Rhomboid swim bladder?

EmdeReef · Feb 21, 2018

Deinonych said:
I've always been puzzled why the injury is progressive and not acute. Perhaps someone more familiar with fish biology will chime in. IME that's exactly how a spinal injury plays out, though.

A spinal cord inflammation which may or may not be related to an injury would generally be progressive in nature. I'm not familiar of much research in the field with the exception of a few studies looking into regenerative characteristics of some fish species.

Deinonych · Feb 21, 2018

EmdeReef said:
A spinal cord inflammation which may or may not be related to an injury would generally be progressive in nature. I'm not familiar of much research in the field with the exception of a few studies looking into regenerative characteristics of some fish species.

That makes sense. Not an actual lesion on the spinal cord per se, but compressed nerves due to inflammation. This would explain why some fish are able to recover. I know @eatbreakfast has observed recovery in 2 out of 3 fish in general.

linus.chan · Feb 21, 2018

is there anything that can help with inflammation in the aquatic world? i imagine dosing ibuprofen won't be helpful

EmdeReef · Feb 21, 2018

linus.chan said:
is there anything that can help with inflammation in the aquatic world? i imagine dosing ibuprofen won't be helpful

Unfortunately, as said before nothing but time for fish. Hope it pulls through!
Very few options for people too and only following a successful diagnosis...

linus.chan · Feb 22, 2018

So the fish took a definite downturn- unable to eat now and floats on the top upside down with little ability to move at all. I am likely to euthanize soon.

EmdeReef · Feb 22, 2018

Very sorry to hear that! Sometimes we can’t do anything

bhavy · Feb 22, 2018

Any other advice out there? I also believe my Female Spotbreast Angel is swimming head up a bit in QT. just got him today shipped over night. I'm hoping he's just stressed. Anyone else seen a new arrival swimming head up tail down like at a 30 degree angle?

Deinonych · Feb 22, 2018

bhavy said:
Any other advice out there? I also believe my Female Spotbreast Angel is swimming head up a bit in QT. just got him today shipped over night. I'm hoping he's just stressed. Anyone else seen a new arrival swimming head up tail down like at a 30 degree angle?

Likely stress behavior, given the fish is in a new environment after being shipped. I'd give the fish time to settle in before trying to assess behavior.

bhavy · Feb 25, 2018

Update on my Spotbreast....
Still swimming weird but eats so I don't know what to do . It's been 5 days. Could be spinal issue or swim bladder issue. Any ideas?

Humblefish · Feb 25, 2018

bhavy said:
Update on my Spotbreast....
Still swimming weird but eats so I don't know what to do . It's been 5 days. Could be spinal issue or swim bladder issue. Any ideas?

They are a deepwater angel, so improper decompression (gas bubble forming in the swim bladder) could be the problem. Does the head point up or down when swimming??

EmdeReef · Feb 25, 2018

It could be a spinal issue. As previously described, in swim bladder issues fish is swims upside down Struggling to maintain itself in water.

Any other symptoms you see? Scratches/wounds, fin damage or anything out of the ordinary?

bhavy · Feb 25, 2018

Head pointing up 30 degree angle slightly tilted sideways, body in perfect condition. Almost seems to nip at the surface like trying to breath air a lot.

Humblefish · Feb 25, 2018

bhavy said:
Head pointing up 30 degree angle slightly tilted sideways, body in perfect condition. Almost seems to nip at the surface like trying to breath air a lot.

Unfortunately, this sounds like a spinal injury. Which sometimes a fish will recover from, sometimes not.

linus.chan · Mar 1, 2018

a suprising update- i did NOT euthanize the fish as i thought i saw a sign of life. I then went on vacation with instructions to keep feeding. I came back, and it is still mostly upside down, but can dive now, and still alive and moving a bit. I think i see it eating when i feed it. (I am essentially saturating her area with food). So...not dead yet, which means still potentially recoverable i hope.

swensos · Mar 1, 2018

From what I've seen, after a spinal injury, the fish seems to expend a lot of energy stabilizing and going after food (if it can even catch any). I always figured it got worse as the fish burned more and more energy just to swim and couldn't really rest or eat. Eventually they just lie down on the bottom...

EmdeReef · Mar 1, 2018

linus.chan said:
a suprising update- i did NOT euthanize the fish as i thought i saw a sign of life. I then went on vacation with instructions to keep feeding. I came back, and it is still mostly upside down, but can dive now, and still alive and moving a bit. I think i see it eating when i feed it. (I am essentially saturating her area with food). So...not dead yet, which means still potentially recoverable i hope.

Good news, keep us posted!

linus.chan · Mar 5, 2018

So fish spends most of the time upside down and at the surface (corner) when startled it will dive down and then "spin" as in swim in fast circles. Not sure if this is good or bad. Apparently eating, but doesn't chase food, i essentially drip the food almost into its mouth.

Humblefish · Mar 5, 2018

Sounds like he is surviving, but not really living.

4FordFamily · Mar 5, 2018

Humblefish said:
Sounds like he is surviving, but not really living.

X2

linus.chan · Mar 6, 2018

i agree. What do folks think about in terms of euthanizing? It doesn't seem to be getting better, and i don't want to prolong pain. It has been 2 weeks now and i was hoping to see some progress, but in reality i don't think there has been.