Clownfish with bubble in swim bladder.

[dannable]

My small false perc clownfish seems to have a bubble or air in his swim bladder. No signs of disease and he is eating. He can swim down an inch or so with great effort but then he floats back up. I just purchased him at the lfs and he was swimming\eating just fine. He must have swallowed a bubble during acclimation or capture. There was no impact to the fish as he practically swam into the net.

Will this clear up on its own or is there any tricks to burp it out? What if I force him to the bottom with a net? Would that release it?

Water quality is very good.

Amm 0
Trite 0
Trate <5ppm
PH 8.1
Temp 75 degrees.

[techigirl78]

Maybe try feeding it a couple of cooked, deshelled peas.

[dannable]

I was reading about that. I will give it a try and let you know if it works.

[TomRep]

You can also "burp" them. There was a post about someone that had the same problem. Caught the fish in his and and gently, VERY gently squeezed the fish until the air was released. Fish was fine then. Do you feed the clown floating food?
tom

[dannable]

I tried the peas and surprisingly he ate some. I am guessing it will take some time if it is going to work. I am going to try the burp method next unless..

This might sound crazy but what about a very small amount of antacid mixed into some mysid shrimp or something. Does that sound crazy?

Thanks everyone, I really want to help this little guy.

[dannable]

In response to Toms question he acquired the problem during acclimation. I don't feed for a day so the fish can recover faster.

I am feeding him mysid and peas so far. I give the cleaner shrimp and cardinal flake food but I soak it so it sinks.

Tome, Any chance you might be able to locate that thread you mentioned?

Thanks again for the help.

[Icefire]

try to burb it

[spleify]

What do pea's do? I've never heard of anything like that.

[Tupps11]

LOL, never knew such problems could occur. Sorry if i found it a bit funny. Let us know how it develops.

Good Luck