I'm having an awful week...

[ADJAquariums]

I think my gourami has swim bladder, anyone in agreement? Surgery is not out of the question, i have deflated a fish's air bladder before deep sea fishing! so i sort of kind of not really know what i'd be doing. and to think i cleaned the water yesterday. I have a 5 gallon set up if i need to QT him. thanks

You can see the fish sitting straight up and down in the center of the photograph behind the bacopa and dwarf sag

[Aqualady]

Okay, I am new to this but my female tiger barb was floating like that last week with her head toward subtrate and she seem not be able to control herself from swimming upside down and or sideways....well I googled the symptoms and found an epsom salt "cure"....I placed her in a container with a bubbler, dissolved a couple pinches of epsom salt in a cup of tank water, then poured into the container she was in....within an hour I saw the food I had fed last when she was in the main tank...I cleaned it out, then about another 1-2 hours I saw alot of it again...cleaned it out...I left her in there that night did not feed...the next day, gave container a pwc with epsom salt and I did not feed..the 3rd day she was swimming around and around in circles and appeared to have control without going belly up fighting to stay upright..so I placed her back in and she has been great since.....

[ADJAquariums]

Originally Posted by Aqualady

Okay, I am new to this but my female tiger barb was floating like that last week with her head toward subtrate and she seem not be able to control herself from swimming upside down and or sideways....well I googled the symptoms and found an epsom salt "cure"....I placed her in a container with a bubbler, dissolved a couple pinches of epsom salt in a cup of tank water, then poured into the container she was in....within an hour I saw the food I had fed last when she was in the main tank...I cleaned it out, then about another 1-2 hours I saw alot of it again...cleaned it out...I left her in there that night did not feed...the next day, gave container a pwc with epsom salt and I did not feed..the 3rd day she was swimming around and around in circles and appeared to have control without going belly up fighting to stay upright..so I placed her back in and she has been great since.....

Great! i'll definatley do this! thanks for the quick response

[wendyjo]

Epsom salts can help if the problem is caused by constipation cause it's a laxative. But if it's caused by some other issue, say damage to the swim bladder for example, then it won't help. Worth a try though.

[ADJAquariums]

Good news, the epsome salt seems to be working, he has righted himself and hasn't been having too much trouble staying horizontal, however he isn't 100% yet, thank you very much for your help, it has been a pretty bad week...

[wicca27]

skinned/shelled peas are good for that too. makes food move though

[ADJAquariums]

Originally Posted by wicca27

skinned/shelled peas are good for that too. makes food move though

Now i cook the peas first right? makes sense, other wise it would be hard to shell them

[wkndracer]

Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt)
Reducing the number of burden organisms by saline purges is an alternative method in the treatment of parasitic infestation, especially from luminal parasites. Saline purges all act in a similar mechanism by which the anions and cations are slowly absorbed from the digestive tract.
Magnesium salts frequently used as saline purgatives are Magnesium Sulfate, (Epsom salts), Magnesium Hydroxide, Magnesium Oxide, (milk of magnesia), and Magnesium Citrate, (Jenkins, 1988). They retain or attract water into the intestinal lumen mainly by osmosis, which distends the gut and increases peristalsis, thus producing defecation. Another mode of action of magnesium salts is causing the release of cholecystokinin, which increases peristaltic activity of the intestine (Jenkins, 1988); intraluminal parasites then will be expelled from host. The concentration of saline purgatives should be isotonic such as 6% solution of Epsom salt to get a quick purgative action (Alexander, 1985). In the present study, magnesium sulfate which may be helpful in reducing the number of diplomonads was examined for an efficacy in inhibiting the parasite’s growth.

excerpt from here:
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/ava...cted/ANGEL.PDF

much more reliable than peas.

[pirasha]

Originally Posted by ADJAquariums

Now i cook the peas first right? makes sense, other wise it would be hard to shell them

yea cook (I nuke 'em) the peas until they are nice and soft and feed your fish the soft insides..works like a charm for my bettas. Good luck

[ADJAquariums]

It's not looking good, the fish's health has deteriorated immensly since the last update, he's know on his side not moving breathing very heavily, i havent changed or added anything to the water, it's heated and has an airstone, i'm contimplating ending it right now and freezing him