Sides Can Pop???

[Kindredspirit]

Has anyone ever heard that if you over feed babies, such as the ones Candy and I have, that their lil sides will burst?? That is either absolutely ridiculous, or so dumb it is true~


Experts??? Cuz, I'm thinking by babies are going to explode right about now....I feed them 4-5x a day and they eat everything!



Why do all my questions surface during wc?? What does that mean ya suppose?? umm..don't answer that!


Marie~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/28/28_4_11.gif

[Ryan Smith]

I don't recall hearing that happen to discus, but it will happen to angelfish fry. You have to be very careful to not overfeed angelfish fry or their stomachs will actually rupture and they'll die. It's like they don't know when they should stop eating.

If the discus babies are doing well then I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Ryan

[justafishguy]

some where on this forum I heard one of the members say that a baby discus burst open from too much food. So I would be careful not to feed them to death.

[traco]

I've heard the same as Ryan, angelfish fry can burst cuz they keep on eating and eating. I haven't heard anything about discus babies doing that. I don't think you have to worry although as Moms, we do (and dads too)!!

[tlum]

I think it is a myth more than a fact. My family raised tens of thousands of angels and discus back in the 70s and 80s and we had an all-they-can-practice. I never saw a fish that exploded because of overeating. Among all the acquarium fish, francy gold fish are most easily killed by overfeeding in the summer. They just eat non-stop until they died. I think the major reason is overfeeding plus low oxygen level inthe water in hot summer. Here, again, we raised tens of thousands of francy gold fish and killed quite a few ponds of them because of overfeeding. But, I never saw one brusted.

I also have a all-they-can eat practice for all my discus frys.

Terry

[goheel]

Will the discus develop constipation if they eat too much?

[Willie]

I can tell you that discus babies will not burst. If you feed them 30 minutes after a huge meal, when their tummies are distended, they will not eat the food.

Another urban legend, Williie :D :D :D :D :D

[justafishguy]

It is possible to overfeed. I once had a Red Turq that ate so many CBW that its side burst open. :(

If the food is gone within a few minutes you will probably be ok with what you're doing.


This is what I was talking about....

[Westie]

I've had several Lionfish(salt) get killed from overfeeding. I had a roomate that thought as long as they ate, they were still hungry? I bet he's got a house full of fat kids now...

[April]

well..i did have one that ate so many live black worms..he did explode. ok not explode..but i got him..fed him some blackworms that nite..and the next morning he was floating on top like a balloon. he had been in a tank with lots of fry at the store..and had to compete for the few worms he fed at a time..and he got to my house..and wouldnt stop..i figured sure he will. he didnt. maybe he had that disease like people get that eat themselves to death. who knows. but regular food..id say they would quit. even bloodworms once they are used to them they will just pick at . the novelty wears off. but the first time..they could make a pig of themselves.
but..candy..a happy healthy baby should have a nice fat tummy.

[Willie]

Some of these descriptions are more descriptive of other things besides "bursting".

I've had adult discus lose air bladder control. If this happens to baby discus, it would look like bloating. They float on the top, having lost control of vertical position.

I've also had discus eat prepared food that get stuck -- that happens if they get undissolved gelatin. They turn dark, sit on the bottom for 2-3 days, then recover.

But I've never seen or heard of baby discus "burst" from too much food.

Willie

[Dave C]

Is it urban legend that overfeeding fry can cause short gill plates? I read that somewhere recently but can't remember where. I can't see how overfeeding many times a day can be a good thing... mind you, "overfeeding" is a relative term.

[Kindredspirit]

But Dave, I do not think you can overfeed, as Willie said, mine stop eating when they have had enough and I noticed so do the fry....


I wonder why Goldfish just keep eating til they croak?? At least Discus are not that dumb...lol!



