Oscar fish bloated - Prazi and Metro?

[eligri]

Hi!

My Oscar has gotten really bloated. He is getting sluggish, and not really begging for food like he used to. Starving him for a few days has not sorted the bloat. He passes stools like normal.

Should I try making some gelatine food with Prazi and Metro? Found those in pure form here locally, under a different name. Kind of expensive, but if it might help I will absolutely try it!

Will food with those meds ruin beneficial bacteria and/or carry any big risks?

Thanks a bunch for any suggestions!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi!

My Oscar has gotten really bloated. He is getting sluggish, and not really begging for food like he used to. Starving him for a few days has not sorted the bloat. He passes stools like normal.

Should I try making some gelatine food with Prazi and Metro? Found those in pure form here locally, under a different name. Kind of expensive, but if it might help I will absolutely try it!

Will food with those meds ruin beneficial bacteria and/or carry any big risks?

Thanks a bunch for any suggestions!

Can you post a picture? Not all bloating is caused by a disease organism.
How long has it been bloated?
Did it come on suddenly, or develop over time?

Jay

 

[eligri]

Can you post a picture? Not all bloating is caused by a disease organism.
How long has it been bloated?
Did it come on suddenly, or develop over time?

Jay

Came on suddenly, but then increased quite a bit last week (same time I returned to 70% feeding sizes). Been starving him for 3 days now again, and that has not helped either.

 

[eligri]

Here is a longer writeup:

I have a Oscar fish who has gotten pretty bloated as of the last month. He behaves normally, eats normally, etc. Today he was very sluggish, but ate normally yesterday. Fasting did not result in bloating going away, tried this for 4 days without food, then a week at 30% feedings, and then 70% feedings. Bloat has gotten far worse since last week, which is the time when I returned to 70% feedings. However he had that size of a meal for years without problems, and I really doubt it's considered a large feeding by any means.
I have seen some poops which I believe belongs to him. I also see something hanging out of his bum, but not sure what it is. I do not see it moving. Attached picture of it, and his bloat.

He has a good diet, with quality food (Hikari and Ocean Nutrition mainly). Frozen foods once per week as of late, as suggested by another forum. Also tried feeding peas every now and then, but have not tested epsom salts (in food nor bath), as was suggested against it.

120 gallon tank with frequent waterchanges and good filtration. He is about 6-7 years old.

His body looks normal, but it looks like he has swallowed a golfball. Just like a large bump on either side of his lower stomach. Slightly more on one side than the other. What can this be?


Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 500l
How long has the tank been running? 7 years
Does it have a filter? Yes, plenty of filtration. 10x volume per hour, 2 large external canister filters.
Does it have a heater? Yes.
What is the water temperature? 25.5C.
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
Oscar
Sailfin Pleco
2x Albino pleco
2x Common pleco
2x L333 pleco
4x Yoyo loaches
Unknown amount of baby pleco

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Weekly (Every 7 days usually, sometimes 9-10 days on rare occasions)
How much of the water do you change? 35-50%
What do you use to treat your water? Nothing. Virtually chlorine free water, straight from tap, with temperature to match tank. Been able to keep fish and shrimp with great success this way for a decade.
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Usually gravel vac parts of the tank

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? Liquid test kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10-20 (BEFORE waterchange)
pH: 7.6-7.8

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 6 days a week, one meal per day.
How much do you feed your fish? Quite little. A hungry fish is a healthy fish.
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Hikari, Ocean Nutrition, Tetra. Mostly Hikari/ON. 10+ different pellets mixed up.
Do you feed frozen? Not really/very rarely. Once per week as of late.
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? Not really/very rarely.

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 6 years
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? 4 weeks ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Bloated. On both sides, slightly more on one side. Behaves normally other than this, perhaps a little sluggish but eats and swims normally.
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No food for 4 days. 1/3 meals for 4 days. Then 2/3 meals for 1 week.
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Worse bloat as of late.

 

[eligri]

After 4 days of starving, his bloat has gone down A LITTLE! He is also behaving completely normally now, moving gravel and fake plant around; begging for food, etc.

Should I still aim for metro treatment, or skip that now? He still has bloat, but behaviour has improved and bloating slightly decreased.

 

[Weeb]

How often do you feed your fish? 6 days a week, one meal per day.

Be sure to include supplements in the feeding schedule. Check out the Fish Nutrition post.

