Sick lil buddy.

[squint]

Were you feeding dry pellets? They can expand in the digestive tract and cause a bowel obstruction. This is almost always fatal but with prompt veterinary care, who knows?

 

[Mezzy86]

Yes, I've been feeding him dry pellets. Do you saturate your pellets first. I've always just tossed them in

 

[RD.]

An internal blockage could be caused from numerous issues. The fact that the OP feeds dry pellets (most folks do) certainly doesn't point to this being the cause of his sick bloated fish. Could it be, yes, could also be due to a number of other reasons.

Yes, I've been feeding him dry pellets. Do you saturate your pellets first. I've always just tossed them in

I've been feeding dry pellets for decades, never had an issue. I did mean to ask previously how much epsom salt you added to the tank? A more concetrated epsom bath might be more effective, at least if the bloating is from constipation.


More info for bath: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/epsom-salt-in-bucket-bath-dose.551479/

 

[Mezzy86]

I added 1 tablespoon per 1 gallon. He's in a 55 gal

 

[Mezzy86]

10 gallon

 

[RD.]

Ok, good luck.

 

[Mezzy86]

I think he may have recovered, he is eating and almost completely back to his aggressive self. Almost has all his color back. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

 

[squint]

That's good to see...3/3 of my fish who had this problem didn't make it.

 

[RD.]

Congrats, he's looking a LOT better!

I've raised several FH over the years, and due to them being susceptible to gastrointestinal issues my recommendation has always been to keep things as simple as possible when it comes to feeding, and be careful about overfeeding. One of my recommendations for most fish, certainly FH, is to make sure they get some aquatic based plant matter in their diet. One of my go to foods in that area is NLS AlgaeMax.

Good luck with him, hope that he keeps doing well.

 

[Mezzy86]

Sorry to hear that squint. I have the nls algae max, but it's so small of pellets he has a hard time seeing them drop in lol. I was thinking of trying to find some bigger plant based pellets. Any suggestions?