Azure Damsel not swimming correctly?

[CheckeredPants]

Got three Azure Damsels about two weeks ago. One seems to have trouble swimming. It swims vertically instead of horizontally and sinks when not paddling for dear life. Not sure if this is a birth defect or some other issue. Any advice?

PS…They were drop shipped from ORA.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Got three Azure Damsels about two weeks ago. One seems to have trouble swimming. It swims vertically instead of horizontally and sinks when not paddling for dear life. Not sure if this is a birth defect or some other issue. Any advice?

PS…They were drop shipped from ORA.

looks to be struggling against the current in that location as other fish on opposite part of tank seem normal in swimming behavior. other possibility is negative buoyancy from constipation, very full belly or tail is nipped which I cant see in video

 

[CheckeredPants]

looks to be struggling against the current in that location as other fish on opposite part of tank seem normal in swimming behavior. other possibility is negative buoyancy from constipation, very full belly or tail is nipped which I cant see in video

Tail looks normal to me. I can’t confirm or deny constipation since they are the size of my thumbnail so it’s hard to know just how much they eat. It’s been this way since introduction which is why I think it’s a defect being a captive bred fish. Guess I’ll just have to wait and see. Current in that part of the tank is minimal. It’s a 55 inch long tank and that’s the front/end of the tank. The other two have no issues. I just hope it makes it long term.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Tail looks normal to me. I can’t confirm or deny constipation since they are the size of my thumbnail so it’s hard to know just how much they eat. It’s been this way since introduction which is why I think it’s a defect being a captive bred fish. Guess I’ll just have to wait and see. Current in that part of the tank is minimal. It’s a 55 inch long tank and that’s the front/end of the tank. The other two have no issues. I just hope it makes it long term.

Defect is possible

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My thought is this: swim bladder inflation is a sensitive point in larval marine fish development. If the larval fish does not get to the surface and get some air, it becomes what is known in the trade as a "belly slider". Those will never develop properly and need to be culled (euthanized). In some cases, in commercial hatcheries, fish with minor defects get through the culling process. I suspect that is what happened here. It doesn't seem to be a severe case, so if it is still eating well and if the other damsels don't pick on it, it should do o.k.

Jay

 

[CheckeredPants]

My thought is this: swim bladder inflation is a sensitive point in larval marine fish development. If the larval fish does not get to the surface and get some air, it becomes what is known in the trade as a "belly slider". Those will never develop properly and need to be culled (euthanized). In some cases, in commercial hatcheries, fish with minor defects get through the culling process. I suspect that is what happened here. It doesn't seem to be a severe case, so if it is still eating well and if the other damsels don't pick on it, it should do o.k.

Jay

I appreciate the response. I definitely feel like what you are describing is what's wrong with my damsel. As of now, no one is picking on it and hopefully that continues. Fingers crossed, it lives a long and prosperous as the "belly slider" of the tank. (I'm laughing more than I should at that name)

 

[bishoptf]

Got three Azure Damsels about two weeks ago. One seems to have trouble swimming. It swims vertically instead of horizontally and sinks when not paddling for dear life. Not sure if this is a birth defect or some other issue. Any advice?

PS…They were drop shipped from ORA.

I purchased 2 from Ora couple of months ago and both had the same issue, one passed couple weeks later and I still have the one but I had no idea that it was a swim bladder issue. Doesn't seem to be growing like it should be and long term just not sure how its going to make it long term. Ora should not be selling them this way and the fact that I see other folks have gotten some with the same issue is frustrating. I know they are a cheaper fish but I really wanted a couple and wanted to get them from an aqua cultured facility but pretty disappointed with ORA for shipping fish when they have issues....

 

[CheckeredPants]

I purchased 2 from Ora couple of months ago and both had the same issue, one passed couple weeks later and I still have the one but I had no idea that it was a swim bladder issue. Doesn't seem to be growing like it should be and long term just not sure how its going to make it long term. Ora should not be selling them this way and the fact that I see other folks have gotten some with the same issue is frustrating. I know they are a cheaper fish but I really wanted a couple and wanted to get them from an aqua cultured facility but pretty disappointed with ORA for shipping fish when they have issues....

I totally agree that they should not be selling fish with issues. It's one of the issues I've always had with AC fish, that they look deformed compared to wild-caught fish, but for them to have swimming/internal issues is even more frustrating.

For now, he's doing okay but doesn't venture around the tank like the other two do.

 

[bishoptf]

I totally agree that they should not be selling fish with issues. It's one of the issues I've always had with AC fish, that they look deformed compared to wild-caught fish, but for them to have swimming/internal issues is even more frustrating.

For now, he's doing okay but doesn't venture around the tank like the other two do.

Yeah, I noticed it but I didn't really know enough to raise it as an issue. The other thing I noticed with Ora is you basically only have 24hr to state an issue. It's not clear if mine will make it or not long term, it doesn't appear to be growing like it should, it does eat so that is not an issue, just doesn't seem to be growing like it should.

 

[CheckeredPants]

Yeah, I noticed it but I didn't really know enough to raise it as an issue. The other thing I noticed with Ora is you basically only have 24hr to state an issue. It's not clear if mine will make it or not long term, it doesn't appear to be growing like it should, it does eat so that is not an issue, just doesn't seem to be growing like it should.

Same here. Mine is looking like the runt of the litter. Eats but not growing like the others.

 

[trmiv]

I just got three of these guys from ORA. One of them has the exact same issue as here. Has to swim like crazy just to move up in the water.

