Swim Bladder and Mr. Moor

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nomommythatsmyfood

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Sep 6, 2010
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Hi you guys!

I have a baby black moor, almost 1 1/2", I got him about two months ago...he is in a 5gal (this is just temporary until I can get the 20L I have had my eyes on!) The tank is cycled and I do water changes every week (maybe more as needed b/c he is a dirty little guy!). I have bamboo, little bananna looking plants that have leaves sprouting out of the bananna part, and a floating moss ball in there with him...along with a gold inca snail. oh, and I feed him Tetra goldfish flakes. I tried peas a while ago, trying to get some deversity in his diet and he picked at them but didnt seem to care for them. He usually stays toward the bottom of the tank and picks at all the crap (his crap lol)....about a week ago I noticed he was starting to have problems! He was staying towards the surface of the water. I have been keeping an eye on him and these past few days I have noticed that it seems he is having troubles swimming...like he has to put all his muscle into swimming to the bottom and when he gets there if he doesnt continue working his little fins very hard...he floats right back up to the top!! He doesnt seemed to be disformed but I am worried now! This morning after I did a partial water change I noticed that he seemed to be floundering up at the top...kind of turning on his side, then righting himself, then trying to swim to the bottom, then floating back up again (tail first usually).

So anywhoo, I have done mucho research on swim bladder issues and I have seen a few tings on here, but Im not sure which direction I should go in. I saw what Lupin had written in one of the stickys about having to destroy the fish =( I hope I can avoid that I would hate to lose my little partner! Does the pea thing work? The wheat germ? is it possible he needs more room ( I mean I would love to give him a bigger home, its just not in the money right now...I know he would benefit but is the tank size a contributing factor? If yall think it is I will def try to get the bigger tank asap!)

Im not sure if pics will help but I will post some in a min. when i get to the other computer....

any help would be awesome! thanks guys!
 

nomommythatsmyfood

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okay I just took a look at him and sure enough he looks bloated on one side, which I havent noticed before...should I try fasting? oh help I feel so bad for him!!
 

nomommythatsmyfood

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update for today...I didnt feed Mr. Moor this morning (even though his little bug eyes were begging me!) and it appears that his tail fins are staying down...instead of catapulting to the surface. How long should I fast him? and when I go to feed him again should I not do the flakes and do something more natural?
 

kelly82

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chuck the flakes away, they are useless IMO.try him on saki hikari sinking mini pellets, i use them with my fancies and have had zero floaty issues. they are easily eaten by even the smallest goldies too. feed a squished cooked shelled pea to him once per week at least, i always feed mine peas the day before a partial water change as i can clean up any bits they may have missed with the gravel vac. i also have a lot of free floating pond weed in their tank which they snack on a lot so they have plenty of greens to eat.

please try to get him a 30g tank, or better yet a 40g and a fancy goldie friend, they are very social and do much better when they have another goldfish to interact with. these guys get large, i have a 7" black moor in my 6ft tank and she is still growing. good luck with your little guy, hes very cute :goldfish:
 

nomommythatsmyfood

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Great news today...Mr. Moor is much better after 2 days of fasting...Im thinking of giving him one more day (no food today) then if he is still doing good tomorrow then I will resume feeding (but with diff food). My question is how long should I fast him? I feel like Im starving him!! and I would like to get another plant in there he can munch on...so far he shows no interest in the little bananna things or the moss ball...I was thinking maybe like some baby tears on a rock?? any suggestions?
 

nomommythatsmyfood

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this morning I woke up to Mr moor laying on his side at the surface...I righted him and then we swam around and then the floated to the top again and almost turned belly up =( Should I euthanize him?
 

Lupin

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Sep 21, 2006
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For such a young fish, fasting in my opinion is not the best option. Follow Kelly's advice and just to add, include fresh foods such as shrimps, bloodworms, vegetables and even brine shrimps. Avoid flakes and floating pellets altogether.

As for plants, Egeria densa works just fine or duckweeds.

Don't euthanize yet. Give him a chance.

How does his poop look?
 

nomommythatsmyfood

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as of this am...his poop is long and red, like a link sausage...he is still floundering at the top, then rights himself, then tries to swim around...then he will get real still and almost look like he is sinking...when this happens there is no gill movement....then its like he awakes from a trance and rights himself...and then the whole thing all over again. its breaking my heart! the fasting lasted like 2 days then i couldnt stand it anymore. I gave him a bit of a cucumber...no interest. I havent fed yet today. I have these little baby shrimp things that I bought a while back...sun dried gammarus...I was thinking maybe those blended with peas? if not then ill just go pick up some brine shrimp or blood worms later today. hes breakingmy little heart though and im so worried he suffering! does the long, red, sausage link poop tell you anything?
mucho thanks
 
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