Bloat!!!!

[rjb0317]

Hey guys, I have a BIG problem. One or my fish definitely has bloat and I do not have anyway to treat him or quarantine! It is the largest fish in the tank - protomelas sp. solo. I love this fish and do not know what to do.

2 days ago I started noticing the bloated abdomen and labored breathing. He's not eating either. I have never had a fish with bloat b4 and I do not know what to expect. I have noticed a few bowel movents from the solo and was hoping it might pass but he is still bloated pretty bad.

Someone please give me some advice. Also, all the other fish in the tank are doing great and eating like normal.

Thanks,
JOE

[nemo]

bloat is caused by too much protein most of the time, just make sure you get an algea based food. i thought bloat was not cureable

[rjb0317]

Most everything I feed is spirulina based. I feed new life spectrum, hikari cichlid excel, and nutrafin max spirulina flakes.

So, is the solo going to slowly die? And just to confirm, this is not something that will spread to any other fish in the tank? It is only caused by ingesting too much protein.?

[JoeCreature]

Not necessarily, sounds like you feed a balanced diet.

What are the rest of your parameters? Nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium. I have to run but will return shortly to assist you more.

[rjb0317]

OK, just tested parameters and my ammonia levels were .25-.40, nitrite 0, nitrate 10. I am a little concerned about the ammonia especiallly since I just did a water change. My pH was lower than I like. It was about 7.6 and I like to stay around 8.0-8.2 but with my ammonia levels slightly elevated I do not want to increase the pH just yet.

I am running two magnum 350 canister filters and one emperor 280. I figured this should be more than enough on a 75 gallon tank. I am upgrading to a 150 gallon at the end of July when I move. I am acutally going to purchase that this weekend so I can begin to play with it and have it ready to go by mid/end summer.

[pkut]

The medication called "Clout" is effective against bloat. You use a full dose of one tablet per 10 gallons of water the first day, 1/2 dose the second day, no dose the third day. On the fourth day, change 75% of you water and go with a full dose again, 1/2 dose on the fifth day, no dose on the sixth day. Keep this up with no feeding of the fish until the sick fish acts normal again.
Clout will stain the silicone adhesive of a tank to a blue color. Unfortunately, it is most effective to treat all of your fish that are in the tank with the sick fish. If the sick fish poops and other fish mouth the substrate, they can become infected also.
You have to begin medication in the early stages of this disease for the treatment to be effevtive. In some cases, if the fish is too far along, nothing will help it.
I'm sorry that your fish is sick and I hope this will help you. Do a google search for Clout fish medication and you will find out where to buy some. About the best price on it is $12.99 for 100 tablets.

[JoeCreature]

Cool, I am willing to bet the ammo spike led to the bloat. If you can get that back in check, increase aeration, and maybe add some stress-coat.

In general bloat is caused by 3 things:
1. Stress
2. Disease, bacteria, fungal, or protozoan infection
3. Improper diet

Bloat is one of those things that was "incurable" like 10 years ago. There are two meds of repute for treating bloat, Clout and Metronidazole. Hospitalization and quarantine are recommended with both treatments. If you can isolate and QT this guy that would be ideal.

[gerald]

+1 Joe. Whether bloat is cureable or not, and contaigous or not, depends on what's causing it. Bloat can be a symptom of many different bacterial and intestinal protozoan diseases, diet problems (excess fat or protein often implictaed), water quality problems, or just old age. All you know for sure is that the kidneys aren't working and so the body is retaining too much water.

Clout, metronidazole, praziquantel, or flubendazole are worth a try if it's protozoan-caused. Kanamycin, Minocycline, other antibiotics if its bacteria-caused. It's a guessing game unless you're equipped to ID pathogens.

I would try feeding him frozen peas (thawed) exclusively for a couple weeks and see if that helps. Even if diet wasn't the primary cause, a fresh veggie diet may help until the kidneys can heal.

PLEASE get a spare 10 or 15 gal to use as a hospital tank. This may not be the one and only time you need to isolate a fish for some reason!

[JoeCreature]

Emphatically +1

[rjb0317]

Thanks guys, I will have a 15 gallon tank tom. because it comes with the 150 that Im getting. I think it may to too far gone for the infected fish but we will see what happens.
-JOE