Also another one I got is so much smaller than the others, he dang near looks just past the larval stage.

 

[bishoptf]

I just got three of these guys from ORA. One of them has the exact same issue as here. Has to swim like crazy just to move up in the water.

Also another one I got is so much smaller than the others, he dang near looks just past the larval stage.

Yeah really disappointed with Ora in regards to these damsel, not sure if they are unable to culture enough or what the issue is but they should not be selling the ones that have the swim bladder issue.

 

[Ls7corvete]

I am on my second batch of azure. 1 out of 3 in the first batch was similar to described here, it lived about 6 months. I ordered 5 more, 4/5 have this issue, with varying severity. Anyone find anything that can help these guys?

Pretty disappointing; I want to support captive bred but I'm not to happy right now.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I am on my second batch of azure. 1 out of 3 in the first batch was similar to described here, it lived about 6 months. I ordered 5 more, 4/5 have this issue, with varying severity. Anyone find anything that can help these guys?

Pretty disappointing; I want to support captive bred but I'm not to happy right now.

I think this is a developmental issue, if so, there isn't any "cure" per-se, just supportive care. We saw similar issues with early tank raised clownfish, but those issues have been worked out by now.

Has anyone contacted ORA?

Jay

 

[bishoptf]

I think this is a developmental issue, if so, there isn't any "cure" per-se, just supportive care. We saw similar issues with early tank raised clownfish, but those issues have been worked out by now.

Has anyone contacted ORA?

Jay

I know I did but was pretty much ignored, I prefer Biota these days since it appears they actually care about what they do vs Ora which really runs it as a business. Mine is still swimming but not growing like the others and appears to get bullied more. IMHO they should not be selling these but appear to have no issue doing so, it's clear by watching them swim that something is not right about them. Right now as far as I know Ora is the only provider of Azure damsels, supposedly they were going to start breeding Springers also but not sure if they have or not. One of the couple fishes that I really wanted were a couple of Azure damsels, and Ora really let me down, just my .02.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I know I did but was pretty much ignored, I prefer Biota these days since it appears they actually care about what they do vs Ora which really runs it as a business. Mine is still swimming but not growing like the others and appears to get bullied more. IMHO they should not be selling these but appear to have no issue doing so, it's clear by watching them swim that something is not right about them. Right now as far as I know Ora is the only provider of Azure damsels, supposedly they were going to start breeding Springers also but not sure if they have or not. One of the couple fishes that I really wanted were a couple of Azure damsels, and Ora really let me down, just my .02.

I agree - they shouldn't be marketing these fish until they have all the "kinks" worked out. One thing they could do is hold the fish until they are larger, then culling the bad ones. Of course, holding fish longer is costly. The big issue with tank raised damsels is overcoming the low cost of wild caught fish - when divers are being paid 5 cents for azure damsels, even with international shipping, it is difficult to compete against that with tank raised fish.

Jay

 

[bishoptf]

I agree - they shouldn't be marketing these fish until they have all the "kinks" worked out. One thing they could do is hold the fish until they are larger, then culling the bad ones. Of course, holding fish longer is costly. The big issue with tank raised damsels is overcoming the low cost of wild caught fish - when divers are being paid 5 cents for azure damsels, even with international shipping, it is difficult to compete against that with tank raised fish.

Jay

I get that but the whole attraction of getting aqua cultured fish is to help reduce the trade levels and all that is associated with it. For me that was what I was trying to do plus hopefully get some damsels that were less exposed to fish diseases vs wild caught. Here is one of the emails that I had for them but when I complained I received no reply - [email protected]

Maybe if more complain something will be done, they only give you 24hr to note a doa etc...

 

[trmiv]

So I complained to ORA about the issues I had with the damsels. One had the swim bladder issue, another had a malformed mouth. They ended up sending me two to
replace those, but they sent them UPS Ground (I’m in Florida), I got them the next day but they sat on the truck all day and I didn’t get them until 9pm. By that time one was dead in the bag. I emailed them about that issue but never heard back.

Then the group I had ended up having ich. I’m not 100% they came with ich since I used media from my tank to seed the QT. But none of my fish have ich, so it’s certainly suspicious.

Anyway, I put them through tank transfer method. The one I had with the swim bladder issue made it through QT, but died within a day of going in my display. He just didn’t have the strength to deal with any flow.

Overall my experience with these fish and ORA was pretty disappointing and I’ll be avoiding ORA fish in the future.

 

[bishoptf]

So I complained to ORA about the issues I had with the damsels. One had the swim bladder issue, another had a malformed mouth. They ended up sending me two to
replace those, but they sent them UPS Ground (I’m in Florida), I got them the next day but they sat on the truck all day and I didn’t get them until 9pm. By that time one was dead in the bag. I emailed them about that issue but never heard back.

Then the group I had ended up having ich. I’m not 100% they came with ich since I used media from my tank to seed the QT. But none of my fish have ich, so it’s certainly suspicious.

Anyway, I put them through tank transfer method. The one I had with the swim bladder issue made it through QT, but died within a day of going in my display. He just didn’t have the strength to deal with any flow.

Overall my experience with these fish and ORA was pretty disappointing and I’ll be avoiding ORA fish in the future.

Yeah its just a shame since I want to support Aquaculture raised fish etc..Biota seems to be doing a better job but they don't have the selection, real shame they choose to run things the way they do.

 

[El Toro]

Sending fish Ground is inhumane