What??? A beginner question from shawmutt??? lol

[shawmutt]

Geez I feel so dumb, but I have to ask. I'm worried to death of malawi bloat, but my cichlids are hogs! They eat and eat and when it's all gone they rush to the front of the tank like I didn't even feed them! They all look too fat, and are constantly pooping, so I'm sure I'm feeding them too much. Considering the fact that they live off of tiny crustaceans in the wild, I'm almost positive they don't need as much food as I give them. I usually don't feed them once a week, but I don't think it's enough. It's quite a difference from the amazon tank, where I have to practically beg those fish to come out and eat. Ever since I got the zebras, my labs have stopped being so shy and they're begging for food too. And when I drop the food in (mainly spirulina flakes, blood worms once a week), it's like a feeding frenzy, I have to quickly close the lid to keep them from jumping out!

How can I tell by looking at my fish that they are well fed?

 

[Terry]

shawmutt,
It sounds to me by your discription of your fish that they are well fed. here are the signs to look out for with Malawi Bloat.

LETHARGY, RESPIRATORY DISTRESS, GASPING, Loss of APPETITE, accompanied or followed, usually within 24 hours, by severe SWELLING of the abdomen and loss of BUOYANCY ie.. resting on the bottom. Death normally follows within 72 hours.

Here is the cause of Malawi Bloat: Bloat has formally been associated with BACTERIAL INFECTION and an inappropriate or unvaried diet. Investigations by aquarist indicate that most cases are tha result of dietary and/or environmental causes.
POOR water quality, in particular high levels of nitrate.
They also say that to much Bloodworm can lead to intestinal problems and cause Malawi Bloat.

Broad- spectrum antibiotics may help bacterial bloat, but there is no known treatment for environmental bloat.
Prevention is the best stratagy, recovery of infected fish is rare and EUTHANASIA should be considered, although death from this disease is usually rapid.

This info was taken from A-Z of Tropical Fish Diseases and Health Problems and was writen by Burgess, Bailey and Exell.

HTH

 

[Scottw68TN]

They sound well feed to me. They will never stop begging. I can only speak for oscars a jack dempseys which are ravinous eaters. The food we feed them is so rich compared to the sparse diet they sometimes would get in the wild theres not much chance your starving them. Spread the food out when you feed them don't succumb to the begging. I feed mine 2 times a day and 1 day off if theres a lot of poop I cut back the amount. I can't really explain what alot of poop! I also use pellets and know exactly how many he eats per day. Hes almost 12 inches. so he gets 10 pellets in the morning and 10 at night fed one to two at a time unless he just chews them up and shoots them out his gills I'll keep giving them to him up to the 10. even if hes not hungry hell eat and make a huge mess! I know this doesn't exactly help you but Its my little system and it works for Flanders who seems trim active and fit and as always begging for food!

 

[Terry]

OH! and by the way shawmutt, there is no reason to feel dumb. I have been keeping fish for 27+ yrs and i am still asking questions.