Tropheous may have bloat????

[electricblue]

i started treatment last nite, this morning the sick troph was swimming near the surface and breathing real hard and when i got home i found him stuck to the sponge filter.

Yesterday, when i initially checked on it, it was already breathing hard but i didn't really attribute it to the water conditions since the test only showed an improvement and all the other trophs were breathing, acting swimming normally. i plan on continuing the treatment but here's a pic of the dead fish to see if anyone believes bloat was the cause.

[jhenry]

Yes 100% that fish was bloated keep the treatment up

[myjohnson]

Should had just flush that little dude.

[jhenry]

Should had just flush that little dude.

Yeah sick fish should take the ride

[electricblue]

it has ben flushed, i was just taking a pic to let others know what i was dealing with.

[jhenry]

We were talking about before he died. As for not to infect the rest of the colony. But that ship has sailed

[electricblue]

i've ben keeping up with the treatment and after tomorrows dose i should be done. The rest of the colony seems to be doing real well besides just being very hungry. I'm assuming afters tomorrows dose of clout i should do another water change on wednesday and add some carbon to the canisters, any other advice?

[electricblue]

I just finished day 7 of jhenry's treatment "clout version". All the fish seemed to have made it and all were eager and happy to eat.

Is there any reason i should continue a real slight dose of treatment to be safe?

How long should i take to gradually put them back to their regular feeding portion? I usually feed them all they'll eat w/o any left overs and do this once or twice a day. Today i fed them for the first time, half of what i usually feed them each meal. All were active like usual after the meal.

Since idk when i will be upgrading my tank. i'll be getting rid of a few fish and do twice a week w/c.

[rmalford]

what's the temperature on the tank? Bloat is often caused by low temperatures.

What are you feeding? lots of food are heavy on the protein and can cause bloat as well. Trophs are herbavores in the wild, so feeding some extra vegetables will help digestions.

A good handful of epsom salt (magnesium sulphate) will help as well. There isn't much of a definite measurement, but a good handful for every 30 gallons or so would be about right.

Any tank with over 20 ppm of nitrates requires some serious water changes. Ammonia should always be 0, period. Nitrates above 10 or 15 is not acceptable.

Hope that helps.

I wasn't aware that low temps will cause bloat. What is considered low for trophs and what is desired? Thanks in advance.

[eklikewhoa]

it will contribute to the problem since digestion is also slower in cooler temps which will cause parasites to flourish in their intestines

[rmalford]

Now that I actually think about it that does make perfect sense. Thanks.