Swim Bladder Troubles/Bloat?

[Dangerous Dave]

I have a discus that was fine yesterday and appeared to be eating ok.
This morning the fish is bloated and is obviously having troubles with its swim bladder. It struggles to stay near the bottom and keep its balance.

I have heard that Epsom Salts is a cure for constipation/bloat. Would this work? Does anybody have any other suggestions?

Thanks
:D

[Merrilyn]

Dave, you can try 1 level teaspoon of Epsom Salts per 20 litres. That should help if the problem is constipation.

[Aurora]

Do you add that straight to the tank, or do you add it to the aged water before you do a water change?

How long do you normally leave salt in there for?

Do people do regular salt treatments like they do regular worming treatments?

[Merrilyn]

Dissolve the salts in a cup of warm water before adding to the tank. Leave it there for 3 days, then do a couple of big water changes. If there is no improvement, you can repeat the dose, but I'm inclined to think that if it doesn't work, then we are dealing with a bacterial infection, and that should be treated with metro or tetracycline.

You can buy Epsom Salts from the chemist or supermarket. Handy to have on hand, but don't use it unless you see signs of constipation. It's not something you should use on a regular basis.

[goldenpigeon]

i have had this problem before it happened to a small discus so i treated it like this:

i put this fish in a 3L ice- cream container as i had no spare tank, with a heater and airstone. the temp was set to 32 degrees i used just over 1/4 tea spoon of salt and the normal aquarium water it had come from.

i had the discus in this salt bath for about 6 hours and it had returned to its normal size by then. i gave the tank a water change and added half dose of salt then add the fish back to the tank.

small water changes were caried out daily for about 5 days.

David

[Merrilyn]

Was that plain salt you were using David, or was it epsom salts.

[goldenpigeon]

its aquairum science brand and called 'aquarium salt and conditioner' i dont know if it is that epsom salt or not it doesnt say on the container but this stuff worked for me

how big is htis fish?

David

[goldenpigeon]

can u tell us dangerous dave?

David

[Merrilyn]

GP that's the aquarium salt you put in the water to increase the pH and make the water harder. Epsom salts is a different thing. But glad to hear that it worked for you.

[goldenpigeon]

i didnt know much back then but i have still got the affected fish and i have not had and recurences of the bloating since then.

David

[Dangerous Dave]

Thanks for all the help but the fish was fine when I got home. I can't understand it. The fish could barely keep itself upright when I left. :shock: