I have a 55G Malawi tank that has been cycled for close to two months now. I stocked the tank with Yellow Labs, Red Zebra and Acei. I lost one fish the first couple of weeks but it had some issues from the beginning. No problems at all for several weeks. I now have a Red Zebra that went off its feed about a week ago. It hides in the rocks at feeding time and will come out but isn’t very active and usually sits on the bottom. I feed OSI spirulina flakes. I fast them one day a week.
I am expecting this is bloat. I first thought it was probably holding but I can’t see any evidence of holding. I do have another Red that is holding. Aggression has ramped up a bit lately with the juveniles getting bigger.
My water parameters are excellent. No ammonia or nitrites. I keep nitrates very low with weekly water changes around 20%. Nitrates rarely even reach 20ppm. Water is hard and ph is around 7.8, temperature 74-76. I do run some salt about 1 TBS per 10G.
I have read many of the articles on bloat and I am a bit confused on a couple of issues. This is important to me because my 20G quarantine tank isn’t set up yet. The articles seem mixed on whether bloat in one fish is a whole tank event. Some seem to suggest it is a single fish event others that it is likely to spread. The most successful treatment seems to be directed at the affected fish and not the whole tank. So that is the main question and I am wondering if you guys have any thoughts on this. I understand this may be a hard question to answer because what causes this in one fish could also cause it in other fish. The primary issue I have is whether or not it is infectious.
Part of this is determining what to do with the fish showing issues. Do I isolate it or take a wait and see approach? It isn’t showing much sign of anything other than the lethargy and loss of appetite.
I could use buckets to isolate and treat – we have more buckets than Home Depot.
Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
I am expecting this is bloat. I first thought it was probably holding but I can’t see any evidence of holding. I do have another Red that is holding. Aggression has ramped up a bit lately with the juveniles getting bigger.
My water parameters are excellent. No ammonia or nitrites. I keep nitrates very low with weekly water changes around 20%. Nitrates rarely even reach 20ppm. Water is hard and ph is around 7.8, temperature 74-76. I do run some salt about 1 TBS per 10G.
I have read many of the articles on bloat and I am a bit confused on a couple of issues. This is important to me because my 20G quarantine tank isn’t set up yet. The articles seem mixed on whether bloat in one fish is a whole tank event. Some seem to suggest it is a single fish event others that it is likely to spread. The most successful treatment seems to be directed at the affected fish and not the whole tank. So that is the main question and I am wondering if you guys have any thoughts on this. I understand this may be a hard question to answer because what causes this in one fish could also cause it in other fish. The primary issue I have is whether or not it is infectious.
Part of this is determining what to do with the fish showing issues. Do I isolate it or take a wait and see approach? It isn’t showing much sign of anything other than the lethargy and loss of appetite.
I could use buckets to isolate and treat – we have more buckets than Home Depot.
Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
