Possible swim bladder issue      5/29/18
Hi crew!
I have a question about possible swim bladder problem with one of my long fin zebra Danios (female). Recently she has been subjected to non-stop bullying from a dominant female in the school of six. The affected Danio, who was discovered Sunday having issues swimming, has been removed to a hospital tank. She is exhibiting negative buoyancy. She will occasionally swim to the top with great effort but will return to the bottom where she will wobble to one side. She is alert and responds to movement outside of the tank (she will scuttle to opposite side of tank when I approach). She is healthy in all outward appearance with good color and clear eyes, but is slightly swollen in the belly with one side being slightly more pronounced. She may be slightly egg bound. Her respiration is normal. She has not accepted food while she has been in the hospital tank (since Sunday). Presently she is in a cycled 2.8 gallon tank to which I've added about 1/4 tsp of Epsom salt (one dose). The water temp is about 75-76°F.
<Good moves, conditions>
I thought that she may have some sort of intestinal blockage as my Danios like frozen bloodworms and the larger Fluval bug bites I feed my larger fish.
<Am not a fan of Bloodworms, though frozen are better than other formats. I'd sub Daphnia, Brine Shrimp for now; for their mild laxative effects>
I know that the stress from the recent bullying could have predisposed her to some sort of GI infection/parasite. I know the prognosis is not great, but do you think that a course of antibiotics may be helpful? I have both Kanaplex and Metroplex on hand. Or should I continue with the Epsom salts?
<For me, just the MgSO4>
I was planning on a 50% water change tomorrow and replacing just the quantity of salts removed by the water change. I'm quite perplexed as to how to proceed with treating her.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Susan
<Really just time going by and favorable setting will/should see this situation resolve. Bob Fenner>
Re: Possible swim bladder issue /RMF     5/30/18
Thanks Dr. Bob!
She is making an attempt to swim around a bit today but still spending most of her time on her side on bottom of tank (bare bottom). She mouthed some brine shrimp I held up to her mouth but not eating yet.
One development this morning, long stringy white poo. Does this sound like inflammation/infection of GI tract or parasites?
<Could be or not>
No other passage of normal looking feces.
<Mmm; do you have a 'scope of a few hundred power... ability to hook up to USB for sharing pix of a sample?>
Otherwise, Color good and still responsive to movement outside and inside of hospital tank. Ammonia and nitrite are zero.
Is the white stringy poo cause for concern or should I just give her more time with water changes and Epsom salt?
<For me, the latter. BobF>
Susan
Possible swim bladder issue /Neale      5/30/18
Hi crew!
I have a question about possible swim bladder problem with one of my long fin zebra Danios (female). Recently she has been subjected to non-stop bullying from a dominant female in the school of six. The affected Danio, who was discovered Sunday having issues swimming, has been removed to a hospital tank. She is exhibiting negative buoyancy. She will occasionally swim to the top with great effort but will return to the bottom where she will wobble to one side. She is alert and responds to movement outside of the tank (she will scuttle to opposite side of tank when I approach). She is healthy in all outward appearance with good color and clear eyes, but is slightly swollen in the belly with one side being slightly more pronounced. She may be slightly egg bound. Her respiration is normal. She has not accepted food while she has been in the hospital tank (since Sunday). Presently she is in a cycled 2.8 gallon tank to which I've added about 1/4 tsp of Epsom salt (one dose). The water temp is about 75-76°F.
I thought that she may have some sort of intestinal blockage as my Danios like frozen bloodworms and the larger Fluval bug bites I feed my larger fish. I know that the stress from the recent bullying could have predisposed her to some sort of GI infection/parasite. I know the prognosis is not great, but do you think that a course of antibiotics may be helpful? I have both Kanaplex and Metroplex on hand. Or should I continue with the Epsom salts? I was planning on a 50% water change tomorrow and replacing just the quantity of salts removed by the water change. I'm quite perplexed as to how to proceed with treating her.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Susan
<Hi Susan. Danios are social animals, and in small groups can sometimes bully one another. It's usually a male, but no doubt sometimes big females throw their weight around too. The best solution to this sort of bullying is, inevitably, adding more of the same species and hoping for the best. I've been in a similar situation with Danio choprae, and eventually ended up with just one male! But in the meantime, yes, Epsom salt may help with bloating and egg-binding, if these are the issue, and an antibiotic used against Dropsy can be useful. I'd not go crazy with randomly medicating where small fish are concerned; partly not worth the expense, and partly tends to harm the fish more than help them. So at some point, euthanasia tends to be the better option, as described elsewhere on this site, and after a week or two to confirm the remaining fish are healthy, the addition of sufficient replacement livestock to mitigate any social behaviour problems. Cheers, Neale.>

GloFish concerns I have a concern about my GloFish. It has had a "fat" appearance for several weeks, probably close to three months. Initially I thought it was full of eggs, but since I pretty much watch for eggs everyday and haven't seen anything for this length of time, I'm not sure if this is the issue anymore. Is it sick? <Might be.... is the fullness symmetrical about the body? What foods do you use? What other livestock is present? What water quality test results do you have to share? Bob Fenner> What can/should I do at this point? Thank you. -- Very Respectfully, Sharonda Miles GloFish concerns /Neale       7/1/16 I have a concern about my GloFish. It has had a "fat" appearance for several weeks, probably close to three months. Initially I thought it was full of eggs, but since I pretty much watch for eggs everyday and haven't seen anything for this length of time, I'm not sure if this is the issue anymore. Is it sick? What can/should I do at this point? Thank you. -- Very Respectfully, Sharonda <Hard to say for sure, but a good first guess is some type of internal bacterial infection causing Dropsy. Danios are a little bit prone to this, oddly enough, especially in small tanks. Antibiotics are usually the best bet here, such as API Furan-2. Treat as indicated, remembering to remove carbon from the filter (if used). The use of Epsom Salt alongside the antibiotics is a cheap but very effective supplement; 1-3 teaspoons per 5 gallons/20 litres is about right. Epsom Salt also happens to help against constipation, which is the other reason fish swell up, so using it with the antibiotic is a clever way to deal with both possibilities. Good luck, Neale.> re: GloFish concerns /Neale Yes the fullness is symmetrical (I attached a picture of him, of the four Glo fish pictured he's the blurry one, but you can still see his belly). I use the flake food for the Glo fish that came with the tank. I have three other Glo fish and a catfish (I attached a picture of the catfish). I haven't tested the water quality. Honestly I never thought to nor do I know how. <The "dip strips" are inexpensive, easy to use and adequately accurate. Nitrite and pH are the two "must haves" so far as environmental measurements go. Agree that the Danio looks off; Dropsy is likely. Review previous email and act accordingly. Cheers, Neale.> re: GloFish concerns      7/1/16 <.... seven megs of files...> Yes the fullness is symmetrical (I attached a picture of him, of the four Glo fish pictured he's the blurry one, but you can still see his belly). <...? Are these all Gymnocorymbus? Or is one a Danio? > I use the flake food <This is likely the cause of the "fatness" here. Mix in some frozen, perhaps live foods> for the Glo fish that came with the tank. I have three other Glo fish and a catfish (I attached a picture of the catfish). <These Pictus may eat your Tetras, Danio... is that an African Cichlid there too? Incompatible> I haven't tested the water quality. Honestly I never thought to nor do I know how. <Take the time to educate yourself. Your livestock relies on your knowledge applied actions. Bob Fenner>