Anybody have any advice for swim bladder disease?

[Nano]

I am pretty sure that my full grown Jaguar Cichlid has swim bladder disease. Does anyone know if this is fatal? Is there any treatment for this? Thanks, Nano.

[t_chelle16]

Is he bloated any or just having buoyancy problems?
Has he been pooping normally?
What are you feeding him?
How his he acting otherwise? Are his fins clamped? Is he still somewhat active? Eating? Any red streaks or patches?
What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte?

The most common causes of swim bladder problems are:
Constipation - the swim bladder empties into the intestines so if there's a blockage, it can't deflate.
Injury - If there's some kind of injury (can happen if the fish suffers some kind of blunt trauma like running into decorations, jumping out of the tank or getting badly beat up by other fish), the swim bladder could get damaged and not function properly
Infection - an internal infection can damage the swim bladder.
Tumor - a large mass/tumor can keep the swim bladder from working properly.

-Chelle

[Nano]

The jaguar cichlid is very bloated, and having a problem with buoyancy(sp?). His scales are not sticking out, and fins are not clamped, he still swims allright, but at the top. He eats extremely well, no change there. Tank is clean, and filter has also been cleaned and changed. I have been keeping up with water changes as well. I feed them pelleted food and food sticks as well. Thanks, Nano.

[t_chelle16]

Sounds like he could be a little constipated. I'd stop feeding him for a few days. Or if you feed him just try giving him a few shelled peas (it's like fishy ex-lax). You can just use frozen peas and nuke them in the microwave for a few seconds to thaw them. Then remove the outer skin and feed the middle parts to him.

-Chelle

[Nano]

[t_chelle16]

Has he been eating anything? If you're still feeding him regular food, I'd stop feeding him altogether for a few days.

Also, is there any way you could post a picture?

The only other thing that comes to mind is maybe a tumor. If that's the case, there's really not a whole lot you could do.

-Chelle

[Nano]

[t_chelle16]

Any stringy white poop? That's generally the primary symptom of internal parasites. But if you haven't introduced any new fish in quite a while, chances are, it's not a parasite.

-Chelle