Fish not using back part of its body/swimming strangely (video link attached)

[peter.protoss]

Hi,

Last year my Goldfish spawned and three of them survived. I just saw that one of them is behaving strangely in the pond. It is swimming strangely and only using the front fins for swimming. I took it out and have put it into a quarantine tank. It seems like it has lost control of its back part of the body as I see absolutely no movement of back fins or body. The video is available below. Any help in diagnosis/cure will be appreciated.

Regards,
Peter.

Video is available at [ame="[MEDIA=youtube]BDVf16Sv1Kg[/MEDIA]"]

 

[addy1]

Welcome!


I have not seen that, maybe it was born paralyzed? from the fins down

 

[RSFish1]

I had a baby Koi not too long ago going through the same thing. One day fine and then no movement from the dorsal fin back. I hate to say this but I doubt there is anything you can do but humanely euthanise it.

Do as I did mine and see if it is eating or getting any better in 4 or 5 days. Something internally has probably happened that you cannot fix. Maybe a tumor, maybe it broke its back running in to the glass, some kind of storke, who knows. Sometimes things just happen.

Sorry this has happened. It can make you feel really helpless wondering what you can do or what you should have done. But if the fish cannot eat properly, you will be doing it a favor by humanely putting it down. I hope someone else comes up with a better solution for you then mine.

 

[peter.protoss]

Thank you for your reply. I suspected that it seems to be paralyzed and wanted to make sure that it is not a case of swim bladder disease. We are going to euthanise it today (clove oil) as it seems that it has been suffering from it for some time now.
Thank you again.

 

[RSFish1]

It's always a tough decision. Clove oil works quickly. Make sure to stir it up very good and use plenty. After the fish stops the gill movements you can place it and the water/clove oil in a zip lock baggy and put it in the freezer. It is not a necessary step, but I do it just so I feel better about making sure it was done right. Otherwise just keep it in the water/clove oil for awhile.

Once again sorry for your situation. Sometimes it is out of our hands.

 

[peter.protoss]

Good point. I did not think of putting it in the freezer. Thanks again.

 

[DrDave]

I believe it is swim bladder disease. Sometimes they come out of it and sometimes they don't.
I place mine in an ice water bath, then place it in the freezer. The ice water bath puts them into a form of hibernation and the freezer ends thier life painlessly.
I have had this happen to some of the nicest Koi I had. No idea what causes this condition to set in.

 

[talal101]

i think that it may have hit its spine while swimming into something and become paralyzed, i don't think you should euthanize it but then again i don't beleive in euthanasia, i think that he/she should die naturally even if they are in pain

 

[fishin4cars]

Watching the video I have to agree that it's probably best to put it to sleep. I've had to do this many times over the years. Some are harder to do than others and it's never a easy choice. But I always think about the times I didn't and came in and found a whole tank wiped out when it could have just been one.
I just use the ice water then freezer, it's the least painful thing for the fish as they are cold blooded and just off to permanent hibernation.:bye2:

 

[cindy101]

My gold fish also seems to be parallelized ?? it is only using it's two front fins....all other ones are against the body and do not move.....however i guess he learned to swim that way since he swims along with the others anyway and still eats. I think i'll just keep him that way.

 

[Dave 54]

My gold fish also seems to be parallelized ?? it is only using it's two front fins....all other ones are against the body and do not move.....however i guess he learned to swim that way since he swims along with the others anyway and still eats. I think i'll just keep him that way.

Hi Cindy you reactivated an old post when you should have started a new thread in the forum you are now in but no matter we can try to help you with your problem.
Could you please tell me if there is any sign of the spine starting to kink i'e develope an "S" or "Z" shape, this can indicate an electric shock of some kind , be it by lightening strike or problems with electrical items likea pump/ UV-C both can bring on this curvature.
Keeping a goldfish with a spinal injury is all well and good but do you really know whats happening to this fish, I take it that it lives in a pond with other goldfish yes ?
The damage done may eventually rob your fish of the ability to maintain its ability to swim , it being slower than other fish means it gets less to eat than others and this in itself will lead to your fish lossing condition and it becoming open to parsitic attack, parasites are always present in a pond jst waiting for a fish to show a kink in their armour once this occures then its a downwards spiral .
Another thing that may happen to it , is this...bevause it is much slower at swimming than other fish then its open season for any heron that may happen upon your pond
Your fish may not even have a spinal injury it may be laden with parasites, which is causing the clamping of the rear fins can you please post a photo of your fish so that we can take a good look at it?
If its proven that this is not caused by parasites and is genuinely a broken back then you really should thnk about Euthenizing this fish as a kindness to it ........

Dave

 

[koiguy1969]

this type injury can also occur with netting the fish incorrectly.. as in lifting the fish out of the water by net alone. always atleast cup the fish with your free hand if no one is available to help.. bagging "inpond" is always best. undersized nets can cause a variety of injuries.

 

[Dave 54]

Koi guy you are indeed correct , if done propperly you shouldnt have to touch the koi till the last minute , thats when they are scooped out of the net into a sock net directly into the bag which is floating on the surface of the water .
There is very little in the way of stress and the koi isnt paniced being brought towards the surface .
We use a Large 22" pancake net for this , the sock net has a 15" opening , always make sure you net them head first for their slide down the sock net and directly into the bag via the whole in the bottom of the net .
A sprinkling of elbagin crystals takes care of any stess whilst being transported in the bag :-

http://www.absolute-koi.com/subcat789.html

Dave