7/27/99

    I purchase a lovely little Oranda from you last year and he has been having some balance problems. He can't seem to stay upright unless he is swimming, otherwise his little body start to turn upside down. He has had this problem for some time now. I thought it was a swim bladder problem, so I tried using Pond Fungus Eliminator but that did not help. Do you know of anything that would help my little guy to stay upright?

Thank you

Answer:
Julie,

    Generally that sounds link an infection that is inside the fish. If you treat that with a medicated food you might see better results. If the fish is not eating you can quarantine the fish in a separate container, with an aerator. In order to get the little fellow feeling better you can treat him with 1# of non-iodized salt per 100 gallons of water for the first day, add enough salt the second day to get the salinity up to 2# per hundred gallons. Let the fish run in that while feeding the medicated food. This will help him feel better so he will eat the feed, so he can get better, by beating the infection with the help of the antibiotics. Do not use the salt in the pond at a rate of 2# per hundred gallons, you will kill all of your plants. The salt must not contain iodine. The anti bacterial and fungal food from Tetra for 7-10 days should do the trick.

I hope that this was helpful