Dave+Amy Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Hey, I've only noticed my male GBA acting different yesterday, his stomach is all swollen and he has to swim upto the surface of the tank for air. None of the other GBAs are doing what he's doing. what should I do to cure him? he hasn't eaten for a while either but his stomach looks like it's going to pop. Didn't think it was dropsy because his scales haven't spiked outwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Bristlenoses get digestive problems quite easily - usually from eating bad food. You can try feeding him peas, but he probably wont eat. Sorry to say, but they usually die from this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted October 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 dam he must have eaten some of the discus' beef heart...can't think of what he would eat that I wouldn't usually feed him. he's got a speck of blood on his left gill coming through too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Well, I hope he pulls through for you. When mine have done this, I put them into a breeding box so I can monitor them without tearing the tank apart. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Do you have wood in the tank? I've heard that wood in the tank helps with digestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted October 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 have two huge driftwood logs but he's not eating anything or doing much other than laying above the pot and swimming to get air Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracytrout Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Hope your gba recovers Did you mince the ox heart right down to the same consistency as bloodworms or finer as this way fish of all sizes can digest it easier?...I did this and all my fish plus the bristlenoses are fine after having numerous feeds of ox heart and garlic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 I doubt its the consistency of the food, more likely some was sitting on the bottom for a few days and went bad, then was eaten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted October 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 it's blended so should be fine enough, all the other GBAs are fine though and they would've eaten the same food, still alive and stomach seems to have gotten bigger...will he explode? Should I take him out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Sometimes they do explode. It's up to you whether you want to euthanize him. Personally, I wouldn't - sometimes they can recover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 ok this is a radical treatment - its worked for me in the past so if you're beyond the point of no return - catch him, put him in a fish bag and leave him in there, move the bag around if you have to - the point is to stress him like they do when you take them home from the shop. then the fish will shit it out - maybe. if this is dropsy then it obviously wont work... try it if you want and lemme know if it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Actually, that could work. I've successfully done something similar - put it into a breeding net with nowhere to hide, and cooled the water down. It did a big poop and was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted October 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 never thought about it, wil try it now - his body's gone a bit rigid but still manages to swim every now and then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 His scales arent sticking out now are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted October 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 nope his scales wern't sticking up - found him dead when I went to isolate him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Aw I wish there was a reliable way to treat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 that sucks.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted October 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 from what it looked like when I turned him over - his intestines look like them imploded...poor little guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Yeah, sounds like digestive problems. What do you feed them usually? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted October 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 usually they eat those spirulina sinking tabs, brocoli, zucchini and bloodworms. Have only started introducing the beef heart to my Discus he was my only male as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Sorry about your GBA Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaide Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Sorry to hear that Dave+Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 I've found the spirulina tabs can only be in the water for 12 hrs or so, then they start going bad. If Mr GBA ate some after it had gone bad, it could have caused the problems. I doubt it was the beef heart, they probably wouldn't have got much after the discus got it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 dang sorry to hear! i haven't kept GBAs before but a bloat cure is 1Tbsp/10G (36L) of epsom salt to the water.. i assume you could use this as a treatment for these fish also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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