Would you euthanize a fish that lost its swimbladder function?

[Ulan]

I have one ram that obviously cannot float anymore. She has been like that for a while now, and the situation seems stable. She can only propel herself on the ground or, with a bit of effort, over obstacles. She is often between the cories, and she still waits for food at the front glass pane when she sees me. I'm not sure whether she suffers though. She became pretty small.

What would you do?

 

[J double R]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131087

try taking a look at this thread... there is a lot of good discussion on when/how to properly euthanize.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I would put the fish into an H tank and treat it with antibiotics and maybe metro treated food (for parasites). Most swim bladder problems are a symptom of something els that effects the bladder.

 

[wataugachicken]

even if treatment was not effective, i would not euthanise simply because of a swim-bladder problem. as long as the fish is still eating and otherwise healthy, leave it. if the fish starts losing weight, stops eating, has difficulty breathing, or the other fish start nipping at it and it cannot move well enough to hide or defend itself, then i would probably go ahead and euthanise - the quality of life has dropped at that point.

 

[mozart]

If she can't get off the bottom I would let her go, if she isn't gone already. I would watch her for a few days, consider treating at the same time, but there is no way she is happy dragging herself around the botom of the tank!

 

[Ulan]

She's still in the same situation. I will have to wait till Monday to try the hospital tank, as it's in use at the moment. Although she lost lots of weight and has difficulties to keep upright, she's moving through the tank all day and always comes to the front when she sees me. Poor fishy.

 

[Jakaris]

I had a betta for 8 years once, and the last 2 years he had no swim bladder. He still got around though, lol. I would find him in the oddest positions in plants, like upside down, and I would always, without fail freak out and think he finally died, however a quick movement on my part always sent him to the surface. Back then I had a VERY crappy camera, so this is the best picture I have of him. I originally chose him because the other bettas weren't very active, but this guy looked downright mean. I always called him Snake because I had wanted a snake but couldn't afford one.

[URL=http://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snakele7.jpg]
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