Swimbladder problems in koi and fancy goldfish

[Dave 54]

This thread came about thanx to Bullfrogs thread surgery on constipated goldfish .
Nearly all fish have swimbladders it provides them with bouancy whilst in the water column at varying depths from just under the top of the pond right the way down to the bottom and are a pair a gas filled organs a front larger chambers one the other smaller normally which is set back from the first
They are found under the backbone of the fish under what we call the trunk kidney but over the gonads of your fish, both Goldfish and koi have these organs and rarely see problems with it
However the fancy varieties such as Orandas, Black Moors, lion heads vieltails etc can all suffer from problems with theirs due to their miss-shaped bodies which compress the inner organs and can put pressure on the swimbladder which is also miss-shaped
What can cause problems wit the swimbladder well in truth there are many factors from changes to the ponds water be it a sudden change in temperature , internal infection such as Dopsy overeating , egg production etc .
Nines out of ten a fish efected with bouyancy issues your fish will apprear to have nothing at all wrong with it as its in good condition however it has extreme difficulty in maintaining its position in the water .
This can be listing over to either one side or the other, it stuggles to swim towards the bottom can be found at the surface of the pond in either a belly up position or swimming on its side, or it can remain sat on the bottom of your pond , these are all all signes that something is amiss with our fish and its swimbladder
However there is another issue where a fish can show signs of normal swimming behavour then suffer sporadiic issues of problems with bouyancy
This is seen more in koi than goldfish and can be caused by your fish gulping air at the ponds surface for no reason other than doing it, (please dont miss identify this, as it is plain and simple caused by airgulping) and is nothing to do with a swimbladder disorder.
Its more a behavoural issue that should be addressed .
To do this you could you could try swopping feeds to sinking pellets or by holding your hand with the food underwater so the fish can eat from there and as such not gulping in air as it feeds
The best way to identify air gulping is to watch your fish whilst at the surface of the pond they will come up from time to time and swim at the surface in a head up position taking in air.
So what to look for in a fish with a swimbladder problem ?
Lets start with the most obvious your fish has a loss of neutral bouancy, giving rise to the problem of your fish having problems keeping its position in the pond.
This may very well indicate the swimbladder is either unable to inflate or deflate causing you fish to either head for the bottom and struggle to rise or head for the top of the pond and have difficulty going downwards again this may be through damage to the swimbladder itself
Or the fact that the swimbladder is under pressure due to a systemic bacterial as the cause, it could be down to Nematode worms "round worms or Protoza "coccidia" which can and do cause these issues .
Your fish may well even have a tumor , dropsy or many other health related issues like disease. the least worrisome condition of all constipation or shock.
Constipation can be cure by a duretic diet of garden peas and chopped earthworm causing things to move through the sytem and out the other end as nature intended.
If this doesnt work then it isnt constipation your fish has an internal blockage of some sort and like many of the above conditions can be very hard to near impossible to treat.
Dosing the QT Fasility with salt or antibacterial remedy may be affective in some cases..
As veterinarian may be to X-ray the affected fish in order to visualize any damage etc of the swim bladder chambers.
If bladder over inflation is discovered, then it may be possible for the vet to aspirate the excess gas, sadly however this does not always bring about a permanent cure.
So in spite attempts at treatment, many cases of swim bladder problems fail to improve but it is worth a try
If the fish that is effected seems to be showing signes of being severely distressed, is unwilling or unable to feed then sadly it might be kinder to Euthanate your fish by use of Aenesthtic

Dave

 

[j.w]

When I had goldfish in an aquarium many yrs ago I had problems like that w/ the fancy plump fish. Was so sad to see them like that and back then I knew nothing about how to help them. I have not noticed the problem w/any of my slim lined gold fish in my pond. Good you posted this for those who have the problem.

 

[Dave 54]

I think the main reason you see it in Fancy goldfish over that of normal goldfish j.w. is because everything thats bad in mutation has been used as a plus by the breeders .
You could say that a change in body shape has created these problems, causeing the the internal organs to become somewhat slighly out of kilter within the body cavit, "squashed up" is an apt decription
And it is these very defects that can cause the fancy goldfish bouyancy issues
This is why Val and I lke our koi , the body shape is correct for that species of fiish and has not bee changed, the Pattern, colour and size are about the only things that change on a koi.
Sadly like with dog breeding standards at Crufts mutation has become the norm and is seen as a thing of beauty to fancy owners in the natural world there wouldnt be that sort f mutation as it would lead to the death of that fish and off spring.
"Fancy Goldfish do have a place in the fish world though" but owners need to be aware of possible problems they suffer from and be able to act on any such problem as soon as a problem occurs

Dave .

 

[j.w]

Yep that's why I stick w/the goldfish or shubunkin type fish. They seem to have less problems like that.

 

[Dave 54]

Yep that's why I stick w/the goldfish or shubunkin type fish. They seem to have less problems like that.

You could add comet to the list there j.w. they are a normal type varient of the goldfish .
I believe i was a friend of mine who said stock a pond with fancies and within 7 years or so they would have bred pure again .
Sadly you cant change hundereds of years of breeding in these mutations because its written in stone and they wont be changing them anytime soon.
But is properly looked after fancies can and do have long happy lives , just not in a pond unless they are the more hardier varieties that can survive life in the pond.

Dave

 

[j.w]

Yep I have comets too and they do nicely in a pond. Very hardy!