bloated discus

[hostaman]

Can any steer me in the right direction.Several of my BD discus have swollen stomachs and are not eating.This started several days ago, the others in the tank show no signs of any problems at this point. I feed a beefheart mix, once in awhile freeze dried bloodworms. Last week I made a new batch of beefheart mix and used a food processor, the mixture was to fine and dissolves quickly,this may have caused some fowl water. I change about 5gal out of the 55 gal tank nightly. Last night I did a 50% water change and added 1 teaspoon of epsom salt per gal, no change this morning.I will mention that over the last several months I have lost several angelfish that have looked the same. I do not use any of the same equipment on the angels and discus. They are also in seperate rooms. Tank temperature around 85-86°f.Is this a bacterial disease?
thankyou Brent

[EthanCote.com]

Hi Brent,

The only thing I can think of the top of my head is for you to check their poop. Is it black and solid or white and stringy or yellowish/white and jelly like?

Normally their poops will give you an indication if they are infected with any internal parasites.

But continue with the epsom salt treatment, it could just be nothing but bloatness from eating too much.


Cheers,

Chi.

I AGREE WITH CHI,


WHAT TYPE OF FOOD ARE YOU FEEDING?
CARY GLD!

[Barb Newell]

Hi, is the correct dosage for epsom salts 1 tsp/gal or 1 tbsp/10 gals?

Barb

[EthanCote.com]

Hi Barb,

I have heard it to be 1 teaspoon/10 gallon but you can up the dosage to 2 teaspoon/10 gallon if need be.

Again thanks for your med ;)


Cheers,

Chi.

[hostaman]

thankyou for your responses, I mostly feed a frozen beefheart mixture.This morning I lost the best fish in the tank.Several are still bloated.I did raise the tank temp to about 87-88°f. There waste has been mostly dark in color.
Brent

BD is known for internal digestive tract blockage. their feces are big proportional to the size of their anus. If they cannot pass it out. They will die. Increase the dosage of Epsom salt see if it helps. It's your choice to use heavy dose or leave them alone to hope for the best. They can't overdose with Epsom salt. They love to eat them directly once you drop it in your tank.
Jimmy.

[Carol_Roberts]

Are you using EPSOM salt?
Did you put in 1 tsp per 1 gallon OR 1 TSP PER 10 GALLONS?

1 tsp per gallon is way too much for epsom salt.

This is probably a bacterial infection. Stop feeding the beefheart. Do a couple of 50% water changes to make sure water and filters are free of disolving beefheart and excess epsom salt.

Kanamycin is an antibiotic that you might want to try.
Carol :heart1:

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Jimmy:
I just read your post. Am I mistaken? Is it OK for Hostaman to use 1 tsp per 1 gallon Epsom salt?

Carol :heart1:

[hostaman]

Sorry,I used 1teaspoon /10gal.The kanamycin is used for any specific bacterial disease? And where will I find it? Do most fish stores carry this.I really do appreciate all the help from all you folks.
thankyou Brent

[Ardan]

Hi,
Epsom salt can be used at 2 tblsp / 10 gal. If the bloating does not clear in 2 to 3 days then it is probably bacterial and Kanacyn (kanamycin) can be bought at an lfs (by Aquatronics)
1st dose = double dose, then follow directions

no wc until day 5
can use epsom salt with kanacyn
temp 83F

hth
Ardan

[chips94]

I am having this same problem. I am going to try the epsom salt, but how long do you keep the fish in the salt? Thanks! :)

[Ardan]

Hi,
Use the epsom salt right in the aquarium. If bloating is not relieved within a couple of days , then its possible its a parasite or bacterial.
Keep the epsom salt in the aquarium the 2 to 3 days.

hth
Ardan :sun:

[Carol_Roberts]

Generally if it's simple constipation the epsom salt will work in 4 to 6 hours.
CArol :heart1:

[chips94]

The epsom salt does not seem to be working. He is now laying on his side at the bottom of the tank. He is breathing a little heavy. Any suggestions? ???

[chips94]

One other thing, I just noticed that he occassionally appears to try to be getting up. Could this mean thee is hope? Should the light be on or off? Thanks, this is so great having knowledgable people to talk to! :)

[Carol_Roberts]

Light on. You want him to move around as much as possible. I've read where some add extra current.
CArol :heart1:

[kevster]

I have the same problem although my fish seems to be acting fine, swimming normal etc but she looks like she is going to explode. She has been like this for about 3 weeks now. I have added 6 tablespoons of epson salts in a 29 gal tank and been changing 30 % of the water daily but there has been no change.

[kevster]

head on shot

[Carol_Roberts]

well, that doesn't look good Kev :-\

Have you seen any poop? She may have a tumor or some other blockage that will not allow feces to pass. If it isn't infected now it soon may be . . .