Marie~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_2_103.gif

[Kindredspirit]

I don't recall hearing that happen to discus, but it will happen to angelfish fry. You have to be very careful to not overfeed angelfish fry or their stomachs will actually rupture and they'll die. It's like they don't know when they should stop eating.

If the discus babies are doing well then I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Ryan


Ryan ~ Have you seen it happen to Angel Fry? My babies are doing great, thanks for asking!



Marie~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_16_3.gif

[Kindredspirit]

Barb~ we are worry warts, yes?? Well, I was trippin on it cuz their tummies get so big! And Candy had said she heard that somewhere, so I thought I had better check it out. But, come to think of it , if that was true, I am sure I would have heard by now: "now Marie, do not over feed, as the fry will explode." ya think?


Justafish~ I think I remember when Ryan posted that! I will have to ask him if this ever happened to him...thanks!


Willie~ That was hilarious!! I wonder if he does have fat kids....http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_8_3.gif


April ~ He did explode? Did you see this happened? Wow....good to know. I think. They do have fat lil tummies, make no mistake about that!http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_66.gif




Marie~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_2_106.gif

[April]

he didnt explode.maybe inside he did. not the outside. but he was as round as those goldfish who cant swim. .he turned into a helium balloon and floated up. but i saw him eat into oblivian.he was deader than a doorknob by morning. he chased all the other fish away..ate and ate..and ate. no one else got any. he cost me about 80.00..new strain and all..

[Kindredspirit]

he was deader than a doorknob by morning



April! You crack me up! I so do not mean to laugh about your poor fish...but that was too funny~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_11_6.gifI can hear you saying that~


I have not heard that saying since my mother passed on.. she use to say that...if ya think about it, doorknobs are dead? or .....just , still?


wow~


Marie~

[tlum]

Hi Dave,

"Is it urban legend that overfeeding fry can cause short gill plates? I read that somewhere recently but can't remember where. I can't see how overfeeding many times a day can be a good thing... mind you, "overfeeding" is a relative term."


Yes, it is another urban legent. I also heard some breeders argued that it is also related to water quality. I believe it is genetically determined.

Terry

[April]

ive heard the gill plate theory also..too fast of growth and the gills dont grow the same rate..possible..
happens with dogs..who grow too quick their one bone in the front leg grows at a different rate than the other bones..and they bend . or..not good food..rickets...
but yes..water quality can cause that.

[tag]

Hi,

I'm not sure about sides popping but I've seen my discus tread water and be seriously bloated when they've over eaten. I have a couple of discus that just go to any extremes to get most of the food that's fed. If I didn't notice that they were bloated and didn't treat with epsom salt....maybe they'd make it...maybe not.

I did have one bad incident when I fed and probably overfed late at night before I turned the lights off. He did explode. His side didn't pop by he had definately ruptured inside.. you could see it. He likely over ate...was bloated...without treatment, lights went out, he sat still and died :( .

He was a juvie. I try not to overfeed. If the babies or other juvies/adults stop eating and there's still food available, it's just making for other trouble. I would say that several small feedings are better for babies.

Take care

Tina

[jim_shedden]

I had read the gill plate theory in Wayne Ng's book.

JIm

[Kindredspirit]

Hi,

I'm not sure about sides popping but I've seen my discus tread water and be seriously bloated when they've over eaten. I have a couple of discus that just go to any extremes to get most of the food that's fed. If I didn't notice that they were bloated and didn't treat with epsom salt....maybe they'd make it...maybe not.

I did have one bad incident when I fed and probably overfed late at night before I turned the lights off. He did explode. His side didn't pop by he had definately ruptured inside.. you could see it. He likely over ate...was bloated...without treatment, lights went out, he sat still and died :( .

He was a juvie. I try not to overfeed. If the babies or other juvies/adults stop eating and there's still food available, it's just making for other trouble. I would say that several small feedings are better for babies.

