sick black moor fish

Question
Thanks Karen for your advice - thought it was white spot!! He has developed white blisters on his tail too! Will do a big water change and try the melafix - hadn't thought about fasting him! How long should I feed him peas for? Unti he is better? Should I get him some other kind of food too?

thanks again

Julie
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Followup To

Question -
my black moor has been spending lots of time upside down in the tank - he seemed to right himself at feeding time. About three weeks ago he was been stuck at the bottom of the tank unable to swim to the top for his food - I put him in a breeding net ( not so far to swim!) now he cannot reach the food without help from me ( I have given him a frozen pea or two - thawed and skinned but that hasn't helped, I have tried soaking his food in castor oil - that hasn't helped either). This morning I noticed very large blisters on his head plus his eyes seem to be disappearing into his head - which may be swollen. Any ideas?

Julie
ps I have used anti white spot medicine and swim bladder medicine ( with 7 clear days between treatments as instructed)


Answer -
Dear Julie,
Your Poor Black moore sounds to have a bad case of Swim bladder disorder. The sitting on the bottom unable to reach food and then converting over to floating upside down are all typical symptoms.

As you likely already know. The most common cause of Swim bladder disorder (especially in goldfish) is related to food--such as too much dry food at one time. And treating this would mean placing the fish in a contained area (breeding nets work extremely well) so the poor fish isn't pushed around by tankmates or by the current, and fasting from his/her usual food and giving peas perhaps a few times a day everyday. Just little bites at a time. Treating Swim bladder sometimes can take a couple of months for the fish to fully recover. I once had a fishkeeper write to me about their goldfish who had such persistant swim bladder, they were at their wits end. But with time and plenty of patience, gradually her goldfish recovered over a few months. The goldfish was kept in a breeder net, given some epsom salt (since there was some swelling) and fed peas, at first the poor goldfish didn't accept them, but with patience, he finally did. The little goldfish recovered and this was a reminder to not give up (euthanize) on a fish if he hasn't "fully recovered" in a few weeks as there is still a chance and proven instances that they can and do recover.
~The moral of this is to have good patience with your 'patient' and give the proper treatment.

*Is your Black moore still being fed his normal food? If so, this could be causing his swim bladder trouble to be re-occuring. Please don't feed him his regular foods for now until he gets better. If you haven't fasted him for a day or two, try that..Then give a green thawed and deshelled pea. Always insure his water quality is perfect with absolutely ZERO ammonia and nitrites and nitrates 10 or less. Good water quality is VERY important for the recovery of goldfish affected with Swim bladder disorder.

Unfortunately I am not very sure what the large blisters on his head would be. And I have never heard of a Black moore's eyes disappearing into his head. It could be that he could have an internal infection that is causing much fluid buildup internally but this is only a guess.

I also noticed you mentioned using an anti-white spot medicine as well as a swim bladder medication. I would discontinue the use of both of those medications. It doesn't sound like your Black moore has white spot and Swim bladder medications tend to not be the best course of treatment. And it is likely that the use of these medications has caused your aquarium's beneficial bacterial population to die-off resulting in dangerous ammonia and nitrite spikes. If you have a test kit that would be great to know these levels now. But if not, I would immediately start doing 50% or larger daily water changes for your Black moore to insure ammonia doesn't buildup too high. Ammonia present seems to cause swim bladder symptoms to be even more pronounced. Remember that with every water change, to always insure the replacement water is equal in temperature to that of your aquarium and insure it is properly dechlorinated. Poor water quality could be resulting in the blisters, but I am not entirely sure. I would still do daily massive water change non-the-less, try to get a test kit as soon as possible, and the only medication I would probably use is "Melafix" for treating his blisters...Which could certainly be bacterial infections. Melafix is a all-natural medication that is not dangerous and typically will not harm your beneficial bacterial colony.

~Feel free to keep me updated on your Black moore's condition or if you have anymore concerns. I really hope this helps!

Only my very Best wishes,
Karen~

Answer
Dear Julie,
Make sure he doesn't truly have white spot which would give the appearance as if the fish had been sprinkled with salt. If he does have White spot disease or ICK. (Here is a link to a photo of a fish infected with ICK for conformation-
"www.fishtanksandponds.info/care-maintenance/health/white-spot.htm"

By far, the best treatment for white spot parasites is the natural method (avoiding harsh medications) I would try the "Heat and Salt Therapy" method of treatment, it is quite effective and less harmful on the fish than with sometimes dangerous medications. Slowly and gradually raise the temperature to 85 and increase the aeration in the aquarium. Add a good working airstone and insure the filter is running very efficiently and making plenty of surface agitation. And add aquarium salt, be sure to add half the dose in the early morning and the other half at night to slowly build it up and prevent any shock to the little black moore.

~*~Remember to gradually increase the heat and salt levels slowly and watch for any reaction of stress on your black moore's part. Most fish can tolerate this treatment very well and have very little trouble for it. But you will always want to watch and be sure.

Do daily 50% water changes to maintain good water quality and remember to only replace the amount of salt back according to the amount of water you took out.

I hope your Black moore doesn't have white spot. But always be sure to confirm this first.

I would give your black moore peas until he is better, it certainly won't hurt for him. I don't think I would give him any other kind of food for now because his swim bladder trouble could be directly related to how his diet was.

Feel free to keep me updated on how he is doing if you like!

I hope this helps and best wishes as always,
Karen~
(For more help- you can also visit Tropical fish Hobbyist magazine's side-website forum at- "www.tropicalresources.net" There are many very knowledgeable aquarists there that can help with any problem you may have. I'm a member there also.)