Black Cap Basslet Swim Bladder

[AMP Tank]

I picked up a black cap basslet from my LFS a week ago and a few days ago when he came out to eat I noticed his belly was bloated and he is swimming with his nose down and tail up. Based on my research it sounds like since he is a recently purchased deep water fish the likely diagnosis is gas bubbles trapped in his swim bladder. It sounds like my options are wait it out to see if the gas bubbles diffuse on their own or catch him and try to lance his swim bladder to release the pressure. He is currently eating well and spending most of his time in a tiny cave so he isn't out struggling to swim. How long should I give it to see if it resolves itself before taking more aggressive actions? Are there any risks is waiting?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Yes - it is true that freshly collected deep water fish often develop gas bladder afflictions. What happens is that some fish collectors don't take the time to properly decompress the fish when they catch them, and instead, puncture the gas bladder with a needle as they bring them up. When I collected black caps, I would stage them in a mesh box and bring them up slowly overnight. The trouble is that the needle can sometimes cause an infection. This in turn causes the gas bladder to fill up with gas. Using a needle again to vent this gas hardly ever works, in my experience, the gas just returns the next day.

As long as the fish is still eating, it may recover on its own. If the fish is in a treatment tank, you could dose with a broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic such as Neoplex.

Jay

 

[AMP Tank]

Thanks Jay!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Yes - it is true that freshly collected deep water fish often develop gas bladder afflictions. What happens is that some fish collectors don't take the time to properly decompress the fish when they catch them, and instead, puncture the gas bladder with a needle as they bring them up. When I collected black caps, I would stage them in a mesh box and bring them up slowly overnight. The trouble is that the needle can sometimes cause an infection. This in turn causes the gas bladder to fill up with gas. Using a needle again to vent this gas hardly ever works, in my experience, the gas just returns the next day.

As long as the fish is still eating, it may recover on its own. If the fish is in a treatment tank, you could dose with a broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic such as Neoplex.

Jay

Thanks Jay! How long do you think it will take for it to heal on its own (if it’s able)?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks Jay!

Thanks Jay! How long do you think it will take for it to heal on its own (if it’s able)?

I can't really say for sure....can you post a short video? That *might* tell me more about how severe the issue is relative to other fish I've seen with it.

Jay

 

[AMP Tank]

I can't really say for sure....can you post a short video? That *might* tell me more about how severe the issue is relative to other fish I've seen with it.

Jay

 

[AMP Tank]

 

[AMP Tank]

October 27, 2021

youtube.com

 

[AMP Tank]

Ok I think I managed it the second time around!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

October 27, 2021

youtube.com

That is a very unusual case! I've never seen a fish so positively buoyant have such a strong appetite - usually, they act really mopey. On the one hand, it's a good sign it is eating so well, but on the other hand, it is a pretty bad case.

I know it seems that if you could just bleed off the excess gas, that it would help, but I've done that literally hundreds of times and while it give temporary relief, it has never fixed things for a fish for me....the gas just returns. Multiple needle sticks just makes the problem worse.

I once built a pressure chamber that held water. I could put small fish in it and compress them. They would regain normal buoyancy, but then, when I release the pressure, they would float again (sigh).

I think the best course of action would be to just keep feeding it. If it stops feeding, then use a tuberculin syringe to bleed the gas off as a last ditch effort.....

Jay

 

[AMP Tank]

That is a very unusual case! I've never seen a fish so positively buoyant have such a strong appetite - usually, they act really mopey. On the one hand, it's a good sign it is eating so well, but on the other hand, it is a pretty bad case.

I know it seems that if you could just bleed off the excess gas, that it would help, but I've done that literally hundreds of times and while it give temporary relief, it has never fixed things for a fish for me....the gas just returns. Multiple needle sticks just makes the problem worse.

I once built a pressure chamber that held water. I could put small fish in it and compress them. They would regain normal buoyancy, but then, when I release the pressure, they would float again (sigh).

I think the best course of action would be to just keep feeding it. If it stops feeding, then use a tuberculin syringe to bleed the gas off as a last ditch effort.....

Jay

Jay, I'm happy to report our Black Cap made a full recovery without any intervention, it looked the same for about another two weeks and then suddenly over a few days he got dramatically better. He is now very active and spends a lot of time swimming around outside of his cave he made by excavating sand with his mouth and there are no signs of buoyancy issues! In all it took about 1 month for him to heal.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Jay, I'm happy to report our Black Cap made a full recovery without any intervention, it looked the same for about another two weeks and then suddenly over a few days he got dramatically better. He is now very active and spends a lot of time swimming around outside of his cave he made by excavating sand with his mouth and there are no signs of buoyancy issues! In all it took about 1 month for him to heal.

Good deal! I was really pessimistic about this case, glad I was wrong!
Jay