Carol :heart1:

[kevster]

She is eating and pooping although not alot of either.
I am feeding bloodworms and beefheart and I also tried not feeding for about 4 days but nothing changed
Kev

[brewmaster15]

Hi Kev,
2 possibles here...

one is theres a blockage and infection, 2 is the fish is an egg bound female. I have one that gets that big before she spawns, she a smallish fish, simliar in size to yours..Sometimes for up to a week she'll be like that.

Has this fish spawned before, and is she in a tank with a mate that is set up for a spawn.?Is she cleaning off any surfaces, and shimmying/shaking?

If its not a very egg bound up female, and its a blockage theres not much to be done if the epsom didn't work.

You can try to treat it as bacterial . I would use one that is for septicemia or internal bacterial problems.

options include kanamyacin, maracyn 2 (minocycline),..
added to the water.... tetracycline if shes eating and you can mix it with her food.

hth,
al

[EthanCote.com]

Hey Kev,

I hope it is the latter for you, ie. egg bound.

I have a female that was like that for over a month now.

Each time she was feed, she just gets bigger and I was afraid she would explode.

When I first saw it, I thought she was having bloating problem but after paying some attention I imagine it was natural since she eats regulary and poop regulary. Now Al just help confirm that she is egg bound.

I also have notice that she has paired up with a male in the tank. Although she hasn't clean off any surface yet, just knowing she was egg bound sure relieves some stress.

I hope yours is too.

Take care.


Cheers,

Chi.

PS: Hey Al, how much longer should I wait before she actually breed?? She is about 6-7 months old and is about 3.5" in size.

[brewmaster15]

Hi Chi,
Wow, shes small for her age, and to be egg bound and pairing, doesn't mean it can happen though. I think the smaller the discus, the more pronounced this swelling is.

Is her tube dropping at all?

If she was swollen with eggs, I'd do everything that I could to get her to spawn. Soft water, going from 86-88 down to 82 F may trigger it. If you have a known male , put them in their own home and let nature take its course.

the female I have spawns regularly, but when she first got swollen I was very worried. This fish is getting real big again. I'll see if I can snap a few shots.

hth,
al

[EthanCote.com]

She is a Blue Cobalt. I imagine she is around 6-7 at the most. I imagine her to be more around 6 months.

I have heard that Blue Cobalt tend to be more mature than other strains. I am not worry yet. I will wait till end of January before I go into breeding mode ;)

She seems fine with no ill effect. Should I worry? She isn't as big as Kev's pic. But she does have a very noticeable bulge.

What happen if they become egg bound? It means the won't be able to breed?? or have problem laying eggs?

Danks Al.


Cheers,

Chi.

PS: Nope, her tube hasn't drop yet and she is in a tank with 4 other fish, one of which is her husband to be. Although I can see a bit of her tube showing after a meal. She and him will chase other fish away from "their territory" every now and then.

PS 2: What is a typical spawing cycle? Do they spawn continuously for 6 months then stop (if say I take the eggs out each time they spawned).

[kevster]

Al thanks

This fish spawned once. Another female was getting beat up by her husband so I moved her into the into a tank with the bloated fish(hoping it was a male and it wasn't bloated at the time). In about 2 days they were cleaning off a site and luckily I was there and watched as eggs were laid. Turned out she laid the eggs with the other female watching. So I put the other female back with her mate and I put this female with a fish I think might be a male. She bloated up after about 2 weeks right around the time I was expecting her to lay eggs again. So I do think she is egg bound. They are doing the shimmying and shaking but she has been this way for about 3 weeks now. I have tried to trigger spawning by raising hardness then lowering it, same with ph, and everyday 25 % water change with r/o water.
Kev

[brewmaster15]

kev,
whats the conductivity of your Ro water, and the tank where she is at?

-al

[kevster]

Al
I don't have a conductivity meter just a tds meter. I keep them at a 70 on the tds and the r/o water comes in at about 5 so I just add back some of the waste water. ph is about 7.8
thanks
kev

[kevster]

Al
Do you think it would help if I put her with a fish I know for sure is a male?
Thanks
Kev

[brewmaster15]

Hi kev,
I would put her with a known male. It may be alls that is required.But I would remove the "male" from her tank, and then put the new male in. he may be aggressive if she is ready to lay eggs. Shes probably putting out hormones into thewater(guess).

I'm not much experineced on TDS meters, but your pH in that tank seems high for RO water. Most use a mix of RO water +tap water --something like 80% RO-20% tap for starters. If you are using the mix of Ro and waste water you may be adding back too much, as the waste is usually 3-4 times as concentrated in minerals as the tap water going in.

You might want to put a post up in the breeders section for those using TDS meters to see what they keep their water at.

hth,
al