Take care

Tina


Tina~ That is some story! wow....how big was he, do you remember? I feed til i see the tummies kinda bulging...whatcha think?...That is so sad... thanks for remembering~


Marie~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_12_7.gif

[Moon]

Dave C
It was Mark (many aliases????) who mentioned that if a Discus grows too fast because of overfeeding the gill covers do not keep up with the body's growth. The result he claims is short gill covers.

[Kindredspirit]

I think it was Marc, or..Mark....( whom ever..) that said something about that....




Marie:angel:

[RyanH]

I have had an adult Discus burst from over eating but never fry.

I was feeding CBW and the he went berserk. I found him laying on his side with his side ruptured and blackworms crawling out. It was pretty gruesome. :(

Also, my very limited experience with raising fry (only 6 or 8 batches) is that they can develop shortened gill covers if they grow too fast.

hth
-Ryan

[Dave C]

Dave C
It was Mark (many aliases????) who mentioned that if a Discus grows too fast because of overfeeding the gill covers do not keep up with the body's growth. The result he claims is short gill covers.

Yikes. I'll take it with a grain of salt then.

[candyl70]

OOh!! Sorry to hear that Ryan. I think I would have freaked out if I popped one of my fish. The babies eat like pigs and they don't stop even when their tummies are full. I have started feeding smaller quantities, and when their stomachs aren't swollen they get more.

How do you know if they are going to grow too fast?? (Sorry for the dumb question)


Candy

[Carol_Roberts]

I don't know if healthy babies will eat until they explode, but I have seen babies bloat, turn dark and die. Is it from overeating or an internal bacterial infection or a combination of the two? I'm not sure. I have a sickly batch of babies right now that I am experimenting wtih. They were just right to be wrong - 2 + weeks old when I went to Singapore. I put them on a feeder with tetra bits and NO water changes for nearly two weeks. I was sick upon my return and they didn't get really good care for another week. Needless to say they have barely grown. One or two still die every couple of days after bloating and turning dark. No flashing, scratching, or flared gills. I see stringy poo on a few. I was trying to see if I could get them healthy and growing with just water changes and formalin . . . no luck yet.

[Kindredspirit]

I have had an adult Discus burst from over eating but never fry.

I was feeding CBW and the he went berserk. I found him laying on his side with his side ruptured and blackworms crawling out. It was pretty gruesome. :(

Also, my very limited experience with raising fry (only 6 or 8 batches) is that they can develop shortened gill covers if they grow too fast.

hth
-Ryan


Ryan~ You did? That is messed up! Did this happen like instantly? Someone had mentioned that you had said something to this effect...wow....Perhaps it was something not related?



Marie~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_16_18.gif

[Kindredspirit]

I don't know if healthy babies will eat until they explode, but I have seen babies bloat, turn dark and die. Is it from overeating or an internal bacterial infection or a combination of the two? I'm not sure. I have a sickly batch of babies right now that I am experimenting wtih. They were just right to be wrong - 2 + weeks old when I went to Singapore. I put them on a feeder with tetra bits and NO water changes for nearly two weeks. I was sick upon my return and they didn't get really good care for another week. Needless to say they have barely grown. One or two still die every couple of days after bloating and turning dark. No flashing, scratching, or flared gills. I see stringy poo on a few. I was trying to see if I could get them healthy and growing with just water changes and formalin . . . no luck yet.


Hey Carol~ I thought that as well, that it could be other issues involved too.... What do you mean they were : 'just right to be wrong'...? What do you think you will ultimately do with them? You said you were experimenting with them, like what other experiments are you doing? Very interesting.....could be a great thread, ya think??



Marie~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_2_99.gif

[Carol_Roberts]

Too old to leave with parents (didn't want damage to parents) too little to go without water changes for two weeks, only fed whole tetra bits at 2 weeks old. Very bad conditions. Just wanted to see if I could turn them around . . . doesn't look good.

[Kindredspirit]

Sorry to hear that, Carol~




Marie~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_16_4.gif