Is this a swim Bladder problem?

[LuapYllier]

Video of the fish.

Seen a few videos of swim bladder issues with fish, this does not really strike me as the same thing but I will ask you guys what you think. it seems to be perfectly fine between episodes, kinda wondering if this is just playful maneuvers?

EDIT:
I am editing in a description of what it is doing since I realize that some people may not want to download a video. I didn't see any other way to post it while making the thread.

It swims around in a fairly normal orientation...not on its side or upside down...and can easily go to bottom or to top of the water. It can sit still and just chill. Every few minutes though it does this seizure looking gymnastics bit where it flips and twists in what seems to me to be a very unnatural maneuver. It takes only a few seconds then it goes back to swimming around.

 

[LuapYllier]

OK lets see if this works...

 

[AlyssaFish]

Your video doesn't work because it's set to private. Sorry.

Based upon your description, though, that doesn't sound like a swim bladder issue. That almost sounds more like a fish freaking out from flukes or something.

Can you fix the privacy settings on your video?

 

[LuapYllier]

@AlyssaFish Sorry about that. It said it would be private except for who I shared it with...I thought that included sharing the link here...guess not...it is set to public now.

 

[JamieB]

I would suspect parasites, based on how it's moving.

 

[AlyssaFish]

Looks like whirling disease--although we can't rule out external parasites irritating the fish either. With whirling disease, the fish starts swimming in a corkscrew pattern or whirling about because of a neurological issues. These can be caused by anything that can hurt the brain, but there are some specific parasites and viruses that cause these symptoms.

There is a parasite, called Myxobolus cerebralis, that is known to infect salmonids in the wild. I have found conflicting articles that state this disease cannot be transmitted to non-salmonids, and some stating that it can be transmitted to other species, including cichlids. I'd be hesitant to bring it up as a possible cause because of the conflicting information, except for a very interesting, unique symptom. The parasite also causes a blackened tail in the salmonids it infects. Your fish there has a very unusual coloration. Black is an unstable color in metalic goldfish, and I have never seen a fish that was entirely orange except for a strikingly black tail.

But the dark tail could be a complete coincidence, and the odd behavior the result of a different disease or neurological problem. I don't really know. It might be best to consult an experienced fish vet on this one.

Unfortunately, there is also conflicting information about whether or not the disease can be be treated. However, I'm optimistic about that. This article here discusses treatments, including treatments that apparently are helpful in helping with whirling disease that is not caused by this parasite:

Whirling Disease (Myxobolus cerebralis) in Fish

www.aquarium-pond-answers.com

 

[LuapYllier]

@AlyssaFish It does resemble the motions in the video on that link...however, "this behavior change generally takes about 35 to 80 days after initial infection. So if you have had your fish for 6 months in an aquarium kept at 80°F (27°C), most likely your fish does NOT have Whirling Disease"

Anyone think there is any chance this could be caused by toad toxins?

 

[AlyssaFish]

Have you seen the fish eating toad eggs or toad tadpoles? How long has the fish been showing symptoms? How long has the fish been in the pond?

 

[LuapYllier]

Fish have been in the Pond for about a year. I definately saw several of the fish sucking up tadpoles but then spitting them back out. We can't remember if this started prior to the tadpoles. It has been doing this for at least several weeks.

 

[AlyssaFish]

Fish have been in the Pond for about a year. I definately saw several of the fish sucking up tadpoles but then spitting them back out. We can't remember if this started prior to the tadpoles. It has been doing this for at least several weeks.

Cane toad toxicity doesn't cause long term problems; the fish would get sick for about a day (maybe two), and then either recover or die. At least, that's what happens to cats and dogs that get it. I can't find any information on what symptoms fish experience. If you wanted to rule it out completely, all you'd have to do is put your fish somewhere that would be impossible for it to eat any tadpoles and see if the symptoms get better. There's no other way to treat cane toad poisoning. Just preventative measures.

Additionally, your fish have been living in the pond for a year, and wild animals have been visiting all that time. I am not sure I follow your reasoning why it wouldn't be Myxobolus cerebralis? That article quote seems to suggest that only animals kept indoors (in a heated aquarium, no less) are unlikely to have the parasite.

 

[Mayank]

Is there any way you could take it to a fish specialist where they can do a gill scraping and check for flukes, etc? Our fish were doing some erratic swimming/flashing and we took the worst hit one to the pond place we got it from where they did a gill scraping and found that it had ich and flukes.

 

[LuapYllier]

@AlyssaFish I was only reasoning that the fish had been in tank longer than the 6 months and that the water temps have been 84 -87 for the last couple months. As for the tadpoles, they are all gone now. The fish are empty nesting lol.

@Mayank I don't know of any specialists in the area off hand but I will check around.