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  • Results 1 to 4 of 4

    Thread: Buoyancy issue. Need advice

    1. #1
      Kirkpaints@aol.com is offline Junior Member
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      Buoyancy issue. Need advice

      I have a 3 year old koi that can't swim. I found him on the bottom of the pond about a month ago, with skin ulcers. He has been in an isolation tank and I have made him a "swim jacket" to keep him buoyant. He is active, energetic, and seems fine but has little interest in eating. Out of the swim jacket he sinks to the bottom. I took him to a fish vet but I'm not all that convinced she was a fish expert. She did X-rays and the swim bladder was small. She gave him a shot of antibiotics and a 8 day supply of oral antibiotics exclaiming she thought he had a bacterial infection. He seems healthy other than Bouyancy issue. The vet did inflate the swim bladder (a little) I couldn't tell there was a big change in size. He still wasn't buoyant when I left the vets office. There are no tumors on the X-ray, nothing unusual looking. Any advice is appreciated. I really hate to have to put him down when he seems to be energetic and happy.

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    2. #2
      montwila's Avatar
      montwila is offline Supporting Member
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      The fish is not healthy if it has skin ulcers.

      Yes, buoyancy issues are usually associated with bacterial infections if it is not genetic. Since the fish is in its third year then I would also go with bacterial.

      Taking care if the bacterial infection may possibly heal the fish and possibly give it a leg up. However some fish are weak fish and it may have lived its life.

      What is the water temp? You have had some very sever weather this last month. Did the fish get cold? If this is the case then possibly the fish went into topor (they do not hybernate). They can lay on the bottom of the pond and move very little. Some will actually lay over on their sides in this state. If this is what is going on then the fish may recover after the water warms up. You will have to see if it can make it but the antibiotic will not work at low temperatures IMHO.

      Generally if it is just a single fish that this is occurring to, then I would put it down for the sake of the rest of the heard. Especially if you are not prepared to set up and keep a hospital tank for the rest of the year to heal the fish. You do not mention any other plan other than the antibiotic course.

      The Atlanta Koi club is a very good club and they have a lot of resources.
      Last edited by montwila; 02-14-2017 at 03:00 PM.

    3. #3
      RickF's Avatar
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      This is one of the few cases where salt might be indicated, assuming the fish is still in a quarantine tank. Salt at 0.6% will make the water more dense, which will help with buoyancy. This is a temporary measure to keep the fish comfortable until the antibiotic has a chance to work. I do agree that if you go this route, you are committed to keeping the fish in the quarantine tank until spring.

    4. #4
      cindy's Avatar
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      Did she do a scrape and check for parasites? Can you take a picture?

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