# How do you treat a swim bladder infection?



## Feral (Feb 26, 2008)

When you changed water, was it the correct Temperature and did you dechlorinate the water? 

I would first remove the carbon, but keep the filter on to make sure they are getting enough Oxygen.

I would go with old reliable Melafix and Pimafix. And possiblly some Stress Coat. Best in hospital tank, but shouldn't harm plants and other fish.

Maracyn I and II or Maroxy could also be helpful, but I would put him in a hospital tank if you use these. I've heard these can harm invertebrates. If memory serves me for these drugs you are supposed to dim the lights, but I'm not 100% sure.

Good Luck


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

what's the size of your tank and how many fish are in there?
You will probably will need a hospital tank. A 10G is perfect. and it'll cost you $10.

You'll need to administer antibiotics and antibiotic foods.


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## nickcamp12345 (May 2, 2009)

I have a 12 gallon bowfront. its an eclipse. i have 13 fish in total. 4 tiger barbs, 6 black neon tetras, and 3 peppered cories. there are a bunch of plants in there so the bio load isn't too bad and to the other person i did use dechlorinator and got the water to the same temp as best as i could. i know its probably over stocked, but my ammonia and nitrite levels are at zero and nitrates were relatively low(can't remember exactly). I actually just found an old 10 gallon tank that used to have my lizards in it, but my dad would rather me not fill that tank up for one fish and should just let it die in the tank. hes obviously not very emotional when it comes to fish. i'll go to the petstore today and look for some medicine


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## Feral (Feb 26, 2008)

Do you think he would let you set it in a bucket with a heater and airstone? If not hopefully the chemicals will help. Once again - good luck.


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## aschaal03 (Feb 2, 2009)

All you have to put in it is water, airstone, heater...and you can move the fish back when he's well. What will it harm? A hospital tank doesn't need any substrate/decorations...although it's nice to throw in a few plastic plants just to make them feel more secure. Try to talk him into it, it really doesn't involve much work.


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## nickcamp12345 (May 2, 2009)

aschaal03 said:


> All you have to put in it is water, airstone, heater...and you can move the fish back when he's well. What will it harm? A hospital tank doesn't need any substrate/decorations...although it's nice to throw in a few plastic plants just to make them feel more secure. Try to talk him into it, it really doesn't involve much work.


 
believe me if i could i would, but im only 16 and fairly new to keeping fish. i know a lot but i've only been keeping fish since december. my dads had many fish throughout his life but he's going to be 60 in july so believe it or not he got more and more stubborn as he got older.


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## nickcamp12345 (May 2, 2009)

i have good news. my tiger barb might have just been constipated. i just checked the tank and he seems to be swimming better so im going to give it one more day unless hes back to normal and i'll go back to feeding once a day.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

nickcamp12345 said:


> I have a 12 gallon bowfront. its an eclipse. i have 13 fish in total. 4 tiger barbs, 6 black neon tetras, and 3 peppered cories.


I expected you'd have this setup. You need a much bigger tank for tigers and others. Shoot for a 29G at least. Trust me, a bigger tank or much smaller fish will save you headaches in the future.


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## nickcamp12345 (May 2, 2009)

mistergreen said:


> I expected you'd have this setup. You need a much bigger tank for tigers and others. Shoot for a 29G at least. Trust me, a bigger tank or much smaller fish will save you headaches in the future.


once i get a job and get enough money, I was actually planning on buying a 29G. i know this is too much but they will be getting a new tank in the future. i don't have to go to school anymore so i have all the time in the world. believe it or not with the tank i have no i really don't deal with much of anything besides what just happened. either way i cant wait to get a bigger tank and actually get something besides the ugly blue rock gravel that refuses to hold plants.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

you can definitely do things on the cheap. Check craigslist for the tank and hopefully a canister filter. People are leaving this hobby all the time, sad to say. And the substrate, you can buy sand or aquasoil from the hardware store, much cheaper than the fish store.

Yeah, things are fine in a small tank at first then after awhile things will get bad quick. You'll be treating illnesses every week it seems.


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