What is the best way to stop juvinile Nandopsis haitiensis from dying of bloat? I have heard it is stress related, is this true? I will probably be getting some little guys soon, and I want to make sure I don't kill them right off the bat.
Preventing bloat in haitiensis
- Thread starter cookiemonster
- Start date
I think that stress is the major factor. If you get little ones, make sure there are many places for them to hide and change the water a lot. I'd keep the water at 82F and have some metronidazole and epsom salts ready in case they start to look/act bloaty. Use good filtration and make sure the water stays well aerated. Use power heads to do this if necessary. Don't put them with larger, more aggressive fish until they are over 4 inches. Having said that I would still probably avoid high protein foods until they are over 4 inches long. Although I believe stress is the key to hait bloat, I still feel I don't have a good enough handle on it to recommend high protein, fast growth types of foods for small haits.
i had a few haits before, all lost to bloat. impeccable water condition is a must with this species, so almost everyday partial WC might be very essential. also avoid overfeeding of meat based foods. the next three most bloat-prone species are C. istlanum, N. tetracanthus, and C. grammodes.
So plant-based like spirulina (sorry, don't know how to spell it)? Algae wafers? Things like that?
cookiemonster;1290973; said:
spelling is correct.
i think about 80% veggie-based, and 20% protein-based. i doubt if haits are totally herbivorous anyway...
my haits didn't touch anything that was majority veggie based as far as content is concerned.
they are happily munching on krill... hikari bio cichlid gold... new life spectrum.
i believe that it is more stress induced than anything. stress from con-species aggression (which is relentless), water conditions (which as mentioned above is key. i do around 30-50% water changes every 4 days or so).
i think the problem is people buy like half a dozen of these guys as juveniles and throw them into a grow out tank like you would with many other centrals and expect things to be ok. they will begin hunting one another down relentlessly and that's where the trouble starts. if you divide them up or keep 1 per tank i think you will see that there will be far less issues with bloat as a result from stress.
my female got a bloat or some internal parasites a while ago, and epsom salts, jungle internal parasites medication and massive water changes over a week helped her out. she didn't touch food (her belly was inflated) for over a week but she's fine now and eating like a hog.
they are happily munching on krill... hikari bio cichlid gold... new life spectrum.
i believe that it is more stress induced than anything. stress from con-species aggression (which is relentless), water conditions (which as mentioned above is key. i do around 30-50% water changes every 4 days or so).
i think the problem is people buy like half a dozen of these guys as juveniles and throw them into a grow out tank like you would with many other centrals and expect things to be ok. they will begin hunting one another down relentlessly and that's where the trouble starts. if you divide them up or keep 1 per tank i think you will see that there will be far less issues with bloat as a result from stress.
my female got a bloat or some internal parasites a while ago, and epsom salts, jungle internal parasites medication and massive water changes over a week helped her out. she didn't touch food (her belly was inflated) for over a week but she's fine now and eating like a hog.
At what size do they lose their tendancy to bloat? I might be able to get a larger specimen, about 5 inches. Would this be big enough, or would the fish still be in danger?
cookiemonster;1292847; said:
A 5 inch specimen would be much less likely to bloat than a much smaller one. If you get a single 5 inch specimen I'd recommend keeping it alone or only with plecos. If it is shipped to you, be prepared to treat it for bloat upon arrival b/c shipping stress is tough in these fish, almost more when they are larger when shipped. I would not feed it for a few days after it gets to it's new home. Let it get adjusted well and then feed.
BTW, what the others said about doing plenty of water changes is right-on. That is one, if not the most important thing you can do to avoid bloat. I've fed bloat-prone fish high protein diets and have had no problems. Keep the water temp up and do frequent water changes.