# Does a sunken belly always indicate poor health?



## swimmingwiththefish (Aug 23, 2012)

I had a red zebra that was not eating and had a sunken belly. After doing some research, I believe it may have had parasites. I treated my entire tank with API General Cure and moved him to a hospital tank and treated with Tetra Parasite Guard.

My question is related to the other fish in my tank. One of my fish has a pretty pronounced concaved belly. It does not act sick at all. It's poo is normal looking (same color as the food, not clear/white stringy). Does having a concave belly always mean something is wrong?


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## dreday (Oct 12, 2007)

Yes and no. The fish should be streamlined in shape, not bloated or sunk in. If it looks skinny it could be lack of food due to aggression issues or not enough feed in the tank.

What type of food do you feed, and how often?

It could be a parasite issue, heximita is pretty common and with poor water quality it can multiply and infect the fish.

Some more tank info would help determine possible issues. Temp, ph, ammo, nitrite, nitrate, tankmates and tank size would help.


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## swimmingwiththefish (Aug 23, 2012)

I recently upgraded from a 55 to a 75 gallon(less than a week ago). Water changes 1-2 x per week 25-30%. Ph is about 7.4. Temp 78 degrees. Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates usually between 20-40. I currently only have 6 (2-3 inch) fish in the tank. I am buying more on-line but they won't be delivered util next week. This fish is the most aggressive in the tank. He always eats!


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## swimmingwiththefish (Aug 23, 2012)

I forgot to mention that I feed a variety of foods. mostly NLS, spirulina flakes, occasional algae wafer or brine shrimp, zucchini.


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## dreday (Oct 12, 2007)

Are the fish new for you too? if so they may be skinny from transit. Sometimes the fish you get are not feed for 3-4 weeks depending on where they come from. If you get them from the breeder then i would say that they need a little time to adjust.

If you have had them for more than 6 months there might be a problem with parasites. Which can be easily treated. if you are not seeing other symptoms though i would not treat them just yet.


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## swimmingwiththefish (Aug 23, 2012)

No, this fish is not new to me. I've had him since september.His stomach has always been sunken. As I stated in my original post, I have already treated my tank for parasites.


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## dreday (Oct 12, 2007)

Is it getting picked on?

It may be a sub-dom male that is not getting enough food.


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## swimmingwiththefish (Aug 23, 2012)

nope, it's the dominant one.


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## toyster17 (Mar 31, 2012)

I've tried for months to get rid of this issue to no avail. About half my fish have sunken bellies, they all eat, and act normal. I've tried Tetra Parasite guard, metro (multiple times, and different dosages from threads on here), PraziPro, Flubendazole 10%...I hope you have better luck.


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