Some help with bloat/internal parasites...

jameshilljr

jameshilljr

Kanien'k?haka-People of the Flint
Jun 8, 2008
465
4
16
Sanford, NC
I'm trying to find out the diffrerence between malawi bloat and some other form of internal parasite problem... a while back i had some sort of hybrid msobo just stop eating/hover under a rock, and then died two days later...it didn't seem to have anything wrong with it(abdomen appeared fine,not bloated-no strange looking feces)and it wasn't beat up by the others...:confused:
...then I got some AC's from snoopy65, and had another msobo do the same as the last, but it was bloated and it died...:mad2:

Now I have a female kenyi not eating,hiding under the rocks, but it does have strange white feces...:silly:
All of the other inhabitants seem to be eating fine/normal looking feces...

I feed them spiriluna flakes/sinking algae pellets everyday; freeze dried bloodworms/shrimp/frozen brine shrimp twice a week.
Params-0 ammonia,0 nitrites, 20 nitrates, 7.6 pH
here's my stock list:
L. Caeruleus-1male, 2 females
M. Estherae-2 males
M. Zebra-1 male
P. Socolofi-1 male, 2 females,1 albino(m/f?)
M. Lombardoi-2 females
P. sp. "Rock Kribensis" (Mwanza Gulf)-1 male
T.Meeki-1 male
CAE-1
pleco-1
crawfish-1


any help would be appreciated...
 
Honestly, I think the name 'bloat' is misleading. I had a 'bloat' experience, and none of said fish were actually visibly bloated, the first symptoms were reclusiveness, then not eating, and in *some* of them, stringy white feces. As for what to do about it, I would first suggest getting rid of the meaty foods if in fact it is bloat, apparently it can be brought on by a diet too high in protein. Metrodonizole is I think the most recommended treatment, but there are others. I would wait for the advice of others though, as I only had to deal with it once (thank god)
 
Blood worms are the worst thing to feed African Cichlids that are primarily non meat eaters. The dhrim is not much better. Feeding the blood worms is almost 100% of the time going to cause bloat. The fish will have white poo depending on the types of food. Foods high in protien can cause the poo to be white. It may be a parasite problem but it sounds like you are just feeding them stuff that is binding them up. Fruits and veg along with a good staple food low in protien and high in veg matter is you best bet.

I would fast them for a good week do plenty of water changes and see if that helps. If the fish are still acting weird and you are still loosing fish i would start treating parasites. I would do 25% daily water changes during the fasting period. This way you will likely know if it is bloat or parasites.
 
I had it in my tanks twice. Once early on when I got tropheus, then later when I introduced some wild gobies. Here's what I did - Clout at full strength for a week with about 30% water changes daily - no carbon. The first time I caught it early and no fish died. The second time, I thought a goby was holding but realized it was bloat when a tropheus started showing symptoms. I was too late for the goby but have not lost a tropheus yet. I recommend dosing immediately upon seeing two signs. Any single sign is no cause for alarm only vigilance. you however, have three signs. Hiding, not eating, stringy white poo. Water changes alone will do nothing to cure the fish and you will still have it present in your tank. If I'm current on info, the bloat is not transferable via water, but rather mouthing of an infected fishes waste. The medication will keep others from becoming infected and hopefully save your sick fish. On a final note, stop feeding the bloodworms. The brine isn't any better. If you want to feed herbivores a treat, go with krill or plankton. I feed my tropheus krill and plankton once or twice a week and know many others who do also with no ill side effects. In fact, most report that a water change plus krill results in higher breeding activity. hope that helps.
 
thanks all for the help and the advice. I guess I really can't have AC's and CA/SA cichlids together... I had been mixing in the protein for the FM, but obviously it caused casualties:mad2:. So I have since removed the FM to another tank, and he seems to be beefing up being able to eat more protein. So for everyone here that told me from day one, that I shouldn't have the CA/SA's with the AC's, YOU WERE RIGHT! I will not do that mix again.:headshake2:
 
Add metrodinazole to the tank so that you have a concentration of 6-8 ppm. raise temperature to 30-31 degree centigrade. starve for 3 days, from the 4th day onwards feed little at a time. 50% WC and replace medication every day fro a week.
 
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