Metronidzole or Clout

Q&A about Tropheus and Petrochromis

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James Shingler
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 8:00 am
Location: UK Essex near Harlow

Metronidzole or Clout

Post by James Shingler »

I have found your advice excellent and matches perfectly when I have had most success with Tropheus. (I wish I had had it years ago) So will keep asking questions of you because it is the only good advice I have found on the web on Tropheus.

Would you recomend Metronidazole or Clout as a cure to be kept ready when starting a new group of Tropheus? (Especialy if they are imported direct from Africa)

What do you think of the following?
Flake even the best ones for vegitarian fish contain mainly fish and fish meal. Do not use them exclusively but add freshly cooked vegatables, Seawead sheets and algae to their diet. Tropheus need more roughage/plant based food than flake alown provides.

Thanks James
Pam Chin
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Post by Pam Chin »

Hi James,

Thanks for the kind words....

Usually the argument on "what is bloat" comes first!


Okay, the clout or metro argument is like everything else with Tropheus, it really depends on what you are most comfortable with, what you have had good luck with. I have tried everything at least once or twice and for me Clout is the only way to go. I don't think Metro has enough kick, and it is for bacterial infections. Although blockages, and bacterial infections are symptoms of bloat, the majority of the time, or at least for me, it has been a stress issue, followed by a parasite bloom in the intestinal track and gils. There is no way metro is going to arrest that.

It is said that clout is actually a pesticide, why it or how it works is beyond me, I really don't know. I totally agree that it is one nasty med, and it will stain your tank, etc. But, if caught in time, I have found nothing better.

I definitely clout anything that is wild before I introduce it into my tanks not just Tropheus. I also recommend 6 - 8 week quaratine for wild. I don't treat new fish that are not wild, but I do quaratine them for 3- 4 weeks. Personally I think finding a local breeder so you can see the parents is the best way to go for finding good stock. I am not a big fan of wild fish, I would prefer to buy f-1 fry from a reliable breeder.


Regarding foods: Their main objective in life, behind breeding, is to eat, they have been recorded scraping the rocks for algae over 1500 times per hour. Even though I had seen 100's of pictures of Tropheus in the wild, I thought the rocks would be green carpets. It wasn't until I was able to observe them in wild that I really got it. The algae they are scraping off the rocks is more of a pale green slime, they have to eat all day to get enough nourishment! But you have to realize while the are foraging they are eating other things, and some of them are high in protein; fish eggs.

I think a green flake with a fish meal base is fine. Just be aware of the ingredients. My main goal in feeding them is to promote grazing, and just use the flake or pellet as a supplement. I feed a lot of frozen green peas and seaweed paper both are excellent. They do well on homemade foods with a base of shrimp and peas, and then you can add whatever you want; spirulina, color enhancers, vitamins, etc.

There are a lot of hobbyists who feed NLS (New Life Spectrum) exclusively and seem to be successful, for me that is just way to rich, and it is like feeding your Tropheus at McDonalds everyday, and sure they will love it, but the fat is deposited around the reproductive orgrans as well as the liver. My arugment is lets see who still has the same Tropheus going in 5 years, I just think mine will live longer on a diet that is similar to what they would find in the wild.

Having the opportunity to see Tropheus in their natural habitat has enabled me to be a better Tropheus keeper.
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