black moor emergency

wataugachicken

wataugachicken

The Dancing Banana
Jul 14, 2005
5,451
1
0
Charlotte, NC
just got a black moor today. put it in my snail tank to add some biological material so i can put plants in there.

he's struggling to swim, having trouble staying upright, and floating to the surface. no visual physical problems (no ick, no fungus, no sores)

ph is 6.5, no ammonia, room temp (low 70's)

as soon as i got him he found an algae tab and scarfed it down. could it have caused intestinal troubles?

the lfs had him for 3 weeks and he was doing fine for them.
 
Sounds like a swim bladder disorder. Since he's not showing any physical signs I would suspect an internal infection.

Try treating with TMP Sulfa and see how he does.

Good luck!

Swim Bladder Disorders
 
Argh. any other suggestions? my LFS is closed so i can't get any meds, otherwise i'd have brought him in already for them to look at.

i put him in a separate container with a little salt in it, he seems to be doing somewhat better now. looks like he's having a tough time swimming (as if the water was dense) but not going on his side anymore
 
And now. . he's a perky happy moor again. what the heck. . .

I'm scared to put him back in the snail tank though, in case the same thing happens overnight.

i got some new driftwood this morning at the same time i got him, and soaked it for over an hour in hot water, then rinsed it in cold before putting it in the tank. once in, it made the water a little yellow and kinda cloudy. snails are fine though. could the wood have something to do with goldfishie's problem?

i have driftwood in my other tank with plecos, a guppy, a betta, and more snails, none of them reacted this way.

very strange.
 
Driftwood is safe, shouldn't cause any problems for your little guy. I agree it sounds like a swimbladder issue, goldfish are very susceptable to this particular problem.
I'd put him back in the tank, it's best for him to feel safe and secure with as little stress as possible. If he's having trouble swimming you can turn down filter flow or direct it towards a wall so there is less current if he needs to rest. Give him nutritious foods and try to avoid floating pellets, hopefully he won't have a repeat episode :)
 
I heard that giving fish peas with the skin peeled off will cure swim bladder. Never tried it though, but it is a very popular method. It does sound like your fish has swim bladder. I used to have goldfish that had the problem also. It seems like most goldfish get it one way or the other.
 
Peas help with internal parasites when soaked in garlic.

And yeah, the driftwood "color" is actually beneficial to most fish. Some like tetras need the yellow "black" water inorder to breed. Silly things.
 
I have an Oranda that has similar problems. Normally he is fine. I feed sinking pellets, veggie flakes, frozen bloodworms and fresh veggies. He swims fine, but if I feed goldfish crisps (and I always soak my crisps and flakes first) he floats all day. sometimes with a slight lean to one side. I have decided to just stay away from crisps.
 
I think your algae tab had something to do with the fish not swimming well. All of the hybridization and "modifications" done to goldfish over the centuries have kind of mixed up their insides. That being said, if the fish is fed a little too much, pressure on the intestines and swim bladder can cause the fish to swim kind of cockeyed. Usually it isn't a problem, but I would feed your goldfish sparingly three times a day or so rather than one big feeding.
 
I have a betta that used to have the same problem whenever I would feed him a certain food and giving him a couple of tiny pieces of a skinned pea always helped, its worth a try before you have to use meds :) At least it cleared up right away, thats a good sign that it wasn't anything serious
 
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