Help with baby cichlids. New tank.
- Thread starter bob965
- Start date
I'm still having problems with these fish. I'll recap the situation and everything I've done so far:
Oscar, convict and GT in a 75g. Got them about a month ago, all around 2" or less in size. I noticed that the GT was bloated, and something was protruding from his anus, see pic below. I'm guessing it's some part of his anatomy that's being squeezed out due to the bloating in his abdomen. I also noted that his feces were white and stringy. The other two fish initially did not exhibit bloating, but they did have the white feces. Eventually, they all became bloaty, with the same abnormal feces.
I added epsom salt, and dosed with API General Cure, which contains metro and prazi. Gave two doses of that, then three doses of just prazi. I gave each dose at about a 3 day interval, with a big water change before each dose. I also occasionally fed with bloodworms soaked in the metro/prazi. I saw no improvement, so I discontinued that treatment, did a big water change, and ran some carbon in the filter for a day to remove the medicine. After a couple days, I tried treating with flubendazole. I gave three doses of that in the same manner, two or three days in between doses, with concurrent water changes. Saw no improvement, so I discontinued that treatment.
They are still bloated, and their feces appear white and stringy or sometimes translucent, or sometimes as clumps of normal-looking feces connected together by a filament. In general, they seem to defecate very seldom.
The puzzling thing is, they swim and behave normally and are very active, and have healthy appetites. I feed them once or twice daily with hikari pellets, with occasional frozen bloodworms, peas, shrimp, and redworms.
I've given up treating them with meds, and I'm just focusing on keeping the water extra clean. I do a 60% change every 3 days. I also soak their pellets in garlic extract, which they seem to like. I've got a hospital tank on standby so I can treat them with Clout as a last resort if their condition worsens. Other than that, I'm out of ideas. Any help will be appreciated.
Oscar, convict and GT in a 75g. Got them about a month ago, all around 2" or less in size. I noticed that the GT was bloated, and something was protruding from his anus, see pic below. I'm guessing it's some part of his anatomy that's being squeezed out due to the bloating in his abdomen. I also noted that his feces were white and stringy. The other two fish initially did not exhibit bloating, but they did have the white feces. Eventually, they all became bloaty, with the same abnormal feces.
I added epsom salt, and dosed with API General Cure, which contains metro and prazi. Gave two doses of that, then three doses of just prazi. I gave each dose at about a 3 day interval, with a big water change before each dose. I also occasionally fed with bloodworms soaked in the metro/prazi. I saw no improvement, so I discontinued that treatment, did a big water change, and ran some carbon in the filter for a day to remove the medicine. After a couple days, I tried treating with flubendazole. I gave three doses of that in the same manner, two or three days in between doses, with concurrent water changes. Saw no improvement, so I discontinued that treatment.
They are still bloated, and their feces appear white and stringy or sometimes translucent, or sometimes as clumps of normal-looking feces connected together by a filament. In general, they seem to defecate very seldom.
The puzzling thing is, they swim and behave normally and are very active, and have healthy appetites. I feed them once or twice daily with hikari pellets, with occasional frozen bloodworms, peas, shrimp, and redworms.
I've given up treating them with meds, and I'm just focusing on keeping the water extra clean. I do a 60% change every 3 days. I also soak their pellets in garlic extract, which they seem to like. I've got a hospital tank on standby so I can treat them with Clout as a last resort if their condition worsens. Other than that, I'm out of ideas. Any help will be appreciated.
Could you fast the affected fish for a week at least? See if this will make a difference in its distended abdomen. Fasting sometimes works to help empty the tract. Your food menu is too concentrated on protein. Peas are high in sugar which is why they're best used as a treat rather than staple. I'd encourage your fish to eat something with high fiber but for now, fast them.
