View Full Version : mbuna w/ lump in his gut
my guy is 4-5 inches long and he has this lump in his gut right above his anus. imagine if you fish swallowed a piece of and it at the back door waiting to be passed.
i'm pretty sure it's a new development but i could be wrong. he's normally very out going but right now he's just hiding and won't come out to eat. today is the second day i've noticed that he's been acting odd.
all other fish are doing fine. i appreciate any feedback.
i'm including a pic to clarify what kind of fish. unfortunatly i haven't been able to get a pic of the prob area but if it's neccesary to seperate him i'll be sure to get a good shot while he's in the hospital tank.
ChilDawg
09-05-2003, 11:04 PM
I'm thinking of the worst-case scenario, but Google fish mycobacterium or fish tuberculosis and tell me if that's what you think it could be...
all the articles i read on mycobactirium lead me to believe that it's not the most likely culprit.
i did happen upon something that seems to little more likely. constipation...... although the article i read with the most detailed info was about pond fish the symptoms seemed very similar. i plan on reading as many articles as i can and hopefully i'll come across something that can provide a sure answer.
by the by i must have got some bad karma floating around or something because the smaller of my two ornate bichirs just started freaking out in my other tank and i just moved him into the hospital tank and he seems much calmer and i don't see anything physicaly wrong. looks like now i'm going to have to set up another hospital tank for blue. i really hate this part.
is it possible that my little guy is a gal and the lump is a bunch of eggs about to drop? i guess that's just wishful thinking but i've never bred any kind of fish before so i sure wouldn't know.
valerie
09-06-2003, 1:29 AM
malawi bloat?
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/malawi_bloat.php
As for the ID of your fish check out Pseudotropheus socolofi. Some of the pics might have black on the dorsal fin but they also come in a powder blue form without the black.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/p_socolofi.php
wow val i think you got it. that looks exactly like it. wish me luck i happen to have clout on hand so i'm going to start treating him right away.
thanx a lot...:D
valerie
09-06-2003, 6:22 PM
Don't be discouraged if your fish don't make it. I haven't heard too many successful stories about treating bloat.
usually once it is bad enough to see that your fish is sick, they are usually too far along to help. Good luck though, I have talked to people who have had fish get better.So i hope yours do too.
Does the fish i guess for your ID look like yours?
JSchmidt
09-08-2003, 8:09 AM
I agree that bloat is hard to treat successfully. I've treated bloat-like symptoms by fasting the fish for 4-5 days and then introducing only fresh veggies. When I first kept mbuna, I fed them a diet much too high in fat and protein and I suspect their delicate digestive tracts were getting obstructed. The fasting/veggie diet helped. Treating with Clout was a second step treatment, and it usually killed about 50% (or more) of the sick fish within 24 hours of using it.
Good luck,
Jim