Shubunkin recovering from swim bladder; next steps?

[ravvlet]

Please read to the end!

Took in a shubunkin in from a big box store whose tank had been in quarantine for weeks, fighting a bevy of illnesses due to issues with the filtration. We’d had our eyes on this little gal for a while because she’s only got one eye, but lovely calico markings, and unfortunately last Thursday was found floating on her side with little swim control.

We took her home that day and have been treating with Fritz salt, metroplex, kanaplex, and a bit of pimafix. She’s really small (about an inch and a half) so for the moment she’s in a 2.5gal I used to use for shrimp breeding with a sponge filter.

I am doing 50% water changes every day, reapplying meds/salt to match the concentration it was at previous - which is admittedly a bit confusing since metro/kana according to the label is supposed to be dosed every other day up to three times. I think effectively I’m on my third “dose” if I give a full and not half at the next water change?

 

I have not tested parameters. I know they’re whack, it’s a shubunkin in a 2.5; I’ve been dosing the tank with Prime when I do water changes and vacuuming all waste. Feeding one small cube of Repashy Bio Gold per day, to try to keep the water cleaner; when she’s in a  bigger space I’ll feed her 3x a day like we did when our other goldfish was a juvenile.

 

The good news: she is mostly swimming normally! If she gets excited because I come into the room she still does a few spins/cartwheels, but more and more I am seeing her able to swim up from the bottom, and she has completely stopped floating on her side.

Because of the number of water changes I’ve had to do, and the ludicrous size of the quarantine tank, obviously it’s not going to establish a nitrogen cycle. My questions are as follows:

1.) How long do I keep her in here & on meds so that I’m sure she is fully recovered? I have a fully planted out 75gal that’s been running for a month ready for her to go into, which leads me to my next question -

2.) The 75 has a ton of plants and an FX4. Even with reduced flow rate and a spray bar, it’s got a current going. She’s a tiny fish. I know how fast goldfish grow (we have another planted tank with a black moor) but I’m worried even with a feeding funnel and tray she’ll struggle to get around and find her food. Should we set up a smaller interim tank?

 

3.) if we do make her a quarantine tank (well, I could also stick her in with the shrimp in my 20g tall, but then I can’t medicate it because of the shrimp), how long should we keep her there before we move her?

 

Thanks for reading! Photos to follow. Obviously no idea if this fish is female, my kid named her Anna Banana so I’m going to go with it until she sports breeding stars or something else obvious.

 

short term quarantine jail:

I know she looks awful but believe me, she looks better than she did when we got her

 

destination tank:

Did you know algae is a carpeting plant /sarcasm

my other goldfish, so that you don’t think I’m a heartless monster that regularly sticks them in 2.5gal aquariums (we did not expect to be bringing her home on the verge of death):

[Colu]

If it's a swim bladder issues you would want to treat with epsom salt baths 1 table spoon for 1 gallon for no more than 15 minutes for 5 days as Epsom salt as a muscle relaxant to relieve pressure on the swim bladder @ravvlet

[ravvlet]

On 4/9/2024 at 3:15 AM, Colu said:

If it's a swim bladder issues you would want to treat with epsom salt baths 1 table spoon for 1 gallon for no more than 15 minutes for 5 days as Epsom salt as a muscle relaxant to relieve pressure on the swim bladder @ravvlet

I’ve got salt in the tank now at the conditioning dose and it seems to be working. I combined it with antibiotics because there was a known ongoing issue in the source tank, and swim bladder issues can also be secondary symptoms of a bacterial infection. 
 

I have not been doing salt baths, but she was swimming almost completely normally this morning.

Is it safe to move her directly into the 75? Or is the flow going to be difficult for her? How long should she stay in the medicated tank to be sure whatever caused the problem doesn’t have a flare up once the antibiotics and salt are stopped?

[Colu]

I would leave in quarantine it at least two weeks with out any issues before moving her @ravvlet

Edited April 10 by Colu

[ravvlet]

Sounds good. I’ll keep up the daily water changes as the tank is quite small. At least it will give me time to deal with the ridiculous algae.

[ravvlet]

Wanted to update to say the little gal is swimming completely normally today, and is eating great too. Still have her in the small tank on daily water changes, but I caught her playing in the sponge filter. No more spinning in circles or backflips, and the meds and salt should be nearly all out of the water due to water changes now.