# blue dolphin with swim bladder issue



## teefers (Feb 11, 2007)

my blue dolphin (moorii) is having swim bladder problems. how can i help him? what caused this?


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

i have a 3inch moori which i put in a small tank on it own the other day as he was getting picked on.
thing is for the last 2 days he has just been swimming in a very small circle, like a dog chasing its tail non stop.
just going round and round all day long.
strange.


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## Fish_Dude (Aug 13, 2006)

Not trying to be negative here.. but every time I've had a cichlid have trouble with swimming/swim bladder, he died within 24 hours. I've often euthenized them after there was no hope.. just kind of laying on the bottom with their gills movie. It's very painful to watch.
But I have heard of cased where this has been an infected or bruised swim bladder, so I always hold out hope, but I'm batting 0.

You may want to try some sort of antibiotics.. I can't say which is good for swim bladder issues.. but again, that's more of a goldfish issue and not cichlids. Usually, it's a late stage of something much worse.


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

its still swimming round and round today, even when i put the kitchen light on at 3 am, he was still doing it in the dark. :roll:


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

We need alot more information in order to help...

What size tank is this?

What are the tank mates? How large are these fish?

What are the water parameters on the tank? How long has it been set up?

What is your normal tank maintenance routine?

Have you lost any fish recently?

Added any new fish without quarantine?

Is the fish eating? Could you describe his behaviour in more detail? Is he lingering at the bottom of the tank? Bloated in appearance? Are his scales "raised"?


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## teefers (Feb 11, 2007)

Fish_Dude said:


> Not trying to be negative here.. but every time I've had a cichlid have trouble with swimming/swim bladder, he died within 24 hours. I've often euthenized them after there was no hope.. just kind of laying on the bottom with their gills movie. It's very painful to watch.
> But I have heard of cased where this has been an infected or bruised swim bladder, so I always hold out hope, but I'm batting 0.
> 
> You may want to try some sort of antibiotics.. I can't say which is good for swim bladder issues.. but again, that's more of a goldfish issue and not cichlids. Usually, it's a late stage of something much worse.


Mine has been this way for a couple weeks now. It's been sloooowly getting worse. I noticed it would get worse right after feeding, so I started feeding less, which helped temporarily, but I'm going to try veggies and frozen daphnia (in case constipation is causing the swim bladder disease) before antibiotics, which is always my last ditch effort. If I went the way of antibiotics, which kind would you suggest?


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## teefers (Feb 11, 2007)

What size tank is this?
55g. Yes, dolphins need 75 gallons MIN.. I got him when he was much smaller and was and still am planning to upgrade.

What are the tank mates? How large are these fish?
1 syno, 1 frontosa, 3 zebras (1 female), 1 yellow lab (she gets moved around because she's pregnant). They're all quite large, except for the yellow lab. I know I am currently overstocked (which is most definitely contributing to the problem) but I have been shopping for 125-200 gallon tanks. They won't be moved into the new setup until after Sept 18, though (buying a house, not setting up that tank until we're in the new house).. The blue dolphin is 6 or 7 inches now. He's my biggest fish and one of my favorites.

What are the water parameters on the tank? How long has it been set up?
It's been up for about 4 years. Haven't tested the parameters in a while, tbh. I haven't found my testing supplies to be accurate and am going to invest in a combo PH/TDS/EC tester for all my tanks.

What is your normal tank maintenance routine?
Clean the canister filter once every 2 months, 25% water change every 2 weeks

Have you lost any fish recently?
No, not for a while! Looking to keep it that way too!

Added any new fish without quarantine?
No 

Is the fish eating? Could you describe his behaviour in more detail? Is he lingering at the bottom of the tank? Bloated in appearance? Are his scales "raised"?
He eats like a pig!! He's either at the surface of the water with his head lower than his tail, or at the bottom of the tank wedged under a rock so he can stay level. He is not bloated at all and his scales aren't pineconing, so no dropsy or anything. He's still very active and personable, the only thing that appears VISIBLY wrong with him is his swim bladder.


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

still swiming round and round today, but now its upside down,
i think it will be dead tomorow :-?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Well, it sounds like a swim bladder injury, and with that stock list in that size tank, that's not really surprising. There may also be some organ failure involved, the tank maintenance is pretty minimal for larger fish, and since we don't have any water parameters to go on, toxicity following the injury is a possibility.

I would remove him to a hospital tank and do daily water changes. See how he behaves alone, if it's not too late. He is obviously weakened, and the other fish may be picking on him, making things worse.

I would step up the tank maintenance to weekly, and larger amounts of a water change, especially if you aren't going to keep up with the water quality/parameters. 30-40% would the least amount I would do _weekly_.

I dare say these fish haven't been housed together for the full 4 years of the tank.


