Am I being cruel

[mrs fishpatrick]

A while back my jewel cichlid male was on the recieving end of some aggression, ever since then he has trouble with his buoyancie(spelling)
I am kinda sure his swimbladder is damaged as he is showing all the signs,
am I being cruel keeping him alive?
The attacker was removed and I recently put the fish in a bigger tank to try and give him a better quality of life, but I dont think he is ever going to recover.
What would you do/ what should I do

[Sharon]

As long as he's eating and not showing signs of suffering, you're not being cruel. If the swim bladder was injured, he may still recover. Have you tried an Epsom salt bath...

[mrs fishpatrick]

No I haven't tried that, how does that work?

[VoidParadigm]

It could recover, who knows. I'm not sure how you could help the problems, but at least you can give it a good home and keep it well fed until its body decides what's going to happen. Best of luck.

[Red]

If he eats, your fine. Your trying to give him a chance.

[Sharon]

I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you...I had guests for lunch, and I've been busy...

Do a 25% waterchange every day. Add 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt (NOT sodium chloride, you need magnesium sulfate from the grocery store - sodium chloride is harmful when a fish is having edema issues) for each 5 gallons, replenishing the corresponding amount of Epsom salt every time you do a water change. Dissolve the salt in warm water first.
Maracyn 2, which is Minocycline can be helpful for swim bladder problems... Kanamycin is also reported to work. Use it exactly according to directions, along with the Epsom salt.

Hope this helps!:ssmile:

[mrs fishpatrick]

I just got back from a couple of days down the country,

Left my neigbour in charge and he kept me posted, got a text the other day that the fish was not great and he didn't think it would make it through the night.

Came in the door an hour ago, and after (read: before and during)putting the kids to bed had a look in the tank (this tank is in my sons bedroom) and low and behold there are a few dozen fry swimming around the mother, the daddy is still hiding but when I fed him he ate like a horse, and I figure the mother has just been chasing him away from the eggs.
:hmm3grin2orange: happy days:hmm3grin2orange:
bit of a misinterpetation on my part it seems:18: