# fish stomach Caving in?



## I3lazd (Dec 29, 2008)

My fish look like their stomachs are starting to cave in is there anything I can get to make them better or anyone even know the problem.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

sounds like internal parasites or u just arent feeding enough?


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## I3lazd (Dec 29, 2008)

I feed twice daily how do I get rid of the parasites?


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

im no pro when it comes to med.....jungle parasite clear maybe one u can use?? Id wait for a certain answer from someone who has more experience with meds, sorry.


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## I3lazd (Dec 29, 2008)

please help me before they start dying.


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## Brandrcm (Feb 25, 2008)

I wouldn't jump to conclusions and over medicate. They won't start dying tonight from this. If it is internal parasites, a good start would be medicated food.


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## gacichlids (Sep 19, 2007)

Two things:
I see this all the time in the south. The water here is very high in iron in the south, I don't know how it is where you are, but there are "iron loving" bacteria that create whitish/clear sludge and slime in the water according to DNR, and appropriate treatment with potassium permanganate is needed sometimes. You need to find this out. Pot. Perm. also kills some parasites. It needs to be used with caution. Jungle Clear water or Permoxyn give dosing instructions for their products if you need them. There may be other causes, if you are seeing sludge/slime on the sides of your tank and elsewhere, you might speak with them about it.

Epsom salts and appropriate, easy to digest breeder quality food. I feed all my fish spirolina, even the open water predators. Once the fish start going poop, then they fatten up again. Be sure to do frequent water changes with properly treated water until they look better.

Unfortunately, I don't think they ever look as good in the end as a fish who never got a sunken belly. I avoid getting fish like that whenever possible and in areas where you see alot of fish like that, I would definitely look into both the water quality and the source of the fish. It pays to buy from better fish places/breeders always.


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

i had some wasting issues when i bought two sick peacocks.. jugle parasite clear ABSOLUTELY did the trick. i refrained from feeding as much (once per day ONLY) and used EPSOM SALT (in my opinion a cure all) and dosed as said on the packaging with 3 rounds of treatments . it took a week and some loot (150 gallon tank with 30 gallon sump) but i did not lose any fish. i swear by jungle parasite clear "FIZZIES"
:thumb:


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

btw i read above statment, yes they DO die quickly of internal parasites and YES jump on it be proactive if you want your fishies to live


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## star rider (Mar 20, 2006)

Fish can live a long time with internal parasites.

the parasite needs a host and it is beneficial for the parasite to keep the host alive as long as possible.

it is when the infestation is larger than the immune system can handle that the fish is more at risk.
stress then can weaken the immune system and the fish can no longer combat or keep the parasite or other infections at bay.

this occurs in the later advanced stages.

but if the fishes immune system can keep things under control the fish and the parasite can live for weeks , months and years..

I usually am proactive and treat prazi, metro flubendazole


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## gacichlids (Sep 19, 2007)

the Jungle parastite guard does do a great job if your fish are strong enough to handle it and make sure you have lots of aeration. I've seen some larger fish come around just with epsom salts, proper feeding and clean water. I had a recent problem and the Jungle parasite guard saved my baby wild fish, but I had to feed them up before I dared use it because they were ghastly thin and weak and bleeding from the gills. I also use the salt and epsom salt treatments which work very well. Epsom salts are an amazing help.


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

from my experience, when i had a fish and their stomach started caving, you got (in my case) about a week before they start dropping. why wait if you have money in your fish and care for them. im my case i couldnt stand my fish suffering and couldnt bare watching them waste away like the guy stated above, maybe they will live a while that way, but who could sit back and watch.. :roll:


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## gacichlids (Sep 19, 2007)

I've seen fish live like that for a long time in my area, unfortunately due to people not knowing how to properly care for cichlids. Why does it keep happening to you? A fish has never gotten in that shape under my watch and I almost never use meds. But then I have valuable and sensitive fish. You really need to investigate what the problem is. Proper food and water conditioning is vital. The articles here on salt and epsom treatments are great and well worth reading. Really good digestable food made with the right ingredients is essential, as are water changes.

You might investigate if you have high iron in your area or other water issues. Then you don't have to see any of your fish suffer, you can prevent it altogether.


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