Here are the 9 best and easy methods to help an egg bound fish. You can use these methods to treat the fish and assist in the release of the bound eggs.
How to Help an Egg Bound Fish? Sometimes the eggs of fish become bound to their bodies in ovaries. You can help the fish release the eggs in many ways by increasing water temperature and add Epsom salt to the aquarium. You can also treat the condition by injecting different hormones and antibiotics into their bodies.
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How to Help an Egg Bound Fish?
Egg impaction usually occurs in Koi and Goldfish. These fish become mature at the age of 2 or 3 years and start producing eggs. These eggs reside inside ovaries; when the condition is favorable, it emits hormones.
These hormones attract male fish they rub against female fish. Then female fish release eggs fertilization occurs externally.
Causes of egg binding in fish
Low water quality, deficiency of nutrients, and the absence of male fish cause egg binding in fish. The ovaries are not mature enough; then egg impaction occurs in koi fish. Menopausal fish also suffer from unnecessary egg binding. It causes many health issues in them.
Symptoms of egg binding in fish
- Fat belly
- Lethargy
- Swelling
- Bloating
Use Epsom salt
Epsom salt contains magnesium sulfate for pain relief and healing of wounds. The egg binding causes swelling at the midsection of the body and cause bloating.
Epsom salt plays an essential role in reducing swelling and pain associated with it. It causes the ovaries to become mature earlier and help them release eggs from the body.
The quantity of Epsom salt is crucial in this method. You can add one or two tablespoons per gallon of water. Place the fish in the salt bath for about 15 to 20 minutes.
You should follow it for several days to treat the underline condition. You can directly inject a simple saline solution into their bodies to help them.
Withhold food
It is a tedious trick that helps fish to reabsorb eggs. It is a naturally occurring phenomenon in which fish reabsorb their eggs after some time. When the nutrients and male fish are absent in fish, reabsorption of eggs occurs in natural processes.
When the food is unavailable for a long time, they reabsorb the eggs in the abdomen as food and you may notice an egg bound fish. Withdraw the food until the spawning is complete egg reabsorption occurs in winters. It can take two years for completion. Menopausal fish use this normal process for reabsorbing eggs.
Squeeze the body of a fish gently
Squeezing the fish body can assist in releasing impacted eggs. You will need a big container and distilled water. Then inspect the fish body for a swollen belly containing eggs. This area is more challenging than the rest of it. You can easily catch a fish in a planted aquarium for this purpose.
Lay down the fish on its side, apply pressure on the abdomen with your hands, and gently squeeze it. Bound eggs get loose from the body and pass out of the body through the anus. Then you can collect all the eggs in a separate jar.
You can also add a jet stream in the tank to facilitate the process. Held the fish against the water stream to apply pressure on their bodies. Bumping a male fish against their bodies is also useful in treating the condition.
Raise the water temperature
Koi and goldfish require an optimum temperature for ovaries to mature. You can increase the temperature of water up to 20 to 25 degrees to help them release eggs.
You can increase the temperature by turning on the heater or keep the tank under sunlight. Heat makes the body soft and, ovaries grow up fully to hatch eggs in water. This method requires several days for completion.
Treat with antibiotics
Egg binding cause bloating and inflammation in the fish body and leads to different bacterial infection in them. You can use antibiotics to treat septicemia. Amoxicillin and erythromycin are suitable antibiotics for this purpose.
Usually, antibiotic therapy requires three to five days to treat infections. You can not add antibiotics in aquarium water because sick fish do not eat anything. It is better to inject or ingest medicine for a speedy recovery.
Oil therapy
Oil can also help in losing the bound eggs and make the midsection of the body soft. You can use essential oils like lavender oil or coconut oil for this purpose. You should give only one drop to fish twice daily for three days.
Do not add oil to water but use a dropper to give one drop of oil to each fish. Lift the head of fish above the waterline. Another person will add an oil drop into its mouth carefully with a dropper. Remove the excess oil from the mouth by using a scoop.
Hormonal therapy to treat egg binding in fish
Different hormones can induce the spawning and release of impacted eggs in fish. Following are some of the essential hormones you can use for this purpose.
Carp pituitary extract
Pituitary gland extract is another name that manufacturers obtain from carp. The pituitary gland is present in the brain of the carp. It is available in the market in powder form; reconstitute it with saline water. Inject it into the dorsal muscle of female fish for releasing eggs.
This therapy comprises of three doses with a different time gap. Inject the first dose at the rate of 0.3mg per kg of body weight. Inject the second dose after 18 hours; after 10 hours, you can easily hand strip the eggs from their body and help the egg bound fish.
Leutinizing hormone
This hormone comes from the hypothalamus and causes the pituitary gland to release pituitary hormones. These hormones can induce spawning at a faster rate than carp pituitary extract. Inject it in the dorsal muscles of fish.
The full dose consists of two injections in a day. Inject 5mg of the hormone per kg of body weight and after 18 hours, inject a second dose to fish. After this, you can easily hand strip the eggs from their body.
Human chronic Gonadotrophin hormone
This hormone comes from the human body; its secretion point is pituitary glands. It is cost-effective and available in the market as an injectable.
This hormone is necessary for the maturity of eggs and ovaries and to treat an egg bound fish. Inject 800 micrograms per kg of body weight in divided doses. After ripening, impacted eggs pass out from the body.
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