dnalex 13,633 Posted November 7, 2013 Was he ever on MMs? I think it might be worth a try to put him on a 14 day course of this. Here's the reason: 1. He could be having an internal infection that either directly or indirectly affects the SB, which could lead to what we are seeing. 2. More likely, he may have a lot of gas-producing bacteria in the gut, which then leads to excess gas (read floaty) when they break down the food. Both of these reasons would suggest a course of antibiotics, and metronidazole can be important here, because of its action on anaerobic bacteria. Have you noticed his poop? What does it look like? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarannosaurus 24 Posted November 30, 2013 Hey sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. Bubba has never been on antibiotic food. His poop is mostly normal but is sometimes a little stringy with bubbles in it. I just want to be clear that this fish doesn't display any other problems and this floating behavior has been going on for more than seven months, and the air-sucking for even longer than that. I have tried fasting him changing his food several times so I know it's not food related. I'm sure it has something to do with him sucking air all the time, or somehow the swim bladder has been permanently damaged. He begins gulping early in the morning and is belly-up by 2:00 in the afternoon. Then he stays like that for the rest of the day. This fish is upside-down more than he is upright. I just think we would have seen something else develop already if he had any sort of infection. This has been going on for a very long time. Let me know what you think. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dnalex 13,633 Posted December 2, 2013 This does seem to be an SB issue, and by now, it may be a permanent thing. I think it will deteriorate further (time frame not known) until he becomes a sinker. There isn't much that we can do at this point, other than what Izzy (the koi maiden) is doing with Waddles, which is to lower the water level drastically. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarannosaurus 24 Posted December 4, 2013 This does seem to be an SB issue, and by now, it may be a permanent thing. I think it will deteriorate further (time frame not known) until he becomes a sinker. There isn't much that we can do at this point, other than what Izzy (the koi maiden) is doing with Waddles, which is to lower the water level drastically. Yeah, I have fed him nothing but peas for the past three days and he's still floating. I was searching the internet and I came across this video. Have you seen this? I think it could help him if it weren't too tight. What do you think? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dnalex 13,633 Posted December 4, 2013 I don't want to discourage you from attempting it (or something else) but I do want to tell you that from what I have seen, every device that has been made eventually will fail, either because they are not practical, or they lead to chafing and infections where the device touches the fish. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarannosaurus 24 Posted December 4, 2013 I don't want to discourage you from attempting it (or something else) but I do want to tell you that from what I have seen, every device that has been made eventually will fail, either because they are not practical, or they lead to chafing and infections where the device touches the fish. Yes, this is what I would be worried about and why I wanted your opinion. Thanks. I'll see what I can do. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
