Help, air stuck in clown?

[gregmookelly]

I purchased tank raised percula 3 days ago and he seems to be bobbing at or near the surface of the tank. He appears to be trying to make it down further in the water column but cannot.
I have heard of fish getting air lodged in their bodies where they can't remove it. The fish looked great in dealer's tank, he was acclimated slowly, my parameters are fine, he looks good, and he is eating. I tried search for this subject with no luck. I have watched food float down past him and he is trying to go down after it but does not make it more than 2 inches below surface. Could or did air get lodged in him during his trip from dealer tank to mine?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or info.
g

 

[Anonymous]

sometimes fish can 'gobble' air when feeding-if they don't 'burp' it out, the result is a 'bobber'-the fish will eventually absorb the bubble into his bloodstream, and vent it out through it's gills-be patient-it should be ok.

fwiw-try holding flake under the water surface between your fingers for a sec. and then release it in the water-this will help avoid the problem in the future.

hth

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
I always thought that seahorse is the only type of fish that have this bubble problem.... most air bubbles are too small to affect a strong fish like a clown this way... something new everyday.

 

[wade1]

There is also a disease that affects fish's swim bladders, although fairly rare, which can cause them to be unable to control bouyancy. Just watch the fish as mentioned... make sure it is feeding so that it does not starve in the meantime.

Percula and Ocellaris tend to look like they are bobbing when they swim anyway, and its very common for tank raised clowns to hang around at the top of a tank, so it may be a normal behavior and not an ingested bubble.

Let us know.

Wade

 

[aggiefish]

I had to true Percs that would do the same thing. They always stayed at the top of the tank and seemed to bob around. They did this for several years so I doubt that there was air stuck there. The tanks was FOWLR so they didn't have a host to chill in, so I suspect they chose the top corner of the tank to keep their distance from the other fish. The ate extremely well and seemed happy, always bobbing around together. Occasionally they would wonder down and around but not too often. Hope that helps.

 

[dizzy]

I have had similar problems when diving without enough weights. I have seen puffers gulp air when taken out of the water and they could not always easily expell the trapped air. I have not seen this problem in clowns.

 

[Reefguide]

I remember reading about them taking in air like that from feeding on the surface, if he doesn't burp it up in a few hours, swim bladder issue for sure..