Mandarin Floating

[Dan buretta]

My mandarin seems to be floating and is having trouble eating because of this. She is skinny now. I’m wondering if I can treat her and fatten her up in a hospital tank but I don’t know what kind of treatment to do. Anyone with experience please help! She tucks herself under rocks to stay at the bottom.

 

[ReefRondo]

Possibly swim bladder

 

[MERKEY]

My mandarin seems to be floating and is having trouble eating because of this. She is skinny now. I’m wondering if I can treat her and fatten her up in a hospital tank but I don’t know what kind of treatment to do. Anyone with experience please help! She tucks herself under rocks to stay at the bottom.

How bigs the tank?

Hong have you had her?

Do you have a pod population?

Do you supply pods?

Does she eat frozen?

 

[Dan buretta]

How bigs the tank? 70 gallon total volume

Hong have you had her? Almost a year

Do you have a pod population? Yes, copepods and amphipods

Do you supply pods? Yes, I keep a constant 2 5 gallon cultures going

Does she eat frozen? Not really. I enrich live artemia for my seahorses and she eats frozen enriched brine.

 

[Dan buretta]

Possibly swim bladder

Any ideas how to treat?

 

[Big G]

When swimming, is the head down tail up?

 

[MERKEY]

If she has been fat and healthy for a year it could be swim bladder but usually they are very bloated and it sounds the opposite. And if she isn't starving it's hard to say.

What are all your parameters including salinity?

Also a pic might help a bit

 

[MERKEY]

When swimming, is the head down tail up?

Just curious what if the fish was head up swimming vertically?

 

[Dan buretta]

When swimming, is the head down tail up?

Yes!

 

[Big G]

Just curious what if the fish was head up swimming vertically?

Usually a spinal injury. Or some internal infestation of parasites that have done enough damage and a bacterial infection has spread to the spinal area.

 

[Big G]

Yes!
Swim bladder disorder
Symptoms: Fish swims vertically with its tail up. Basically, the back half of the fish will seem more buoyant than the front half, and the fish will swim in a way to compensate for that. The fish may also stay near the surface of the water (or even float), unable to swim downwards. A protrusion (i.e. gas bubble) may be visible near the swim bladder area. In most cases, swim bladder disorders are caused by improper decompression of deep water species of fish.
Treatment: If a gas bubble is present, you can lance the air out using a 30 gauge insulin syringe. For swim bladder infections, the following are possible treatment options:
(1) Dose magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salt) at 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons.
(2) Give the affected fish a 30 minute Methylene Blue bath.
(3) Dose Metronidazole in conjunction with Neomycin. (You can food soak this combination as well.)

 

[Dan buretta]

If she has been fat and healthy for a year it could be swim bladder but usually they are very bloated and it sounds the opposite. And if she isn't starving it's hard to say.

What are all your parameters including salinity?

Also a pic might help a bit

She’s skinny. Probably starving.
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 50 (ran GFO. Turned of GFO reactor and turned up Biopellet reactor)
Phosphate 0
PH 8.4
DKH 9.1
Calcium 460
Mag 1700
Temp 75-76 stabile
SG 1.025 stabile

don’t have a pic now but she is fully colored and skinny.

 

[Zack K]

+1 on the swim bladder. Follow instructions above posted by @Big G

 

[Dan buretta]

+1 on the swim bladder. Follow instructions above posted by @Big G

So I set up a hospital tank. I’m guy loading some brine shrimp with mic-f probiotics while I get the temp stabile in the HT. I don’t have methylene blue but I’m willing to get it if it’s the best. I have Epsom salt but I’m curious how long am I supposed to do this for? Since API General Cure has metronidazole (and I have it) can I just use this as option 3?

Let me know your thoughts.