Sick weather loach - floating!

[Claire1303]

Please can anyone help! I have a 4ft community tank with various fish, all friendly!! including 4 weather (dojo) loaches. Recently one of the loaches seems to float, he struggles to get to the bottom of the tank and is obviously really miserable. I've been trying interpet internal bacterial remedy but no improvement so far. Is there anything I can do to help him? or is it likely to be fatal?

[Claire1303]

Everything else in my tank is fine, including the other 3 weather loaches. I've had them for over a year and everything's been okay up til now! No changes to the tank recently, no new chemicals, fish or anything!

[shari2]

Hi Claire and welcome to LOL.

Can you tell us more about the tank?
What size, temp, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? I know you said it's 'fine' but what does that mean?
What other fish do you have?
How long has it been set up?
What's your filtration and water change schedule?
Noticed any other signs of problems, rapid respiration, change in color, blotchy patches, flashing, red streaks?

Any other fish showing signs of discomfort?
It's hard to diagnose fish accurately over the internet, as much info as you can give will help.

[Claire1303]

The only other signs are that he seems to be breathing rapidly and he does look paler than normal. Tank has been set up for over 2 years and I haven't changed anything or done anything differently for ages!! I couldn't say about the PH or anything without taking a sample to my LFS which unfortunately I cannot travel to until Saturday. I have a community tank with platties, bristlenoses, glass catfish, etc.

I have an external filter which gets "rinsed" in tank water every 6/8 weeks, and undergravel filters as well. I do a partial (1/4) waterchange every week or two as well. When the problem with him first started I did a 50% water change to try and sort the problem, and I've done another 50% change between treatments as well. I'm on my second round of internal bacterial medicine, can't think what else it could be! It's horrible watching him struggle to get to the bottom, where he should be. Have you got any suggestions?

When it first started I did a 50% change and left it a few days, then went through a cycle of the anti internal bacterial stuff by interpet. I then did another 50% change a week after the treatment, and as there had been no improvement I tried another cycle of treatment. I use interpet fresh start to add to my water when changing it, that's the only chemical I ever use.

[shari2]

55g tank?
What temp? Do you have a heater in the tank? Weather loaches are cool water fish. See also the link to M. mizolepis in the species description I linked above to tell which type of 'weather loach' your fish is, unless you already know?

What size is your filter? Canister or hang on the back?
What else is in the tank? Is it planted?

Did the water changes improve or change his breathing or behavior? What have you been feeding?

Sorry for all the questions, but I really need as much specific information as you can provide. It may be a swim bladder issue or something else. Hard to say without the specifics...

Has the fish been in the tank for the whole two years?

[shari2]

Some info on swim bladder problems from Fish doc.com

My fish are upside-down/ can't swim

This is a common problem whereby fish lose their equilibrium and are unable to maintain their position. This can result in the fish swimming awkwardly, laying upside-down either on the bottom or top of the water, or unable to maintain a horizontal position in the water. This is often attributed to swim-bladder problems and indeed this is the most common cause of loss of equilibrium. The swim-bladder is an air-filled sac laying just under the backbone at the top of the abdominal cavity. By inflating / deflating the swim-bladder, the fish can adjust its position in the water and maintain neutral buoyancy.

The swim-bladder can be affected by bacterial or viral diseases. In addition the swim-bladder may malfunction, leading to over or under inflation. Clearly anything which affects the proper functioning of the swim-bladder will also affect the fish's equilibrium.

However, before diagnosing all equilibrium problems as swim-bladder disease, we should be aware that there are other conditions which can cause buoyancy problems. Disease in other organs such as kidneys and intestines for example can also cause problems. This can happen if there is any swelling of the affected organs leading to either a change in organ density or pressure being put on the swim-bladder. This is often a problem with fancy goldfish whose abdominal cavity is tightly packed.

Treatment is difficult, mainly because it is virtually impossible to diagnose the cause and secondly there are only a few conditions that will respond to treatment. It is always worth considering a course of antibiotic injections in case a bacterial infection is involved. An attempt should be made to see whether the fish is defecating, in case the problem is being caused by an intestinal blockage. If this is suspected it is worth either trying to feed the fish a few frozen peas, which act as a laxative, or else try baths in Epsom salts (70g / litre for 5 minutes) which has the same effect.

If these treatments do not work, there is little else that can be done. There is some work being carried out on exploratory surgery, but there are very few veterinarians undertaking this "cutting edge" procedure.

There are a few reports of fish recovering from balance problems, so it is worth giving the fish some time. One report suggested "wedging" the fish upright between two objects was helpful. If there is no sign of recovery after 7-10 days, the kindest thing is to euthanase the fish.

[Claire1303]

The temp is between 24 - 26, which is room temperature. I don't use a heater. The external filter is the canister sort which sits in a cupboard underneath the tank. The tank is planted with 2 onion bulbs and lots of elodea (the only things the weather loaches can't destroy!!). It's difficult to keep a constant eye on him as he tends to wedge himself at the back inamongst some artificial plants I have in there.

I did notice, for one day he was able to sit on the bottom without struggling - this was just after I'd started the internal bacteria treatment for the second time. His breathing seemed easier as well, but the next day he was floating again. I put in the second dose of the treatment last night (it's a treatment where you put in 2 doses 4 days apart) and no improvement since.

My tank is 4ft long, approx 40 gallons I think? The fish has been in there the whole 2 years, I moved him from a much smaller tank when he outgrew it! There are 3 other weather loaches and they are all healthy, in fact they keep going and checking on him to be sure he's okay. Very often one of them will keep him company.

They get fed a mixture of dried bloodworm and flake food, I also use algae wafers and cory pellets. He has made an attempt to eat his bloodworm sometimes (his favourite) but mostlyjust ignores the food.

[Claire1303]

Thanks for the info. It does look like the problem is his swim bladder. I've actually cut a length of plastic pipe and stuck it horizontally near the surface using some heater sucker pads, he very often spends hours in there. Have you got any suggestions on antibiotics I can use please?

[shari2]

What are the ingredients in the Interpret stuff you're using?

If it's a broad spectrum antibacterial and the problem isn't resolving it may be either a viral issue or swim bladder disease. Is he pooping and eating? If not he could be suffering from constipation. If so try feeding some frozen peas.

I've gotta run out for a while and will check back later. Someone else may have a better idea and will chime in with their thoughts. Meanwhile, observe him carefully for a bit, jot down what you see that you think may be helpful, and google swim bladder+treatments and see if you can find more helpful information.

Good luck and I'll be back later!

[Claire1303]

Bad news I'm afraid - when I got up this morning he was floating upside down as well. He was very sluggish, made no attempt to move away from me. I had to euthanase him, was so upset.

Thank you for your help though, if it happens to any of the others I'll know what to do.

[joitoy]

I'm sorry to hear that.. I bought a new dojo about a week or so ago, a baby one, and he was tail-end floating for a day or so. I thought it was a swim bladder issue so soaked food before I put it in the tank and he was ok from that point forward. Maybe this will help if you buy another dojo. Isn't the first time I heard of one floating if there was a problem with the swim bladder, sometimes caused by food.

[shari2]

Sorry to hear it Claire, but you probably did the right (but always difficult) thing.

[joeybab3]

i know its a little late but i was having the same problem, for 3 days he did this, i was about to well... but i thought id give him another day and what do you know, he's alright