Bloat?

[Darbex]

Re: Bloat?

I feed them a pinch wait for them to devour it and add another pinch and I do this for about a minute or two to make sure that all of them get to eat. Since the big ones get pretty aggressive at first and hog all of the food.

[JandJ]

Re: Bloat?

The peacock in the picture looks like it has overeaten or is bloated. Like JWS6 said there would be heavy breathing/ coughing, lethargy, loss of appetite and swelling of the belly in the later stages, although that does not necessarily have to occur with bloat. I have definitely seen peacocks and haps get bloat before, it is rare but they definitely can, I usually saw it in wild caught fish that were fed pellets too early or without being acclimated to the pellets. A half to full handful of food for 20-25 fish is an awful lot, especially twice a day. In the wild, fish are constantly searching and scavenging for food. In fact, they sometimes go days to a week without finding any food. This is good because it keeps them in top condition, sleek, strong and alert. I would not starve the fish in your tank but dropping the feeding back to small amounts scattered over the course of a day and skipping a day or so every so often would be a good idea. In a 55G tank I kept a mixed group of fish, mostly Malawi cichlids, and fed them a combination of sinking algae wafers, sinking high protein pellets and Dainichi. With 56 fish in the tank I would measure out 1/4 tsp of HP pellets, 1/4 tsp of Dainichi and crush up 1 1/2 algae wafers, soak all of this in a cup for about 3-5 minutes and pour half in the tank, wait 5 minutes and pour the rest in the tank. I fed the tank in the morning and in the evening. Every couple of weeks I would throw an algae wafer or two in the tank so the fish could fight over them. When I went out of town or was simply overburdened with school I let the tank go without food for up to a week. The fish bred and everyone was content. I admit that when the Mbu puffer went in the tank it was a little crowded, but even with him in the tank eating shrimp everyday there was no bloat. The tank got a 90% water change once a week as well. Hope something in there helps you with your perceived problem.