Some tips from Goldfish addicts

[icemanx23]

Thank you all for the replies. I learn a lot from all of you. Now i know the causes of my failure in golfish keeping. I gave up on goldfish because of those problems. But whenever i saw a golfish i feel excited. My dream is to have large healthy and happy goldfish. Some say commercial flake and pellets food cause swimbladder problems and i really hate to see my fish bellied up. I tried to feed my goldies boiled vegetables but they didn't seem to interest and finally gave up feeding veggies. Maybe poor food quality and poor water quality also contibute a lot of problems. I'm really grateful to you all.

 

[ITHURTZ]

When feeding goldfish dont feed them floating foods. Mine have no problem eating fruits, I just gave them 2 slices of oranges. I put lettuce in last night. Now if only I could get this dang pleco to eat his apples.

 

[reptileguy2727]

Floating foods can cause digestive system buoyancy problems (not really the swim bladder) because of the extra air intake. True swim bladder issues seem to be an issue with water quality, not the food.

 

[Ichthius]

The pneumatic duct connects directly to the gut in Goldfish and can be linked to over feeding. Over feeding and over expansion of food can cause food to redirect up into the duct leading to bacterial infections. In some cases this can be a life long chronic condition once the duct is damaged. Once the duct is damaged the fish my loose it's ability to redistribute gases to accommodate buoyancy changes due to food intake.

I suspect this is the major cause of SBD in goldfish. If you combine over feeding with a fish that has a very long, crooked gut they are bound to float.

 

[reptileguy2727]

"The pneumatic duct connects directly to the gut in Goldfish'
What part of the gut exactly? Do you have any pics or links that can show exactly where the duct to the swim bladder connects to the mouth/throat?

I have never heard that there was any evidence of food getting in to the duct to the swim bladder. I think there are many cases of 'SBD' being misdiagnosed issues with the digestive system. The compressed body of round-bodied goldfish also contributes to true swim bladder issues since in many cases the duct or the swim bladder itself is compressed and cannot function properly.

 

[Ichthius]

You'd need a histological slide to see the effect. I have seen these slides in zebrafish which have essentially the same equipment, a primitive stomach with an attached gas bladder. We have several cases where a fish gorged on scrubbed biofilms (algae) that then resulted in a mycobacteria infection (myco is in all biofilms period). The pneumatic duct then necrosed and clogged with fibrous tissue eliminating the gas connection to the environment so the fish could not regulate its gas content resulting in gas bladder disease.

Here's a link to illustrate physostome fish:
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/anphys/2000/Martin/types.html

This link makes it sound like you can visualize this infection on larger fish by examining the gas bladder for signs of infection.
http://www.aquavet.i12.com/Fish.htm

There is considerable research done on physostome fish, pneumado duct inflamation and infection and their effects on larva fish rearing. I think the damage can be done early on at the farm and or can be enhanced by husbandry of the adults.

Again I think it is the over feeding of floating foods or any foods for that mater not the fact that the food floats. I feed almost exclusively with floating food, and occasionally a fish will be gas but starvation clears the issue right way. Occassionally I'll have a fish in a tank that can't seem to handle the level of feed a tank is recieving so it goes into a lower feed rate tank and it's just fine after that... YMMV

You keep mentioning true SBD. What is your reference for so called true SBD vs the fake SBD you see? Are you saying False SBD is just gas? I totally agree and it goes back to over feeding. Fish with gas usually clear with a day or two of fasting. In my book if fasting doesn't fix it, it is SBD.

 

[reptileguy2727]

By true SBD I mean it actually involves the swim bladder and not just the digestive tract, which can initially look like SBD.

Thanks for all the info.

 

[THE V]

Nice post David.

BTW this one made me chuckle.

mycobacteria infection (myco is in all biofilms period).

Mycobacteria makes dirt smell like dirt as well. That's the first diagnostic tool for identification. It's just like Momma's garden.

 

[Flaringshutter]

Reptile, if it's just gas it will pass through the fish within a day or two and shouldn't cause recurring symptoms. I think that's what you're referring to as 'false' SBD.

Thanks for the great links David. There has been a lot of discussion on this topic lately and it's great to have another scientific mind around.

 

[reptileguy2727]

Exactly, but if the diet is changed it can become chronic and look even more like true SBD. If they keep feeding floating foods the fish will keep getting air and continue to have bouyancy issues.