View Full Version : What causes bloat; your opinion
jimbo
05-23-2003, 11:08 AM
I have allready listed 3 of them.
1) The addition of large amounts of salt (NaCl) with the intent of simulating a more natural habitat.
2) Long term exposure to poor water conditions. This can be due to infrequent water changes, not enough aeration (for the denitrifying bacteria), and overfeeding.
3) Improper diet.
AikidoGuy
05-23-2003, 12:44 PM
improper diet.
ChilDawg
05-23-2003, 12:47 PM
Concur. That seems to be what the relevant literature says, especially with regard to cichlids from the Rift Lakes.
Childawg,
Not sure what you mean by 'concur' :confused:
ChilDawg
05-23-2003, 3:40 PM
Sorry, Jimbo. Concur is the same as agree. I left the "I" implied...the statement should have read "I concur."
That was meant to show my agreement with the above statement.
Childawg, (again)
I've already voted on one item just to see how it works.
Do you know if it's possible to tick more than one box in this poll ??
If not; How do I tell the moderator, since he is the only one authorized, to add a box which says... All the above.
Jimmy
ChilDawg
05-23-2003, 4:14 PM
I would pm Harry Tolen, as he's the only moderator who has authority over this forum. Super Mods aquariaddictus and slipknottin might be able to change the poll as well.
It is not possible to check more than one box as you can't vote for than once, and checking one box unchecks all the other ones.
gregga
05-23-2003, 4:46 PM
Improper diet is my vote as well.
In addition, I'd like to add that IME, wild-caught specimens brought up from deeper water regions, for example frontosa, can have problems with bloat due to improper decompression.......
Gregg
Tightdog1
05-23-2003, 4:54 PM
i think the most common reason for bloat would be malnourishing/improper diet. but i also think long term exposure to negative water conditions can contribute to the chance of any disease/sickness.
ChilDawg
05-23-2003, 4:56 PM
Originally posted by gregga
In addition, I'd like to add that IME, wild-caught specimens brought up from deeper water regions, for example frontosa, can have problems with bloat due to improper decompression.......
I suppose that we will have to define the term "bloat". I took it to mean the classic "Malawi Bloat," but organ failure due to improper conditions and issues with decompression can cause a form of bloat as well.
mogurnda
05-23-2003, 4:57 PM
The dogma I learned was that it's an internal infection from bad diet. I bet poor husbandry contributes, though.
Slappy*McFish
05-23-2003, 5:02 PM
All 3 can lead to Bloat/Dropsy. Poisoning, internal injury, and tumors can cause it as well.
gregga
05-23-2003, 9:09 PM
childawg.......
my bad...I was thinking float........
wayne
05-24-2003, 12:54 AM
I think bad husbandry, including addition of NaCl to increase 'hardness'. But actually lets change the poll
'How often do you see cases of bloat?' Either yourself or other people.
I,m going to say never. Really
ChilDawg
05-24-2003, 12:59 AM
Wayne, you're lucky in that regard. I saw a guy try to sell his Malawian cichlids to the LFS when they were obviously bloated beyond belief...he'd been feeding them bloodworms "like it said to do in [his] cichlid book".
I think one of my electric yellows might have bloat.
2 questions.
Is it contagious? (the other dozen or so fish in the tank appear unchanged)
Is bloat the same as dropsy?
Thanks!
Slappy*McFish
05-27-2003, 10:56 PM
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/malawi_bloat.php
Originally posted by SBee
I think one of my electric yellows might have bloat.
I've had the same experience twice.
The first time I have lost a female (the only) Yellow Lab and a 3 month old Estherae 3 days later. At that time I didn't have a clue what it could be, let alone what to do about it. The second time, 4 weeks later, my beautiful male Y.L. started to show the same symptoms as stated in the article above. Straight away I performed an 80% water change, and repetitively the following 2 days a 40%. I stopped feeding them for 3 days and after that I changed their diet reducing artemia and other frozen proteins from 3-4 times a week into 1-2 times a week. I also stopped upgrading my tab-waters kH from 5 up to 9.
5 days later, the Y.L. came out of his shelter and started to eat a little. It all happened like 6 months ago and I didn't have any troubles ever since (knock on wood) He's very much alive and kicking as we speak. He’s got 3 females at his disposal now, and I don’t think he’ll be able to get sick again as he’s too busy doing something else.( they’re pretty fertile, I must say)
I hope things will turn for the better on behalf of your Y.L and yourself.
Good luck, Jimmy