 

[eligri]

Be sure to include supplements in the feeding schedule. Check out the Fish Nutrition post.

Gave him 50mg of metro today dosed in gelatine food. I believe he ate maybe 50% of it, so 25mg. Will it help if I can get a dose of that size in him daily for a few days now?

Unfortunately the pleco's got some in them also, but likely just a mg or two each, so shouldn't be bad.

Also noticed my Oscar has a very hard time swallowing food. He has always had that, but COULD be worse now. He tries several times with each pellet, but most just ends up being expelled through mouth and gills after a lot of chewing.

 

[Weeb]

Was the fish actually chewing do you think, or maybe it was a yawning motion?

 

[eligri]

Was the fish actually chewing do you think, or maybe it was a yawning motion?

Chewing, for sure.
I know Oscars are messy eaters, but he seems to really struggle to get the food down. Always been that way, but maybe a little worse now.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

After 4 days of starving, his bloat has gone down A LITTLE! He is also behaving completely normally now, moving gravel and fake plant around; begging for food, etc.

Should I still aim for metro treatment, or skip that now? He still has bloat, but behaviour has improved and bloating slightly decreased.

Very Sorry - for some reason I missed your posts. They are normally flagged for my attention, but I just saw this today while manually screening for messages.

Here is a thought - your oscar may be a female. See how the bloating is pretty far back? That's right where a fish's ovaries are located. There is also some intestines there, but I think this may be eggs. Fish develop ripened eggs, and then, if they don't spawn, the eggs are either reabsorbed or the fish becomes egg bound.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Very Sorry - for some reason I missed your posts. They are normally flagged for my attention, but I just saw this today while manually screening for messages.

Here is a thought - your oscar may be a female. See how the bloating is pretty far back? That's right where a fish's ovaries are located. There is also some intestines there, but I think this may be eggs. Fish develop ripened eggs, and then, if they don't spawn, the eggs are either reabsorbed or the fish becomes egg bound.

Jay

I too believe eggs and this is in no way a nutrition issue especially with them eating feeders, krill, shrimp and even crayfish. My breeder pairs looked exactly like this when egg-bound and I had to break it up as they would clean slate, lay eggs and get overly protective. If you see this fish chasing others away- thats why

 

[vetteguy53081]

Be sure to include supplements in the feeding schedule. Check out the Fish Nutrition post.

You do realize this is a freshwater fish from everglades and will not eat Saltwater food and for sure Not yawn?

 

[eligri]

Very Sorry - for some reason I missed your posts. They are normally flagged for my attention, but I just saw this today while manually screening for messages.

Here is a thought - your oscar may be a female. See how the bloating is pretty far back? That's right where a fish's ovaries are located. There is also some intestines there, but I think this may be eggs. Fish develop ripened eggs, and then, if they don't spawn, the eggs are either reabsorbed or the fish becomes egg bound.

Jay

Could that last so long though? (S)he has been bloated for a month now

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Could that last so long though? (S)he has been bloated for a month now

Yes - if the eggs have become impacted (egg bound) that can happen.

The chewing motion you mentioned does not line up with this though.

Jay

 

[eligri]

Yes - if the eggs have become impacted (egg bound) that can happen.

The chewing motion you mentioned does not line up with this though.

Jay

I believe the chewing is a problem he has always had though. He has a hard time swallowing, kind of always has.
Impacted, what does that mean?
She is alone in the tank, no males.

 

[Weeb]

I believe the chewing is a problem he has always had though. He has a hard time swallowing, kind of always has.
Impacted, what does that mean?
She is alone in the tank, no males.

Female fishes can 'produce' eggs (internally) without there being a male nearby. I believe "impacted" means she can't release the eggs.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I believe the chewing is a problem he has always had though. He has a hard time swallowing, kind of always has.
Impacted, what does that mean?
She is alone in the tank, no males.

Exactly - without a male to court her, the eggs can be stuck inside. Over time they harden and cannot be released.
Jay

 

[eligri]

How do I help with that? @Jay Hemdal @Weeb

 

[Jay Hemdal]

How do I help with that? @Jay Hemdal @Weeb

Sorry - If that is the case here (and I'm not 100% sure that it is) the fish either has to release the eggs or it eventually dies. The longer the eggs stay bound up, the less likely they will be released. I've used Oxytocin injections early on and sometimes the eggs will be released due to that hormone. That requires a veterinarian though.

Jay