UPDATE: Swim Bladder problem in my kitumba Female

[skrick]

I really need help if anyone can recommend anything I cant lose this female everyone else is fine and water parameters are spot on and tank is super duper clean but for a week now she has been at the top and wedging herself under a log to stay down at night she is eating but not pooing and i have tried peas she wont eat them and have dosed with maracyn 2 what else can I do I just cant kill her

[skrick]

Sorry Mods I posted in the wrong section you can move if you wan't I appologize

[bigfry]

Have you tried Epsom salts. I have to look up the amount per gallon...

Perhaps no feeding for a couple of days so everyone has a cleaned stomach.

[Mferko]

ive heard it can be caused when they feed from the top and get air in their stomach, salts are supposed to be the best cure without using a needle to suck it out which i would never attempt but thats what came up when googling it

[taureandragon76]

moved to hospital section for you

[charles]

is she bloated or floated? Two different types of problem.
Bloated - infection and belly gets huge. Swim normal.
Floated - head down, tail up, trying to stay down by swimming hard downward.

Bloat - try epsom salt.

Float - damage air bladder. I can operate but it is the last thing you want to do. I assume yours are F1. Very rare to see F1 fish get floated. There is nothing much you can do about that. People have tried different method like putting an eggcrate so it will stay down. Or darken the tank for 3 days without feeding. But in my experience, any stress will trigger this condition again; even a simple thing as water change.

ive heard it can be caused when they feed from the top and get air in their stomach

Not true. And people also said aviod air stone because it likes to swallow the air bubble, not true as well.

[charles]

I have done the operation with my wild mpimbwe and wild kitumba.

Kitumba was fine. One operation by inserting a very fine syringe from the side of the fish toward the lower through the skin then the air bladder under water. You will right away see the air coming out as bubble through the syringe. Then you can massage rest of the air out. Then remove the syringe under water. Then you can pick up the fish, put a drop of superglue on the wound.

Mpimbwe was a different story. Did the operation. Fish was fine. 6 months later, same thing happened after a big water change + gravel vac.. Darken the tank, waited for 2 weeks no feeding, no result. Decided the do the operation again. Fish was fine for another 2 months. Then same thing happen. One more operation, damaged the air bladder. Instead of float, the fish no longer be able to float, it sank all the time. Needless to say, it died within 1 week.

Do at your own risk...

[skrick]

Thanks for the help guys Im gonna try anything But I have become attached to these Ill pay you charles for your time if in a little while you might be able to look at her for me if she is not better I added some chichlid salt is this ok ? she is too nice to lose and I got them from a good friend so I cant let her die I will never find a nice blue female like this again she is always trying to get to the bottom nose first she doesn't look too bloated and still goes for food but tries to get under stuff to stay down

[charles]

sounds like she is having float problem. Darken the tank completely, stop feeding for 3 days and see if her condition improve. Before that, can you give me your water parameter reading; number reading on ph, kh, anmonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

[Rastapus]

Low GH would be my first suspicion here. What are the GH and KH levels?