Malawi bloat

[tgodwin90]

Well, just went through that terrible ordeal. I lost 12 mbuna and its now empty.
I was just wondering what I should do to inoculate the tank before I stock it again. Of course I know I need to re-cycle the tank after. What about a cap full of bleach? I'm going to boil the rocks....

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Why would you do that from them having bloat? Did they have something else?

 

[Convict2161]

You don't need to do that of they had bloat. I ha a few Mbunas die from bloat and I isn't tear the tank down, the survivors are doing great. It comes with the territory of owning those fish.

 

[tgodwin90]

Why would you do that from them having bloat? Did they have something else?

My kazkazini's bottom jaw fell off from rot. They had puffy lips and white-clear feces. Also had blood spots near the vents. I've used gram positive and gram negative antibiotics. I've used external parasite and anti fungal. I'm almost positive its an internal parasite. The jaw rot was probably from a weakened immune system that let bacteria in.

 

[tgodwin90]

You don't need to do that of they had bloat. I ha a few Mbunas die from bloat and I isn't tear the tank down, the survivors are doing great. It comes with the territory of owning those fish.

Well I cured it after numerous treatments. I ended up using a large amount of Epsom salt. Now I'm just waiting until the fins heal in the hospital tank. Too much too late I guess... ended up losing 12 out of 15.
From what I understand, Malawi bloat is most likely a parasite. It lives in the intestines of Malawi cichlids and only surfaces if stress is endured by the fish for quite a bit of time, sort of like ich. It causes multiple organ failure, eventually causing death. I've only ever given them spirulina as they are mbuna. I stocked up on metronidazole. Hopefully this won't happen again.