balloon belly

[calicichlid]

my chocolate albino belly area looks like a its swollen almost reminds me of a balloon. he always eaten algae waffers and sometimes zuccinni. i just finished reading the article on feeding of a plecos. im not sure if this is normal i dont think it is this is my first plecos.any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ianab]

Is he still eating and pooping?

If he is, dont worry too much. If not, it's a problem. The diet sound OK, so hopefully it's just a pig at meal time

Cheers

Ian

 

[davo]

You have a photo. Could be bloat, but this is commonly associated with high protein diets. However, I'd check your water parameters as well.

 

[calicichlid]

yes he is intaking and leaving trails in the tank for all to see. batteries are low will post a pick soon. im trying not to worry i not sure if its normal he is still acting the same normal that is.

 

[Anna]

Hi, you could try some cooked, shelled peas. They certainly won't do any harm and they are very good for "clearing" the fish out. I feed all my fish peas once a week to prevent bloat.

 

[calicichlid]

thanks anna i will try the peas. do they have to cooked or can they be thawed frozen peas?

 

[Anna]

I heat up some frozen peas and then take the shells off. They don't need cooking for long. Hope it works for your Pleco.

 

[calicichlid]

i moving my pleco out to my QT today it seems like it not getting any better . i tried the peas but not sure if he ate them or my other fish did. so im going to move him out today and try it again. hopefully it will get better i have raised gthis pleco at 2''. here are some pics that said i would post

 

[Ianab]

Yup, I see why you are concerned.. that much fatter than 'normal'

Try some more peas now it's in a hospital tank.

Good luck

Ian

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I would say this is more than just constipation, the extreme bloating looks more like something that has gone wrong with the plecos osmotic process, the blown up appearance could be the result of swelling within the tissues and organs of the fish due to a build up of fluids in the kidneys and an inability to excrete this fluid in a normal manner. I.e. this pleco looks like it is suffering from a form of dropsy.

Do you use salt or anything like that in the water?