Fish dead
- Thread starter MRW349
- Start date
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mfdrookie516
Aquarium Free - 2+ Years
swolen stomach sounds like bloat... but a hole in the stomach is either trauma, or some kind of parasite. Is the hole in multiple fish, or just one? What are you feeding them and how often? What are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?
WendiDell
Aquarium Advice Addict
A while back I thought one of my Cichlids had Bloat. So I spent days researching Bloat. There are differing opinions on cause, but most agree that Bloat is a parasite.
The parasite blocks the intestines causing the fish swell and looked bloated. And in sever cases the parasites will multiply and blow out the sides of the infected fish. Causing those holes you see in the fishes sides.
Once the Bloat gets so bad that your fish have holes in their sides, it's not likely they will survive.
If you have any fish left that aren't swollen, get them away from the ones that are swollen fast!!!!!!
Now to help the fish that aren't showing signs , yet. Put them in a clean tank without any other fish, preferably a Hosp. if you have one. Then add Epsom Salt to their water. 1 Tablespoon to every 5 gallons of water.
his won't hurt the fish as it's not really salt, it's Magnesium.
The Magnesium will help by decreasing any pressure and also work as a mild laxative to remove any blockage that may be starting. Then Medicate, I use Polyguard. Some people don't like to use Polyguard, it will turn everything blue. I just take the stuff out that I don't want blue. Also with Bloat being very hard to kill, I used a double dose of Polyguard and treated them every 2 days instead of every 3 days. I did 75% water changes everyday and adding new Epsom Salt each time, until all signs of any illness were gone. Then I did 25% water changes everyday for a week after, adding regular API Aquarium Salt in the same amount as the Epsom Salt. Only add the Epsom Salt to the water your changing, not the entire tank.
I was fortunate and only lost the two fish and a third is healing nicely. The rest of my fish are doing great
Bloat is highly contagious, and can wipe out an entire tank in a few days. So treat all of your fish as though they have Bloat. But be sure to separate the sick looking fish from the fish that still appear healthy, or the healthy will get just as sick as the others.
Good luck, I hope this helps you and your fish.
The parasite blocks the intestines causing the fish swell and looked bloated. And in sever cases the parasites will multiply and blow out the sides of the infected fish. Causing those holes you see in the fishes sides.
Once the Bloat gets so bad that your fish have holes in their sides, it's not likely they will survive.
If you have any fish left that aren't swollen, get them away from the ones that are swollen fast!!!!!!
Now to help the fish that aren't showing signs , yet. Put them in a clean tank without any other fish, preferably a Hosp. if you have one. Then add Epsom Salt to their water. 1 Tablespoon to every 5 gallons of water.
his won't hurt the fish as it's not really salt, it's Magnesium.
The Magnesium will help by decreasing any pressure and also work as a mild laxative to remove any blockage that may be starting. Then Medicate, I use Polyguard. Some people don't like to use Polyguard, it will turn everything blue. I just take the stuff out that I don't want blue. Also with Bloat being very hard to kill, I used a double dose of Polyguard and treated them every 2 days instead of every 3 days. I did 75% water changes everyday and adding new Epsom Salt each time, until all signs of any illness were gone. Then I did 25% water changes everyday for a week after, adding regular API Aquarium Salt in the same amount as the Epsom Salt. Only add the Epsom Salt to the water your changing, not the entire tank.
I was fortunate and only lost the two fish and a third is healing nicely. The rest of my fish are doing great
Bloat is highly contagious, and can wipe out an entire tank in a few days. So treat all of your fish as though they have Bloat. But be sure to separate the sick looking fish from the fish that still appear healthy, or the healthy will get just as sick as the others.
Good luck, I hope this helps you and your fish.
