# Sunken Belly



## shiftyfox (Aug 2, 2019)

Hey All,

Currently have a Neon Spot that has what looks like a sunken belly and white stringy faeces, and is spitting food some times , 
*** isolated him in my hospital tank

Now from what I've read dosing the food with Seachem Metroplex, Focus and garlic is the way forward however, I cant get the first two products in the UK though

Any suggestions of a product or the ingredients I should be dosing the tank or food with

Was going to try Cichlid salt tonight...?


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## Old Newbie (Feb 18, 2017)

You can try epsom salts as a laxative; I use 1/2 tablespoon in a cup of water, use an eyedropper to moisten food (pellets) let it soak in for a minute and feed to the fish.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Ask your vet to prescribe the metronidazole. You can also do the Epsom salt...


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## shiftyfox (Aug 2, 2019)

Could I use Seachem Cichlid salt instead of Epsom salt..?


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## Old Newbie (Feb 18, 2017)

Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate and not regular sodium based salt. So, no.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Depending on what is wrong with your fish, the Epsom salt may relieve a symptom but not cure the disease. Like aspirin and an antibiotic, you may need both. Is your fish eating?


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## shiftyfox (Aug 2, 2019)

Very little, and his colour very dull


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Well if he is eating it may not be bloat. Try the Epsom salt. Since he is not really eating, add it to the tank but increase GH (by adding Epsom salt) gradually, not all at once. What is your test result for GH now?


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## Mudkicker1 (Aug 6, 2013)

In my experience Metronidazole does absolutely nothing in the water column. If your fish don't eat I would recommend Clout. Then once they start eating again use Metro in the food. You can find flake food with Metro in it. If too much damage was done internally your fish may never be 100% from my experience.

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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I have had the opposite experience from mudkicker...clout was harsh and ineffective and metro in the water column (I have never treated the food) works like a charm, even with improvement within 24 hours. I do double dose the metro however.

I imagine there are different organisms that cause this issue, and depending on which you have, different meds work differently.

I agree by the time the fish is truly bloated...possibly with eyes even a little swollen, it may be too late no matter what.


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## Brucedg (Jan 30, 2020)

Interesting


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## Mudkicker1 (Aug 6, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> I have had the opposite experience from mudkicker...clout was harsh and ineffective and metro in the water column (I have never treated the food) works like a charm, even with improvement within 24 hours. I do double dose the metro however.
> 
> I imagine there are different organisms that cause this issue, and depending on which you have, different meds work differently.
> 
> I agree by the time the fish is truly bloated...possibly with eyes even a little swollen, it may be too late no matter what.


DJ, perhaps the Metro I've been using is not so good. Where do you buy yours and what is your dosing amount and schedule?

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I have been using this last couple of years with very poor results.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I also wonder if treating mbuna is different than treating haps and peacocks. I've only had demasoni with bloat...that extra long gut. Metronidazole expires after 2 years. I get it from jehmco.com which is a fish room supplier in the US.


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## Mudkicker1 (Aug 6, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> I also wonder if treating mbuna is different than treating haps and peacocks. I've only had demasoni with bloat...that extra long gut. Metronidazole expires after 2 years. I get it from jehmco.com which is a fish room supplier in the US.


It's very possible that mine was expired during my last bloat breakout. However it has never worked for me even when fresh.
I never had a mbuna with bloat in my life, only haps and peacocks.

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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Here is my regimen. Note the author was also treating a herbivore (or at least not a carnivore like haps and peacocks).
https://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/vie ... 40#p272716


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## Mudkicker1 (Aug 6, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> Here is my regimen. Note the author was also treating a herbivore (or at least not a carnivore like haps and peacocks).
> https://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/vie ... 40#p272716


Is there any science behind his regimen or did he basically wing it?

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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I think he followed the directions, but doubled the meds. Worked for him, worked for me and has worked for others.


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## Mudkicker1 (Aug 6, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> I think he followed the directions, but doubled the meds. Worked for him, worked for me and has worked for others.


DJ do you double the dosage stated in those directions?

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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

No I followed the directions in the post exactly. If I was treating the larger tank I increased the dosage accordingly.

It would be nice if someone would research the organism(s) that cause bloat and straighten it out for us.

I always thought for the demasoni it was the extra long herbivore gut which would not be the case for carnivores.


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## Mudkicker1 (Aug 6, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> No I followed the directions in the post exactly. If I was treating the larger tank I increased the dosage accordingly.
> 
> It would be nice if someone would research the organism(s) that cause bloat and straighten it out for us.
> 
> I always thought for the demasoni it was the extra long herbivore gut which would not be the case for carnivores.


Yes that would be nice. I can say for sure that it's not due to diet in my experience. I feed my mbuna tank cheap tetra flakes and NEVER got bloat. I feed my haps and peacocks with NLS and now Northfin and I still get bloat sometimes. My most recent outbreak was due to me not quarantining new fish for a long enough time.

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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I think it has pretty much accepted now that it is NEVER diet, unless you are talking 100% bloodworms. I think the foods they make now are good quality.

For me it is always aggression. I have not had bloat in many years, knock on wood.


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## shiftyfox (Aug 2, 2019)

Metroplex just arrived from the US. 
I assume before dosing I should remove the Purigen bag from the canister?
Water change was done 2 days ago but should I perform another before I start..? 
About 3 fish are not eating at present

Instructions say one level scoop for every 40 litres so I assume I can add 5 to my 200 litre..
Straight into the water or dissolve it in tank water first..?


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## ken31cay (Oct 9, 2018)

The times I've used Metroplex for africans I've had to double the recommended dose to 2 scoops per 40 liters as the recommended treatment had little or no effect until I did this.


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## shiftyfox (Aug 2, 2019)

So drop 10 scoops straight in, no dissolving beforehand..?

Also is it worth mixing into some pellets first and feed before treating the water..?


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