pond fish floaters 07-16-10

floaters


Fish floating upside down. This indicates a condition know as swim bladder disorder or flip over. This condition is common in round bodied goldfish. The swim bladder is actually two small bags of air inside the goldfish that when working properly gives the fish neutral buoyancy in the water. To control the amount of air in the swim bladder there is a duct (called the stom) that attaches the swim bladder to the esophagus. This allows air to be released from the swim bladder through the esophagus. The problem occurs when the stom becomes blocked or damaged. This damage can be from chronic digestive problems, internal parasites, bacterial pathogens, or a mass such as a tumor pressing on the stom that prevents air from being vented from the swim bladder through the esophagus. Also, chronic high nitrates have been identified as causing damage to the stom. Which leads to the fish floating.




Treatment: When floating is first noted stop feeding for 3 days then feed frozen peas that have been defrosted and shelled. This will help clean out the digestive system. If floating continues then pre-soak pelleted food in a container with 1 ounce water and a pinch of Epsom Salts. Soak for 10-15 minutes then discard the solution and feed the pellets. Try this only once or twice as regular ingestion of Epsom Salts will harm the fish's digestive system.



These methods work in the early stages of digestive related floating and can help control the floating to allow the fish to live a reasonably normal life. Once a fish begins to float upside down a good percentage of the time or all the time then it may be the beginning of the end. Goldfish really can't eat and digest food properly when upside down all the time and they will eventually become weak and susceptible to parasites or bacterial pathogens. It's time to consider the humane choice of euthanizing the fish.



As of this writing there is some research and surgery being performed to correct floating caused by swim bladder problems. This work is being done by Dr. Erik Johnson in Marietta, Georgia. For more information on the surgery and flipover: http://www.koivet.com/flipover/

Source(s):

http://www.koitime.com/goldfishguy/Goldf…