her in the bath

This has been going on a little while and it has suddenly gotten worse, so I am not sure what that would suggest, as said I’ve already been feeding frozen brine shrimp so I’m not sure what to do at this point except treat for a bacterial infection

As I mentioned, internal bacterial infections in the gut can produce gas like this. However, antibiotic baths in the water do not treat internal bacteria very well. Also, ruby reef is not a very powerful antibiotic - but fingers crossed!

 

[Uncle99]

Trapped spawn?

 

[Cheems]

I am going to agree with you - and recommend treating for a bacterial issue. To me it looks like there is air in the tissue - not in the area of a swim bladder. It could be in the intestine - however, an antibiotic is low-risk and since you're already doing brine shrimp and it rapidly worsened IMHO it's reasonable to treat. To me this is a poor prognosis after looking at the video.

I feel the same way, and I am not sure where the infection would be but I’m not very good at treating internal infections.

As I mentioned, internal bacterial infections in the gut can produce gas like this. However, antibiotic baths in the water do not treat internal bacteria very well. Also, ruby reef is not a very powerful antibiotic - but fingers crossed!

What would you recommend instead of ruby rally pro? The only bacterial related medications I have on hand are methylene blue and ruby rally pro. If there is something I could preferably get in person at petco or petsmart that would be best as the only lfs really isn’t very good and only carries a few medications

So far I’m thinking a combination of metroplex+kanaplex+focus because I’ve heard that’s good for bacterial issues but I really don’t know what would be best here

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I feel the same way, and I am not sure where the infection would be but I’m not very good at treating internal infections.

What would you recommend instead of ruby rally pro? The only bacterial related medications I have on hand are methylene blue and ruby rally pro. If there is something I could preferably get in person at petco or petsmart that would be best as the only lfs really isn’t very good and only carries a few medications

So far I’m thinking a combination of metroplex+kanaplex+focus because I’ve heard that’s good for bacterial issues but I really don’t know what would be best here

The fish isn’t eating very well, right? Oral meds won’t work very well then.

Mixing focus/kanamycin/metro without accurate dosing should not be done. That idea has been pushed out there, but it’s bad advice. Metronidazole needs to be fed on a 1% by weight basis, and kanamycin is fed based on the fish’s weight!

I think that antibiotics like neomycin or kanamycin would be your best bet, but the prognosis is poor. Marine fish drink seawater continuously, so get the antibiotic that way.

 

[Cheems]

The fish isn’t eating very well, right? Oral meds won’t work very well then.

Mixing focus/kanamycin/metro without accurate dosing should not be done. That idea has been pushed out there, but it’s bad advice. Metronidazole needs to be fed on a 1% by weight basis, and kanamycin is fed based on the fish’s weight!

I think that antibiotics like neomycin or kanamycin would be your best bet, but the prognosis is poor. Marine fish drink seawater continuously, so get the antibiotic that way.

Interesting, I think I’m going to quarantine and treat with kanaplex only then. Also yeah, she isn’t eating great. I also might be imagining it because I’m observing her a lot more but I feel as if she has perked up a bit since the ruby rally pro bath yesterday.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Interesting, I think I’m going to quarantine and treat with kanaplex only then. Also yeah, she isn’t eating great. I also might be imagining it because I’m observing her a lot more but I feel as if she has perked up a bit since the ruby rally pro bath yesterday.

If it is a simple blockage, the fish may pass it on its own, but I just don’t think this outcome is very good here….so limited in possible treatments.