bala shark cant swim. please help!!!

Question
ive had my bala shark for almost a year.  about two weeks ago, i moved and switched some of my fish from  my 55 gallon tank into a 20 gallon.  my bala shark has been fine, but tonight i noticed that he is acting like he cant swim.  hes just kind of drifting around with the current of the water.  he puts forth a little effort every once in a while and propels himself down into the tank from the top, or straightens himself out.  hes floating around on his side or vertically.  is he in pain?  i dont want him to suffer!  please help!

thanks -
aimee

Answer
Hi Aimee,
I'm sorry to hear about your Bala Shark....
Sounds like he could have a swim bladder problem. The swim bladder is a special organ located along most fishes spine and between his tail and belly. The swim bladder controls at what level a fish wants to be in the water collum and controls his overall equilibrium. So if something goes wrong with the swim bladder or if it is affected by other problems, the poor fish can lose total equilibrium and have little control over his movements.

The most common cause of Swim bladder problems is with foods. Dry foods like flakes and pellets, when consumed, can absorb water in the fishes gut--so much that it often presses against the swim bladder, causing these problems. There are other causes, such as bacterial infections--but I highly doubt your Bala shark has this type of swim bladder problem.
~The first thing you should do to help him out is stop all foods you are feeding currently as they may be the problem. Give him a fasting (no feeding) for at least a day or two to help him clear his system out fully. Then if that still doesn't help, give him a thawed out and shelled green pea. It must be completely room temperature and shells and preferably mashed up for easy eating. Most fish crave peas. Usually it only takes a matter of about 2 days for a Swim bladder disordered fish to recover fully.

I have seen this in many fish, most notably bettas and goldfish. It seems not all the individuals of those species always get Swim bladder problems when they consume too much dry foods, but only certain ones are more suceptible.

*~*After your Bala shark is better. You'll need to do some detective work on the foods he is eating. Maybe it's too much of a certain food...more likely he is consuming dry foods too quickly. In that case, you'll need to soak any dry food until it's well absorbed with aquarium water before feeding to prevent future problems.

As a precaution anytime your fish are ill. Please test your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate if you can....The first two levels should always be a Zero. And nitrate can be at a moderate level. As always, when in doubt, do a 30% water change to cross out the possibility he may be suffering from poor water quality. Remember to always dechlorinate and equalize the temperature of the replacement water to that of his aquarium.

Well, I know you really care about your Bala Shark. I do hope he gets better! Let me know if you have anymore questions or concerns.

Best wishes and Happy fishkeeping!
Karen~