Ok this tank has had its problems early on. I lost power for 8hrs and the nitrite and ammonia were elevated to at least .25 .50 for a week or two. I feed nothing but NLS. The fish that I noticed at first acting odd was a yellow lab. He was swollen and sitting on the bottom away from everyone and had clear white looking poop. This was last Monday night. On Tuesday I treated with Jungle parasite clear tabs. I did a 60gal water change in a 240 and then treated again on Thursday mooring. I then had to go out of town till tonight. The bloating on the yellow seems to have gone down and all the fish (all male hap peacock with the yellow labs) swimming and wanting to eat now. I did feed them tonight (I just read not to feed them during treatment). They did all eat. But now it seems I see some of the other fish with the white string poop. They dont look bloated and are acting normal. So I need to get more meds and treat tomorrow. Does the white poop mean 100% they have bloat? I dont have another tank to put them in...at this point I want to treat them all. Could it have been from the elevated ITE and AMN? I dont see much fighting with the yellows (theres 4) and I only feed the NLS.
I think some of my fish have bloat.
- Thread starter NOLAGT
- Start date
The white poop is probably the result of producing additional leukocytes and ketones while fighting the bacterial bloat. This should help:
Here's my recipe for combatting bloat.
To treat Bloat, the plan of attack is:
Metronidazole and water changes, water changes, water changes!!
1. Remove carbon/resins from filter.
2. Perform a 30-50% water change (reduces free-floating bacteria population)
3. Add salt (teaspoon to a tablespoon per gallon) to aid the fish's osmotic regulation processes.
4. Treat with 250mg/20gallons of Metronidazole (Flagyl)
5. Leave for 3 days and do not feed.
6. After 3 days, perform another large water change.
7. Replace the salt.
8. Add full dosage of Metronidazole.
9. Wait another 3 days. During this phase, the bloat should be decreasing in appearance. In large fish, the water may take on an ammonia odor from the high volume of urea the fish should now be producing due to reducing the bloat and recovering renal activity.
10. 3rd day, another water change. Also, replace the salt and redose the metronidazole (full dose). If the fish looks to be well on the road to recovery you can offer a small feeding each day.
11. Another water change. No meds but, I'd recommend the salt. You should be clear now.
This is the treatment I use on my africans, puffers, and my lungfishes/polypteridae. Knock on wood that it's worked every single time
Hope this helps.
Here's my recipe for combatting bloat.
To treat Bloat, the plan of attack is:
Metronidazole and water changes, water changes, water changes!!
1. Remove carbon/resins from filter.
2. Perform a 30-50% water change (reduces free-floating bacteria population)
3. Add salt (teaspoon to a tablespoon per gallon) to aid the fish's osmotic regulation processes.
4. Treat with 250mg/20gallons of Metronidazole (Flagyl)
5. Leave for 3 days and do not feed.
6. After 3 days, perform another large water change.
7. Replace the salt.
8. Add full dosage of Metronidazole.
9. Wait another 3 days. During this phase, the bloat should be decreasing in appearance. In large fish, the water may take on an ammonia odor from the high volume of urea the fish should now be producing due to reducing the bloat and recovering renal activity.
10. 3rd day, another water change. Also, replace the salt and redose the metronidazole (full dose). If the fish looks to be well on the road to recovery you can offer a small feeding each day.
11. Another water change. No meds but, I'd recommend the salt. You should be clear now.
This is the treatment I use on my africans, puffers, and my lungfishes/polypteridae. Knock on wood that it's worked every single time
Hope this helps.
I have always run salt I forgot to mention. I have 1 tbs per 5gal and I replace as such after water changes. Is that enough?
As for the meds...I used the Jungle PC tabs that contain the metro and some other good stuff. Should I keep using that stuff or switch to straight metro? Is it safe to mix with what I have in there already?
It was a bad time to get it since I had to go out of town for a fam vacation right after seeing it. I only got 2 treatments in...and now im out of meds and cant get more till tomorrow.
There was only one lab that really showed any bloat and that ones seems to be doing better. But im paranoid and looking at my other fish and thinking maybe they look big in the belly for not eating the last few days while I was out of town.
As for the meds...I used the Jungle PC tabs that contain the metro and some other good stuff. Should I keep using that stuff or switch to straight metro? Is it safe to mix with what I have in there already?
It was a bad time to get it since I had to go out of town for a fam vacation right after seeing it. I only got 2 treatments in...and now im out of meds and cant get more till tomorrow.
There was only one lab that really showed any bloat and that ones seems to be doing better. But im paranoid and looking at my other fish and thinking maybe they look big in the belly for not eating the last few days while I was out of town.
Ok I couldn't find any Jungle PC tabs but I got some seachem metro. Can I do a 50% change tonight and dose with full metro?? I did the last Jungle tab treatment on Thursday. I need to know asap if I need to go to some more wallmarts tonight to dose with the same stuff I been treating with. The original sick ones are looking better but one or two new ones are looking suspect.
On the seachem lable it says there is little danger of overdosing....
On the seachem lable it says there is little danger of overdosing....
Well I did a 50% change last night and added the seachem metro. The directions said 1-2 scoops per 10gal. The bottle said it treated between 1000-2000 L and 1000L is about 250 260 gal so I added most of the bottle. All the fish are swimming and look like they would eat...but all 4 of the yellow labs have the clear string poop. No bloated tummy's really...the ones that were are going down if not gone all the way...some are looking thin since they haven't really eaten lately.
Glad to hear they're getting better. In the future, check out a livestock store, agricultural supplies outlet, or horse tack and supply store. These places are where I buy veterinary-rade Metronidazole for a ton less than buying from any lfs. There's also an online place with good prices on meds. I think it's kvsupply.com.
