Koi carp swim bladder problem - can anything be done?

[Guderian]

One of my koi carp has developed what looks to me like a swim bladder problem. It's bloated and unsteady when swimming, evidently having some problems staying upright. Not a great photo, but I hope you can see what I mean:

 

 

Something similar happened to one about a year ago, it took many months but the fish gradually had more and more problems until, one morning, I found him or her lying upside down in the water. Not dead yet, but a day later it was, so I guess this guy or gal is heading much the same way sometime next year.

 

I've got two questions if there are any koi experts out there:

 

1) Is there anything realistic I can do for the fish? I looked on Google and read suggestions about isolating the fish in a dark pond and feeding it something or other, but I'm not a fish shop or aquarium, the koi carp pond is all I've got. Would a fish shop (as in selling them as pets, not as cod steaks, lol) know somebody who can help? They don't speak much English in the shop I use so I'm reluctant to try explaining the situation in my Thingish unless there's a chance they will be able to help. The fish is large and would not be easy to move to a vet or to the fish shop without specialised equipment, which I don't have. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

2) These fish were all bought at the same time from the same batch around 7 or 8 years ago, and I've never added any other fish so what could be causing these swim bladder problems? The water's kept pretty clean and they have a good diet of the expensive carp food, and very good aeration. I've no idea if it's a bacteria or virus or fungus or parasite or congenital defect that's causing this, does anyone now? If there's something simple I can do to stop it happening again then I'd be glad to do it.

 

Thanks for any help.

[IvorBiggun2]

How do you fix a koi swim bladder?

 

 

As a short term relief for fish with swim bladder issues, it is commonly suggested to put them in a warm, dark, shallow bath of water containing salt or Epsom salts (3g per L for long terms baths).

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7692175/#:~:text=Disorders of the swim bladder,or floating on the surface.

[Guderian]

1 minute ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

How do you fix a koi swim bladder?

 

 

As a short term relief for fish with swim bladder issues, it is commonly suggested to put them in a warm, dark, shallow bath of water containing salt or Epsom salts (3g per L for long terms baths).

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7692175/#:~:text=Disorders of the swim bladder,or floating on the surface.

 

Yes, that's similar to what I found, but I don't have a spare bath or anywhere to keep it dark. Maybe a fish shop could do this, that's why I asked.

[jak2002003]

Sorry to hear about your poorly koi fish.

 

Usually a swim bladder problem will not affect the way the fish body looks..it would not make it swell up like that. The only symptom of swimmer bladder disease is either becoming too buoyant or too heavy to swim normally. 

 

I can not tell by the photo, but are it's scales sticking out or raised like a pinecone?  If so that is a condition called 'dropsy'. This will also cause the fish body to swell up. 

 

Or, it could be a combination of both disorders. 

 

Either way I would do the same treatment. 

 

Look up on the Internet about salt baths for koi. This involves putting the affected fish into a water bath with concentrations of aquarium / pond salt dissolved in it for set periods of time until they recover. Make sure to use water from the pond and not tap water because of the dangerous chlorine. 

 

Many koi keepers regularly do this as a precaution to prevent diseases.  Or even have a lower concentration of pond salt in the pond water all the time. This kills parasites and improves the fishes healthy. However it means you can't grrow aquatic plants or keeps other kinds of fish and animals in the pond other than koi and goldfish. 

 

I would also change the sick fishes diet.  Sometimes the food can cause the fishes intestines to boat up with air, particularly the cheaper brands of floating food sticks.  Starve the fish a few days and when start to feed again make sure not not overfeed it...and include high fiber foods such as pens and leafy vegetables like lettuce. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jak2002003]

The pond salt is sold in the aquarium / aquatic shops. It's not expensice. 

 

You  can use any watertight container as a bath, Eg, a plastic storafe box, child's paddling pool, old bath, etc.  

 

You should add an air stone and use an air pump to provide oxygen in the small amount of water in the salt bath. 

 

And don't forget to cocer the top with something heavy, like a sheet of wood or tie a plastic sheet down over it, otherwise the fish may jump out. 

[Guderian]

1 hour ago, jak2002003 said:

I can not tell by the photo, but are it's scales sticking out or raised like a pinecone? 

 

I've had a closer look and there's nothing untoward about the scales. As you can see from the photo, the swelling is more on the left side than the right. Does that tell you anything?

 

I could use the pond salt, but there's about a thousand pla hang in there too, would it kill them?

 

[rickudon]

Pla Hang - do you mean Guppy? I think most livebearers can take a bit of salt

[jak2002003]

5 hours ago, Guderian said:

 

I've had a closer look and there's nothing untoward about the scales. As you can see from the photo, the swelling is more on the left side than the right. Does that tell you anything?

 

I could use the pond salt, but there's about a thousand pla hang in there too, would it kill them?

 

Not if it's guppies. They actually do better with some salt in their water. 

 

Please make sure you calculate the volume of water in your pond correctly if you add the salt, and take into account when diluting it in the future when you do water changes and also beware of it getting more concentrated dire to water evaporation.  You don't want to kill all your fish by adding too much salt. 

 

I would take the sick fish out for treatment, as it will need a stronger concentration of salt than will be healthy for the other fish over a longer time.