Constipated Convict?

[forsure]

My largest and dominant convict died recently, and I think she was constipated from overfeeding. I looked for several other causes, but I concluded it was probably constipation. She became inactive for a week, just sat on the gravel in hiding, and she stopped eating. She was getting very fat too. I must have fed her to many earthworms. Anyone here with more information? I would like to prevent this from happening again. Thank you and good night.

[ewok]

was it dominant or was it female? the 2 don't exactly go together, maybe if you *only* have females tho...... otherwise a male would be dominant.

if there were male(s) in the tank i would wonder about "eggbound" and my next guess would be dropsy.

[forsure]

yes only females. I am absolutly positive. It was not dropsy. And it could not be pregnant. I have had her several months without any males around.

[forsure]

I am keeping this at the top of the forum because I really want to know what happened to my Convict. She was my first fish. Sorry if I am posting just to keep t active, but I need some advice and guidance to prevent this and understand it. Was she constipated?
Or did she dye of some other cause?

[Tightdog1]

what are the parameters of the tank?
ammonia, nirtate, nitrite, etc

[forsure]

ten gallon tank with smaller convicts. Need to upgrade quick. No other convicts were affected, so I think the parameters were not aplicable. It was not any kind of shock or stress by bad water. I have read a few books and they point toward constipation or (possibly Hypoxia?) Sites havn't the symptoms I saw to give me help.

ten gallon
pH 7.6 constant
every ten days waterchange
79F

no other tests. sorry. they seem excessive

[latazyo]

how big was she?

I can see how too many earthworms can affect her

I feed my large male only about a 1.5-2 inch section about twice a week when worms are on the menu

[Harry Tolen]

forsure: you are incorrect in your assumption that, just because only one fish was symptomatic, the problem was not related to water conditions. Fish succumb to poor water quality at different rates, based on their individual immune systems, length of exposure, and a host of other factors.

Overcrowding, water pollution due to uneaten bits of earthworm lurking in the corners, filters that need cleaning, etc. etc. could all be contributing to the problem, but the net result is poor water quality and that is what causes your fish to become susceptible to things like bacterial infection that they would normally not be affected by.

Ammonia and nitrItes create the deadliest effects, but overexposure to nitrAtes and other organic pollutants can be just as damaging over time. So you really need to check those parameters.

In addition, we could be more helpful if you told us how many fish are in the tank total, how much water you change when you do your water changes, do you vacuum the gravel at the same time, what kind of filtration do you use and how and how often do you clean it, etc. etc.

One thing you are probably right about is that you need to get a larger tank, probably along with better filtration. What size are you thinking of?

[forsure]

Harry Tolen: I want to get a tank over 55 gallons. I have a Aquaclearmini on my 10 gallon. I maintain the filter at least twice a month. 30% water change every ten days, so 9 gallons changed a month. I have cleaned the gravel, but not regularly.
I kept a good eye on the worm meals, I only fed one worm at a time, and made sure it was all eaten. I know that they were all consumed.
I know I am seriously overcrowded, and I hope to change that soon.
2 convicts--------- 3''
1 leporinus--------4''
1 pleco-------------5''
1 texas cic.--------2''
1 blue gourami---2''

latazyo: she was like 4'' long, huge mother, mean too. One day she ate four nightcrawers consecutivley. She died a month later, maybe that did it.

[Harry Tolen]

forsure: you are correct that your tank is overcrowded. It is also underfiltered. If you cannot upgrade to a larger tank now, I suggest you at least add a second filter right away and up your maintenance routine somewhat.

The Aquaclear 300, loaded with nothing but sponges, (available on-line for about $23) will give you maximum biological filtration and will be the easiest to clean. Keep the mini as backup filtration, and alternate between cleaning it and the 300 weekly.

It seems quite likely that you have had a serious buildup of nitrAtes and organic pollutants in your tank, and that this is what caused your convict to contract an intestinal bacteial infection and die. The other fish will follow in time, as their own immune systems succumb to the low water quality, unless you do something to reverse the trend.

Incidentally, even though you are removing 9 gallons of water every month, you are only actually "changing" about 6.5 gallons. Because the water and pollutants mix evenly throughout the tank, each time you change water you are removing about 30% of the "fresh" water you added the previous week, and thus leaving some "older" water and its organic pollutants in the tank. Over time, this will lead to a huge deterioration in water quality.

Good luck with resolving this problem, and with getting that larger tank soon.

[Tightdog1]

yea get a bigger tank, its time for an upgrade! that is the best course of action, i jsut got a used 25g the other day i gotta clean that and then im gonna have another tank, hehe.

[forsure]

I am on Christmas break after Wednesday the 10th. I thhink I will use the extra time to get a bigger tank and get it going. I lust for a big bowfront. drool.........