How to Treat Swim Bladder

Swim bladder disease is an ailment that creates an imbalance in a fish's guts, a bloating that causes the fish to swim off kilter--at an angle, or facing up, or upside down. Swim bladder disease affects many freshwater fish and can have various causes. There are several ways to treat swim bladder disease; some are natural remedies and some involve fish medication. According to Petfish.com, swim bladder disease is often associated with impaction of waste similar to constipation.

Things You'll Need

  • frozen peas
  • fish medication/antibiotics
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Instructions

    • 1

      Try feeding your fish some thawed out frozen green peas. Squeeze the contents of the pea from inside its shell and drop the contents into the tank. Do not allow the pea skin in the tank; the skin of the pea is too tough for the fish to nibble through. The pea mush can act as a stool softener and loosen any impaction that is causing the swim bladder.

    • 2

      Withhold food for 3 to 4 days as a natural approach. This can break up the impaction and prevent adding to it. Most fish can go a week to 10 days without eating with no harm being done.

    • 3

      Use TMP Sulfa or Quinine Sulfate. You can find them at pet stores. These are two fish medications that can treat swim bladder. You can use erythromycin for fish as well. Try this if the other methods do not work.

    • 4

      Monitor the fish for improvement. Depending on the cause of the swim bladder, it is not always curable. It's possible the fish may have another disease with similar symptoms.