Bob-a-long Jim's Incurable Swim Bladder Disorder.

About a month ago I noticed one of my purple harlequins had a bobbing swimming motion, on closer inspection I noticed his colouration looked washed out and at feeding time I noticed he was off his food a bit. I didn't want to treat him in the main tank so put him in quarantine. I treated him with eSHa exit and after a week he seemed to be improving; he was eating normally but his colour was still poor so as per instructions I extended the treatment for another week. I then went away for a week and told my son to leave him in the quarantine tank until I got back. When I got back there was no change in him and I'm writing this after being home from my trip for 2 weeks so he's had 5 weeks in treatment altogether.

The problem is that although his bobbing isnt as bad as it was, he's still doing it and his colour is still faded. I don't want to put him back in the main tank until he's completely cured but I'm not sure how long I should keep treating him. Could his condition as it stands now be as good as it's going to get?

I treated one of my xray tetra for swim bladder infection after noticing him bobbing about as you describe. He improved initially but then deteriorated again. His colour was awful in the QT, I think because he was stressed on his own in a smaller, more barren tank. I added him back to the main tank after 4 weeks of treatment and whilst he only lasted another couple of weeks, his colour was back to its vibrant best.

I realised I'd done all I could for him, and would rather him die happy...