Why do juvenile CA cichlids get bloat so easily?

[FluffySackson]

Nandopsis Beani and paraneetroplus breidohri (and a few other paraneetroplus I've kept) all seemed to get bloat easily from overfeeding (which caused me to cut my feeding schedule, for better or worse). When I still had this feeding routine, my geophagus and a handful of other SA cichlids wouldn't bloat as easily. What's up with that?

 

[duanes]

Bloat is an opportunistic pathogen/infection primarily brought on by stress.
I found when I had beani, examples of stress would be.... temps too high, con-specific aggression, and not enough fibrous material in their diet.
I never had an issue with beani and bloat.
But to eliminate stress for beani, I kept them without heaters (remember they are the most northerly cichlid found on the Pacific slope of Mexico), this allowed temps to fall into the 60s at night, only low 70s day.
Beani are omnivores, so I used a high spirulina type diet, high in fiber, low protein.
And I kept them either separate from other cichlids, and other beani, or in very large tanks compared to their size.
Never had a problem with bloat for breidhori, although normal mid 70s temps for them, because they are omnivores with a preference vegetation, so use same high algae low protein diet.
I did have a problem with bloat with haitiensus until I realized they need high temps.
I don't believe protein in itself is a problem, but omnivores need fibrous plant material to push stuff through the gut, and these fish ingest plenty of detritus including rotted leaves, etc in nature which helps.
I believe without this, protein can sit and cause digestive problems.
This is the reason I use foodslike NLS Algaemax, or other high algae/spirulina types, as opposed to high protein diets for omnivores.
And of course high water quality, this for me means nitrates 10 or below.

 

[vinod_uthaiah]

One more thing I follow is ,give a break of 1 day from feeding after every 2 days of feeding .
Since fish in wild dont get continuous food and are opportunistic feeders , i use this methodology....
This has worked well for me....for each his own

 

[YankeeJack]

Bloat is such a pain in the butt .... but after I started practicing VERY strict quarantining and water changes ... no more bloat.

 

[ahud]

Out of curiosity what was your feeding schedule? More often than not, we overfeed.

 

[RD.]

1. to expand or distend, as with air, water, etc.; cause to swell: Overeating bloated their bellies.

Bloat is a symptom, not a disease. It can be caused from overfeeding, which in turn can lead to digestive issues such as constipation, and even bacterial infections. It can also be caused by as Duane stated, opportunistic pathogens, the primary one in tropical fish being Spironucleus vortens aka hexamita.

I wrote the following a few yrs back, and while it is stickied in the African cichlid section, the exact same thing applies to all of the various other groups of cichlids kept in captivity.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/bloat-causes-cures-and-big-myths.456034/


In that article I even mention beani ......

IMO almost all ailments in fish are triggered by stress, and one needs to learn early on what each set ups limitations are. If/when we attempt to go beyond those limitations, we risk the health of everything within our system. Some hobbyists seem to learn this straight away, others never seem to catch on & when things go south they look for something to blame instead of taking responsibility for their own actions. Human nature I guess. Most experienced beani keepers will recommend that this species does best on its own, just as many other cichlid species that are bloat magnets. Generally speaking these species do not do well (long term) in community settings as there is always a struggle for hierarchy within the tank. This constant struggle for dominance causes stress, and often this stress eventually triggers bloat in species that are more sensitive to this condition. The same applies to species such as Tropheus, that establish a hierarchy within the colony & once that hierarchy is established sometimes simply adding "a few more fish" will cause the entire colony to come under major stress while new positions in dominance are being established.

 

[vinod_uthaiah]

1. to expand or distend, as with air, water, etc.; cause to swell: Overeating bloated their bellies.

Bloat is a symptom, not a disease. It can be caused from overfeeding, which in turn can lead to digestive issues such as constipation, and even bacterial infections. It can also be caused by as Duane stated, opportunistic pathogens, the primary one in tropical fish being Spironucleus vortens aka hexamita.

I wrote the following a few yrs back, and while it is stickied in the African cichlid section, the exact same thing applies to all of the various other groups of cichlids kept in captivity.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/bloat-causes-cures-and-big-myths.456034/


In that article I even mention beani ......

IMO almost all ailments in fish are triggered by stress, and one needs to learn early on what each set ups limitations are. If/when we attempt to go beyond those limitations, we risk the health of everything within our system. Some hobbyists seem to learn this straight away, others never seem to catch on & when things go south they look for something to blame instead of taking responsibility for their own actions. Human nature I guess. Most experienced beani keepers will recommend that this species does best on its own, just as many other cichlid species that are bloat magnets. Generally speaking these species do not do well (long term) in community settings as there is always a struggle for hierarchy within the tank. This constant struggle for dominance causes stress, and often this stress eventually triggers bloat in species that are more sensitive to this condition. The same applies to species such as Tropheus, that establish a hierarchy within the colony & once that hierarchy is established sometimes simply adding "a few more fish" will cause the entire colony to come under major stress while new positions in dominance are being established.

Very interesting and informative read....thanks....