Malawi Bloat

[limmer]

Got a bunch of Africans over a month ago.  Noticed they started dying recently.  When I looked closer it was bloat.  Did some water changes.  Went to Big Al's and they did not carry anything specific for it.  I think my Petricola Synodontis in that batch also have it.
Any suggestions on treatment or a drug to use that I might be able to find here at a LFS?

[KLKelly]

I don't have treatment advice - I've never owned a cichlid and don't know the causes of cichlid bloat (water quality etc).  If metro is recommended just posting some places where you can get some good stuff.  I had a goldfish with bloat and she recovered on metro powder and when she started eating again metro-meds.

DarkDep treated for bloat (I believe it was him) by getting metronidazole/flagyl from his vet. Metro-meds which is food with metro in it (check and see what else is in it first) from fishsempai if the fish is still eating. You can also buy pure metro powder from mops.ca.  The pure metro powder could get expensive if you are treating a big tank.  You dose every day for seven days with a 50% water change each day.  BigAls sells metro+ which is a mix of metro and salt but the problem is you don't know how much metro is in it.

[limmer]

Thanks,
I will run by Big Al's and look for Metro and check it out.
I think if I order it from somewhere it may take too long.
I will try calling a couple of vets tomorrow.

[KLKelly]

I'd get advice from cichlid keepers first 

[KLKelly]

With all the people crazy for cichlids on this forum I'm surprised you haven't gotten a response yet.  Maybe you should go back and look up DarkDeps post.  He got a lot of advice.

The thing is I don't know what causes Cichlid bloat - maybe the ph is wrong, high nitrates, wrong food who knows! I wouldn't treat with drugs until you know what causes bloat.  Is cichlid bloat contagious? If it is malawi bloat in fact when I was reading on bloat for my fish and getting advice this popped up a lot with metro being a recommended treatment.

[limmer]

I have been into Africans for a long time and this is my first bloat.  I suspect it came in with the fish from the seller.  I think he had some infected fish.  Not a 100% sure.  I will treat with something tonite probably Maracyn 2 as it says it is good for dropsy which might be similar.

[KLKelly]

No idea. 

I think Maracyn will blow away your biological filter. You'll need to reseed your filter or go through cycling after.  Keep an eye on ammonia, nitrite etc.

[Tetratec]

There are two meds that will work with African Bloat, One being Metro and the second is clout....I use Metro and will always use metro but articles that I read and research say that clout is a much stonger med...Follow instructions for treatment!!



A few questions for use:

What is your diet and feeding schedule
How often do you change your water and what are you using for filteration
What size tank and how many cichlids in that tank
What does your tank decor consist of

Bloat is the result of an internal infection........the common problems that cause this are

1.STRESS
2.Your Diet
3.Poor water

Good Luck!!!


Wayne

[limmer]

This one tank has been up for a while.
I change water about every 2 weeks.
There is a cannister filter on it.
All my other tanks are fine.  Just the new batch I brought in.
Could not find Metro or Clout at Big Al's in Ottawa.  I know I can order it online.
May not need it anyways.  The one with the bloat croaked yesterday.

[markw]

limmer, Sorry I didn't see this earlier. Unfortunately, if you did have Bloat, you still have bloat. It is very contagious and simply because a fish died, doesn't mean the bloat is gone. You really should treat the tank and its contents if you really don't want it to reoccur. As mentioned by others, metro and/or clout should work. Observing you're cichlids eating and catching their symptoms is always the best cure. Usually fish that stop eating or shy away with some other visual clues, can be treated with medicated food if caught early enough. Since bloat is an intestinal tract problem, getting the meds into them early is the best treatment. If they've stopped eating all together then the treatment isn't always as successful. I would treat you tank and its contents with clout to erradicate the problem. You need to treat the filtration as well, but you will lose your bacteria cultures with clout. If you go ahead with the treatment pm me and I can provide some more help with it.
Good luck
Markw

[Misterted]

Metro is the way to go.
Clout is much more harsh, easy to OD on and will turn the silicone seams in your tank blue permanently.
The best place to order it is from a place called Jehmco in NJ, USA.
www.jehmco.com
Not sure about shipping to Canada though but the stuff is so cheap there that is must be worth it.

Regardless, bloat is caused by stress whcih can be caused by a multitude of things and it can be caused by a diet that is too rich in meat products. Cichlids are mostly herbivores although some do eat meat like Cynotilapia and others.

I've had bloat rip through my tank a few times and even when it's under control it usually isn't. So I keep doing wate rchanges and treating. I also bought food that is soaked in 1% metro and feed it as a preventative weekly.

Hope this helps.

Ted.

[dan2x38]

Aquazole is intended for freshwater use over Metronidazole. Aquazole contains 50% Metronidazole & 50% potassium sulfate this helps the medication to be adsorbed through the freshwater fish's shin. Here is the link for the product:  http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/AquaZole.html Here is the link that explains that and where I read that: http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/archive/index.php/t-239.html I sure hope this helps! Trying to find Canadain supplier.

Update: Mops.ca in B.C. sells both Metronidazole & Aquazole: http://www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/skus/me/MESE-07220.asp?L+scstore+pbzx2125ff712271+1209010362

[limmer]

It's pretty hard to decide what to use.  Is bloat parasitic or bacterial?
It looks like the Metro recommended to use is Aquazole for freshwater.
The writeup I read says Metro for preventative and clout if infected.
The ones in the Quarantine tank look okay now.
I am treating with Maracyn 2 as that is all I have.
The one with the bad case of bloat died.
I think I will order some drugs and put it in the fridge for future use.
Ted, are you in Ottawa?  Where did you get your food with Metro.
Could not find either drug in Ottawa LFS. Might look in Montreal this weekend.

[Misterted]

I don't live in Canada. I live in NJ.
The place I recommended in my post is also in NJ but since the Metro there was so cheap I thought that aybe it would pay to deal with them anyway.

[limmer]

Thanks for the advice everyone.
It's always great to hear from people in the hobby from elsewhere.