Deformed rescue

[ktbrew]

Hi, first time poster, long time stalker. Lol.
A week ago I saw this poor guy at Petco & got a discount on him since he could only swim at the top of the cup, on his side. I saw his swim bladder was severely swollen & knew the likelihood of someone purchasing him was small.
I have him in a heated 1 gallon w. 100% water changes every other day and 1tsp of Epsom salts dissolved in it.
I fasted him for the first 3 full days of owning him then did the little bit of warmed pea. He ate it and since i feed him every other day either a pellet or bit of pea. Hes active & will dive down for his food, then of course float up by his rear end. He likes to use his plants & heater for support to get lower in his bowl. I have no gravel so I can see if he has pooped & have only seen one very small, brown one.
Also the lil guy has 3 pelvic fins as a deformity so im wondering if his swim bladder is also deformed.
My questions are:
1. Should i keep up w.my feeding schedule? Im going to go see if Petco has daphina. If they do how much & how often should i feed him it?

2. How long should i continue w.the Epsom salts

3. Is the 1gallon, heated okay for him since he does struggle w.swimming from his swim bladder?

4. Does his 3rd pectoral swim hinder him at all?

And 5....whew! What is a good name for him? Ill post some pics later. Hes a red delta.

Thanks for any feedback that can be offered!

[Oldfishlady]

With buoyancy issues it can be due to several things-either swim bladder or labyrinth organ related. It can be caused by several things-genetic, deformities, injury, bacterial, too cool/dry air over the water- to name the most common. It can also be due to how it was reared and fed at the fish farm itself.

While feeding a pea on occasion for constipation issues is not harmful-I wouldn't feed them on a regular basis or use as part of the staple diet-due to poor nutrition.


For a short term treatment-I would QT in a small container that can be floated in the heated tank to maintain temp in the 76-78F range and cover it with plastic veggie wrap to retain heat/humidity for the labyrinth organ. Using premixed treatment water for 50% daily to every other day water changes for 10-14 days and good nutrition-live food being the best, like live mosquito larva, otherwise, good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals.

Premixed treatment water-
In a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water-add Epsom salt 3tsp/gal and a tannin source-either IAL (1lrg crushed/gal) or naturally dried and fallen from the tree Oak leaf (20 crushed/gal) Let this steep for 30min. Shake well before use.

Using the premixed treatment water-make 25% water change every 15min for 1 hour. This will get them acclimated and start the treatment.
They need to stay in the small covered QT floating in the heated tank-in the treatment water for the duration of the treatment period.

Tomorrow-using the premixed treatment water make 50% daily to every other day water changes.
If you used a tannin source the water in the jug should look darker each day and this is what you want.

For a chronic buoyancy problem-I would use Epsom salt 1tsp/gal long term and if needed lower the water level so he doesn't have to struggle to get air.

[ktbrew]

Thanks for the advice. I will have to see if I can find a IAL at Petco otherwise I will have to order some online and begin after they arrive....same with the larvae. The only problem is if I order the larvae online they will probably die before I get them as Montana is pretty cold and snowy at the moment. But I will look for what I can find for variety. I hope this helps, he's got a shy personality, but each day I see him coming out of his shell a little more & I just want the best for him!