bloat help

Q&A about diseases and their cure

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fmkeylock
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 10:31 am
Location: Cape Coral Florida
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bloat help

Post by fmkeylock »

hi pam me again!!!! i thought this hobby is supposed to be FUN!! i got into this hobby to relieve stress, i have had nothing but stress since i purchased my first tank. LOL Anyway one of my fish has bloat, i removed him to my quarantine tank and am in the process of trying to find clout, so far no luck. my question is do i treat main tank also or wait to see if they stop eating or clamped fins???? i heard this clout is nasty stuff!!! some people say to treat main tank because it is just a matter of time before some of the rest get it. thank you again for info
Pam Chin
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Re: bloat help

Post by Pam Chin »

fm,

First off "bloat" is a catch all name that people use when they don't know what their fish have. It is very hard to diagnose fish, it could be bacterial, parasites or an actual blockage. You don't want to treat your fish unless you are absolutely sure of what they have, treating with the wrong meds can sometimes be worse then not treating at all. What causes these issues, it is when the fish is stressed. Stress can be caused by many different issues, wrong tankmates, wrong foods or too much food, wrong water conditions, etc., etc., are usually the most common. So you may be able to nurse this fish back to health, but unless you eliminate the source of the stress, then it is just going to come back.

This is why it is so important that you pick the right tank mates, and feed the right foods, and try to keep your water conditions closest to what they would have in the wild. The cichlids from Malawi are group fish, so they do much better in groups, when you only have two, then it is easy for one to get singled out. Its not impossible to keep them in lower numbers, but it can be harder.

Clout is a powerful drug, it is designed to kill parasites it is rumored to be a pesticide. It will stain the tank you use it and it will nearly kills your fish in the process. But if you have parasites this drug is an option. But its not going to help anything if your fish has a bacterial infection, infact the treatment itself may kill the fish.

I am not a fish doctor, I feel bad enough when I kill my own fish. It is good that you have isolated the fish. I would stop feeding it, keep an eye on it and hope for the best. Extra water changes always perk up fish. Sometimes you never figure out what your fish had, you have to be a detective and maybe through the process of elimination you can find the reason.
Cichlid Power!
Pam

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