any suggestions on this guy?

[indica09]

I have this older male fish about 6 years old. He started to get a big belly. I thought he was sick and separated him. Treated with bacter cure for a while. No change. And then I also used a formaldehyde with no change. I then put in his female companion and they laid eggs and he raised them for a month. He is now back in the big tank. The babies are 2 months old and doing great. He still has this enlarged belly. He acts normal no change in his behavior. He eats, he poos. He has had this enlarged belly for about 5 months now. Should I be worried? Does anyone have a suggestion on other ways to treat if there is reason to worry?

Thank you

http://i.imgur.com/pOGdi5U.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/DONuTK6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xAbZg1T.jpg

[indica09]

Problem

1. Please explain the problems with your fish. When did you notice the problems and did anything unusual happen that you think started them?

The belly got big like he is constipated


2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds).

Only enlarged belly. Everything else seems normal

3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.

Itried epson salt, and bacter cure

Tank/Water

4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
150 gallong 6 discus range from about 3-6 years old

5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
change water every 2-3 days about 80 gallons

6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
its been up for 5 years. I have a very thin layer of sand with some driftwood

7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
I use half and half ro and tap and sometimes I age to get the chlorine out. THe ph does not swing

8. Parameters and water source;

Note: Water Parameters are important in diagnosing problems within a tank. If you don't own test kits for the following information, you can purchase them, test your parameters and post this info as soon as possible.


- temp _____82

- ph _____ 6.5

- ammonia reading __very low__

- nitrite reading ____very low

- nitrate reading ____very low

What type of water or combinations of water sources do you use? If it is an RO/tap/well water mix, please list percentages in the mix.

- well water ____

- municipal water __25%__

- RO water ____75%


9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
Nothing new

10. Include any pictures or videos you have which shows the symptoms. If you can't add them to this post, please provide a link to them.

[Madaboutdiscus]

Looks like hes bloated.

-Victoria

[OC Discus]

Six years old- could it be middle age spread? Lower metabolism and steady adding on fat, like most people?

[indica09]

Looks like hes bloated.

-Victoria

He does look bloated. I thought that and separated him and tried epsom salt. He still poos normally though. Looks normal too. Then after more research I thought he might have some internal bacterial issues so I got bacter-cure and tried that. No change. He seems normal other than the bloated belly. Not sure what to do. Or if I should be worried about him at all. especially since he just fathered some new babies. The mother started to eat them! He ended up raising them all alone for a month until they were able to feed on food without him.

[OC Discus]

Whose your daddy!


He does look bloated. I thought that and separated him and tried epsom salt. He still poos normally though. Looks normal too. Then after more research I thought he might have some internal bacterial issues so I got bacter-cure and tried that. No change. He seems normal other than the bloated belly. Not sure what to do. Or if I should be worried about him at all. especially since he just fathered some new babies. The mother started to eat them! He ended up raising them all alone for a month until they were able to feed on food without him.

[nc0gnet0]

If his poo his still normal, this is most likely a tumor and epsom salt is useless.

[indica09]

If his poo his still normal, this is most likely a tumor and epsom salt is useless.

Ok so say it is a tumor. Is there anything I can do or are his days just numbered?

[CamaroGirlND]

It could be a tumor. One of that size I think would be inoperable on a fish. But he could live for a long time with a tumor. However, I wouldnt give up on him just yet. There are gram negative and gram positive bacteria. Generally a broadspectrum antibiotic will treat both. Not familar with the med you tried, some only treat for one. Worms can also cause a bloat like appearance if they have penetrated the body cavity. Maybe someone else can chime in on a worm treatment that has worked best for them?

[indica09]

I could really use some help on this still. If anyone is out there that has had a similar issue. There are 3 of his babies (3 months old) forming the same condition as the daddy fish above. I have tried containing them and using epsom salt as suggested just to be sure, I see regular stuff coming out of them. So I dont believe it is constipation anymore. Could this be internal bacteria infection? What should be my next step? The medication suggested in the post Kanacyn I cannot find anywhere.

Please help.

[indica09]

Or could it be worms? I just want to make sure I take the next step here carefully and dont keep dosing them with crap that doesnt help.