From time to time, some fish may develop swim bladder problems and these tend to manifest as buoyancy disorders – either the fish is floating to the top (positively buoyant), or sinking to the bottom (negatively buoyant). Fish in their natural healthy state should be relatively neutrally buoyant, or only just slightly negatively buoyant.
How to fix this condition using mechanical/pneumatic methods on fish?
Fish should be sedated and the smallest gauge needle used. Best response is seen if fish is attended to within 24 hours of first showing signs of swim bladder disease.
In fish that are laterally compressed, a bright light shining from the other side may make a silhouette apparent. In thicker bodied fish, ultrasound may be necessary to help guide your needle to the right location. Once in the swim bladder lumen, the syringe can be used to inflate or deflate the sac depending on what’s needed.
It is also worthwhile to point out that buoyancy disorders are not always a
benign condition. It may be due to several things including the more common conditions such as mycobacteriosis and septicaemia. So these should be diagnosed as soon as possible and the right course of treatment chosen.
Any success of adding a cortisone treatment with the antibiotic treatment in treating cases with suspected swim bladder infections?
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I would tend to use NSAIDs rather than steroids for the anti-inflammatory activity in cases of infection.
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