my fav fish a fantail has had swim bladder probs constantly for weeks.
i've tried every type of food,even making my own gel food.
nothing works????
when it swims up by the light i can see several black round lumps in its insides, by intestine.
do you think it may have pebbles stuck in its guts???
anything else i can try to cure it?
i've been trying to find antibiotic food incase it had internal infection but all i could find is swim bladder treatment, does it work? will it effect the healthy fish if i dose the tank?

Hi there.

Swim bladder *can* just be a genetic issue with some fancies I'm afraid but if not, there are certain triggers we tend to see here, possibly bacterial or more physical.

Firstly, can you post tank size and all stock please? In addition some water readings would be really helpful, ammonia, pH, nitrite and nitrate. Higher levels of nitrate can cause floatyness

Have you tried sinking pellets but still pre soaking then first for a few minutes? Do you feed plenty of blanched veg as well like sweet potato, broccoli etc?

Also, have you seen him poo recently? What does it look like? Any bubbles in it? Long and clear? Apologies for anyone eating their dinner reading this!

Fish don't generally eat stones. They are very good at grubbing around but spit them out so I think that may be unlikely.

tank is 20 gallon. 3 1 inch fancys, just bought bigger 350 litre for them.
0 ammonia
0 nitite
10 nitrate
tried soaking,sinking food,every type of pellet. the only thing that didn't seem to make her float was frozen daphnia.
it eats like a pig and poos normal (short dark),but have seen air bubbles in poo on occasion.
i've fasted for a week and seems to float even when not being fed now used to fix until fed.
i made a gel food containing all mixed veg and a little salmon with acidophilous tablet in to.
tried blanched pea.
it has healthy appetite but seems to be getting more lethargic.once eats it just floats at the top and doesnt move.
other 2 in same tank are fine.

You don't mention fresh veggies there..? These fishies fall on the more vegetarian side of the veg v protein scale.

Do you have lots of cheap plants for them to munch on like Elodea etc. That may help too.

One of the things key to a healthy fancy is a good and very varied diet. I feed mine sinking pellets (still pre soaked) in the morning, fresh blanched veggies at night, you can try lot's of different ones to see which are the ones they favour, frozen food 3 or 4 times a week and algae wafers come supper time. De-shelled chopped peas one a week, a good all round natural unblocker

A varied diet really helps so perhaps try mixing it up a bit each feed time.

If the problem is digestive you can try some epsom salts to start with. Dose is one level teaspoon of salts for every 4 litres of water. It's safe to add for the other two fish and your weekly water changes will remove it gradually. Might just do the trick.

The other possibility from your post is the tank size. I'm not sure how long you have had the fishies, but when fancies are kept in too small a home it can 'bring on' the symptoms of floatyness due to stunting and the affect that has on the swimbladder which is already quite compromised in most breeds.

Moving them to that new 350 litre once readings are safe may also resolve this issue with some time.

There are bacterial meds that can be used, but personally if it was me, I would want to see if the two issues above have any positive affect first before reaching for meds. If in time these are ruled out as the cause, then meds perhaps then at that point.

i have lots of elodea plants, maybe theyre the prob?
i adopted the fish of a girl who had them in a tiny tank,no filter,no plants,no light and they were fine until i upped the tank. strange.
i feed once a day as she floats as soon as i feed and i feel terrible. i do vary the diet but have been trying to reduce the feeding on the floaty 1 to let its insides heal.
i will try epsom see if helps.
thx for replying.
kev

Elodea isn't causing any problems with this, it will only assist, so fret not

Upsizing the tank to 90 litres hasn't caused the problem either. Again will have only helped the 3 fish.

You have to remember that these fish are constantly growing and in the right size home 'should' grow very quickly when young. Most fancies are about 5cm, 3 or 4 months after hatching which is the size they generally go on sale. Not uncommon for them from this point to get up to 3 to 4 inches, possibly more within 6 months or so from purchase.

The issues would have been even worse had they not been rehomed in the 90 litre. It may well be that the fish is suffering now due to his other life before you got him then

The 350 will be fab though. Lets see if some TLC and volume can work their magic. Hat's off to you for caring and doing a wonderful thing too. They will love you for it.

As for blanched veggies, see if this helps, feed daily if you can. These are fab cheap gadgets for pinning veggies down. Just zap the veg in the microwave for 30 seconds or so with a few spoons of water, until soft.

Cool gadget here - Screwcumber: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw ... =screwcumber&geo_id=32121

Remember to remove any veg after 12/24 hours - if it lasts that long - to avoid fouling the water.