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## teefers (Feb 11, 2007)

cichlidaholic said:


> Well, it sounds like a swim bladder injury, and with that stock list in that size tank, that's not really surprising. There may also be some organ failure involved, the tank maintenance is pretty minimal for larger fish, and since we don't have any water parameters to go on, toxicity following the injury is a possibility.
> 
> I would remove him to a hospital tank and do daily water changes. See how he behaves alone, if it's not too late. He is obviously weakened, and the other fish may be picking on him, making things worse.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply. I'll up my maintenance to 50% weekly and put him in a hospital tank. I've been overfiltering the tank, if that helps.. I know it doesn't do anything for the nitrates but yeah.

They weren't all introduced at the same time but they have all been in the tank for 3+ years and have been peaceful, but less so over time as they've grown (especially in the last few months) and its gotten more crowded. I already got rid of one cichlid and I've been wanting to lighten the load some more but didn't because I was trying to hold out for the bigger tank.. Now the load is being lightened for me. Bummer


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I really think your problem is exactly as you said...Your fish are all fully matured at this point, and they are confined to a space that isn't appropriate, and you didn't make the best stocking choices for harmony, either. Actually, I'm very surprised that frontosa hasn't eaten everything else by now.


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## teefers (Feb 11, 2007)

Yeahhhh. I did my research when I was setting it up and was going for an all-male cichlid tank, with one male of each species.. Problem is, this only works if you're good at sexing the fish  I ended up with a female yellow lab which I fully thought was male until she started juggling eggs. Then I ended up with a few rescues (which included a couple more females) from a friend who could no longer keep her cichlids and.. yeah. I probably shouldn't have sacrificed my own babies to save hers, but hindsight is 20/20. I also didn't think the dolphin would grow this fast.. I thought I'd have a little more time when it came to upgrading the tank. The frontosa is actually the gentlest one out of the bunch. He's surprisingly well adjusted and active without being aggressive for being stuck with a bunch of mbunas. I fully intend on having a dedicated Tanganikya tank with a bunch of frontosas that this guy will be upgraded to.

Thank you very much for your replies, they help alot!

If you were to suggest an antibiotic to treat my blue dolphin, which one would you recommend?


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

R.I.P, he passed away yesterday did the little moori,  his last day he spent upside down , swimming round and round.


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## teefers (Feb 11, 2007)

Hey guys, so for the past month, I've confined the blue dolphin with a swim bladder injury to a 10g hospital tank.. and.. I'm happy to report that his swimming seems to totally back to normal! I was really close to euthanizing him at one point too because he looked so miserable.

Anyway, he was the alpha fish in my display tank so as soon as I quarantined him, the fish all started fighting to be on top. I ended up moving the female yellow lab to another tank and removed the female zebra as well. As soon as I removed all the females, the tank calmed down and is now as silent as can be.

Remaining inhabitants include two zebras (one ice blue and one greshakei), one frontosa, and a whole batch of newborn fry (they're not even a half inch yet) in the 55g. I can't upgrade the tank for another two or three weeks, and I was wondering if its safe to keep the blue dolphin in a 10g tank for that long as long as I keep up with water changes? He's 7 inches. Or do you guys think it would be wiser to return him to the 55g so he can finally swim around again, now that the tank is calm and all-male again (except for the unsexed fry, of course)?


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## teefers (Feb 11, 2007)

Hey guys, so for the past month, I've confined the blue dolphin with a swim bladder injury to a 10g hospital tank.. and.. I'm happy to report that his swimming seems to totally back to normal! I was really close to euthanizing him at one point too because he looked so miserable.

Anyway, he was the alpha fish in my display tank so as soon as I quarantined him, the fish all started fighting to be on top. I ended up moving the female yellow lab to another tank and removed the female zebra as well. As soon as I removed all the females, the tank calmed down and is now as silent as can be.

Remaining inhabitants include two zebras (one ice blue and one greshakei), one frontosa, and a whole batch of newborn fry (they're not even a half inch yet) in the 55g. I can't upgrade the tank for another two or three weeks, and I was wondering if its safe to keep the blue dolphin in a 10g tank for that long as long as I keep up with water changes? He's 7 inches. Or do you guys think it would be wiser to return him to the 55g so he can finally swim around again, now that the tank is calm and all-male again (except for the unsexed fry, of course)?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

You should be okay leaving him in the 10G as temporary housing as long as you stay on top of the water quality. He's probably not going to be the happiest fish in the world, but he should be okay until you get the new tank going.

If it turns out to take longer than a couple of weeks, you might consider putting him back in the main tank.


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## teefers (Feb 11, 2007)

cichlidaholic said:


> You should be okay leaving him in the 10G as temporary housing as long as you stay on top of the water quality. He's probably not going to be the happiest fish in the world, but he should be okay until you get the new tank going.
> 
> If it turns out to take longer than a couple of weeks, you might consider putting him back in the main tank.


Thank you!


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