[eighteighty]

I have a 150 gallon with 8 wild caught Moba Frontosa that are about 4-5 years old. I use the cichlid- forum buffer recipe which keeps my neutral and soft Atlanta water at 8.2, 12gh and 14kh. A week and a half ago, one of my females - shy and about 5.5 to 6" - seemed a little bloated. The next day she was bigger, so I dosed the tank with metronidazole to prevent any other fish from getting sick. She was relatively active but the last 2 days she's gotten bigger, and has been more restless and now stays on the bottom likely because she's so heavy.

Tonight I transferred her to a 20 gallon with matching water parameters, and have some kanaplex arriving tomorrow. No stores near me had it in stock that I know of so I had to wait. I will treat her as soon as it arrives, though I know at this point it doesn't look good at all. If anyone has any info or suggestion of what I could do, I'd appreciate it. Obviously she's gone through a lot, but it's taking a toll on me as well as I adore my Frontosas.

 

[eighteighty]

I've tried to provide photos but the link with img tags isn't working for me. Wish there was a photo upload option.

 

[eighteighty]

Posting here is really old school with the img/url links. And then there's a time limit to edit too. Ok I think I got it:

This is her now:



This is her wen I started the metro a week ago:


My fish:

 

[eighteighty]

This forum seems really dead...

I just gave the 3rd dose of kanaplex. Fish is still alive after 2 weeks+ but lots of scales sticking out still and still retaining fluid. Just not sure what else I can do.

She did have frayed central fins which are healing so I guess that's at least part of her body trying to heal something...

 

[DJRansome]

I am not a frontosa keeper and I have never heard of one having bloat or dropsy. But to take a shot...

What are your test results for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

What do the feces look like? Is she eating? Could any of the other fish making her nervous? What is your male/female ratio?

I have cured bloat several times, but only in mbuna.

 

[eighteighty]

Thanks- she's in an established colony of just 8 Frontosa in a 150g. The tank has been up for years and there are no water parameters out of what should be in a tanganyikan tank. Regular big water changes. Fish all get along except when one wants to breed. She hasn't been bullied. She hasn't eaten in just over 2 weeks and there is no feces at all. It's like she's blocked up.

She was taken out and is now in a 20 long by herself. How she got sick is a mystery but more interested in the slim chance of saving her. I've heard of some people "piercing" their fish with a needle to help relieve excess water but I have no idea how that's performed.

 

[DJRansome]

No idea about the "surgery" but even if you drained fluid (from where???) if the intestine is still blocked, would the problem be solved?

For bloat I use metronidazole in heavy doses 2X daily FWIW. I believe kanamycin can kill the "bloat organisms" the same way metronidazole can, so I would probably continue the current treatment.

 

[eighteighty]

Thanks again for the reply. It’s now been 3 weeks and 2 days since I noticed her having physical symptoms. Every morning I check her hospital tank expecting the worst and every morning I see her find moving. She’s starting to swim up towards the top when she sees me which leads me to believe she’s feeling pretty hungry, but I doubt she would eat anything. I’ll try something this evening to gauge her interest.

she hasn’t really gotten any bigger so she’s somewhat stabilized in size. She’s lost scales andmany are sticking out but not as bad as some photos I see online of fish right before they die. She started getting stringy feces 2-3 days ago. Not sure if this is a good sign as she’s trying to pass the blockage or what.

I finished the 3 days of Kanneplex. I’ve kept the tank at 80F. I’m thinking I might try one last hurrah and raise a few degrees and do one more Metronidazole treatment, and/or maybe some of that tea tree extract.
I’ve never had any expectations other than losing her, but she’s fighting pretty hard and would be a miracle if I could save her. I’ll keep replying back.

 

[eighteighty]

you can see a little bit of the white feces in front of her anal fin. She never had this until a couple days ago. She’s looked just like this for about 2 weeks now. I also only turned the light on to take the photo. I keep her in the dark with part of the tank covered to hide behind.