Epsom salt dosind

[Btreefing]

Read that I could dose 1 tablespoon of epsom salt to 5 gallons water. I did this in my Qt, do I do a water change after or can I just leave it?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Read that I could dose 1 tablespoon of epsom salt to 5 gallons water. I did this in my Qt, do I do a water change after or can I just leave it?

This applies to Freshwater tanks- in marine aquaria, you already have salt present

 

[MnFish1]

Epsom salt is magnesium - there is no need for it as @vetteguy53081 ) said in a saltwater tank) - as a medication

 

[Btreefing]

Fish has swimmer bladder and just trying to find my options to help it.

 

[Btreefing]

Anyone have any other ideas for swim bladder?

 

[MnFish1]

Anyone have any other ideas for swim bladder?

Swim bladder disease can be caused by an injury, infection, problems with collection, constipation, another internal tumor, etc. It often resolves on its own with no specific treatment. Some people recommend treatment with antibiotics (a broad spectrum antibiotic in a hospital tank). If there is any evidence for parasites - or internal flukes - thats also a possible option. So part of the answer - lies in 'how long have you had the fish', 'any other symptoms', any other fish sick? Any obvious injury when it arrived (Was it always like that, etc)

 

[LeftyReefer]

I don't think dosing a small amount of epsom salt to a saltwater tank is going to do much of anything. All of that is already present is saltwater.

I would think dosing something like metroplex or even General Cure would be more effective vs some unknown condition.

is the fish eating?

 

[Btreefing]

Swim bladder disease can be caused by an injury, infection, problems with collection, constipation, another internal tumor, etc. It often resolves on its own with no specific treatment. Some people recommend treatment with antibiotics (a broad spectrum antibiotic in a hospital tank). If there is any evidence for parasites - or internal flukes - thats also a possible option. So part of the answer - lies in 'how long have you had the fish', 'any other symptoms', any other fish sick? Any obvious injury when it arrived (Was it always like that, etc)

Just got the fish Saturday. Blotched Anthias, wild caught. It ate at LFS before bringing home, once home it isn't swimming well or eating. Stays in pvc pipe floating at top.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Just got the fish Saturday. Blotched Anthias, wild caught. It ate at LFS before bringing home, once home it isn't swimming well or eating. Stays in pvc pipe floating at top.

That issue is super common in this species. They are collected deep, and because the divers work fast, they are decompressed with a needle as opposed to bringing them up slowly over a day or so. Very often, the swim bladder refills, and they float at the surface in aquariums. Shipping them by air (in lower pressure conditions) causes the issue to become worse. There isn't any treatment for this since there isn't any disease organism involved. I had made a pressure tank years ago that would resolve the problem, but when I bled the pressure off, it would return. Using a needle to draw off the extra gas also fails. They do sometimes recover on their own in time. If it is in a quarantine tank, you might be able to reduce the symptoms by lowering the salinity, which in turn would lower the buoyancy of the fish - but only by about 15% if you went from 1.025 to 1.020

Jay

 

[Btreefing]

So these little guys could handle 1.020 fine?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So these little guys could handle 1.020 fine?

Yes, the net result would be to reduce the stress to the fish a bit, as well as reduce the positive floatation a little. This species does not do well in full hyposalinity though (below 1.012). I would also keep the lights down around ambient levels - just enough to see the fish well.

Of course, there can be other underlying factors in play here. Is the fish eating?


Jay

 

[Dom]

That issue is super common in this species. They are collected deep, and because the divers work fast, they are decompressed with a needle as opposed to bringing them up slowly over a day or so. Very often, the swim bladder refills, and they float at the surface in aquariums. Shipping them by air (in lower pressure conditions) causes the issue to become worse. There isn't any treatment for this since there isn't any disease organism involved. I had made a pressure tank years ago that would resolve the problem, but when I bled the pressure off, it would return. Using a needle to draw off the extra gas also fails. They do sometimes recover on their own in time. If it is in a quarantine tank, you might be able to reduce the symptoms by lowering the salinity, which in turn would lower the buoyancy of the fish - but only by about 15% if you went from 1.025 to 1.020

Jay

@Jay Hemdal - I'd like to hear more about your pressure tank build!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

@Jay Hemdal - I'd like to hear more about your pressure tank build!

There is a picture of the device in this article:

Aquarium Fish: The ‘Eyes’ Have it: A Review of Eye Health in Aquarium Fishes

Aquarists need to inspect their fish closely every day, for signs of impending health problems. It is much easier to resolve a problem when it first starts, than to attempt a drastic emergency treatment when the fish is close to dying.

reefs.com

The Steinhart Aquarium has done a lot more on this. The one I built was from scrap PVC. It worked o.k. up to around 15 psi, but when I tried to go higher, the whole unit began to expand - like a pressure cooker about to explode, you need to be careful!

Jay

 

[Btreefing]

I did get the fish to finally start eating, mixed some general cure in the food. I have the lights off only getting light from a window. I really appreciate you taking the time to give me some pointers. I really like these little guys and hope I could get him well

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I did get the fish to finally start eating, mixed some general cure in the food. I have the lights off only getting light from a window. I really appreciate you taking the time to give me some pointers. I really like these little guys and hope I could get him well

If you post a short video, I might be able to give an opinion on how bad the issue is in comparison to others I've seen....

Jay

 

[Btreefing]

Ok, I'll send you one when I get home from work. Won't be until around 6:00

 

[Btreefing]

If you post a short video, I might be able to give an opinion on how bad the issue is in comparison to others I've seen....

Jay

I'll try to get a video sent tonight. I'll get you one how she sleeps and another her swimming.

 

[Btreefing]

I'll try to get a video sent tonight. I'll get you one how she sleeps and another her swimming.

Here is the videos of it swimming and laying upside-down in the pvc

 

[Btreefing]

You able to see the videos?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Here is the videos of it swimming and laying upside-down in the pvc

Yes, that is a moderate case - the fish doesn't seem bloated, but it has to constantly swim in order to stay in place. The trouble is that takes food energy to do that. Is the fish still eating well? Have you seen any improvement since you got it?

Jay