Did a 60% water change on my kasanga tank on Friday, and came home after weekend away (lights off no food for two days) and fed them lightly last night, turned on tank lights this morning to feed and I have one tropheus blown up like a puffer fish.

I have treated with metro as I don't have enough clout. People with success stories on metro...please tell me the rate of treatment?I have Aquascience Professional Aquarium Drugs & Chemicals...on the back it says 5 mg/L and 1/4 tsp/41 gallons. What rates do you treat at? I will do another water change in 24 hours as well and treat as suggested.

I know Klaus uses Clout, and I do have some on hand...however I have more metro. Klaus...can you please add your treatment regime for Clout? How many days, water change schedule etc.

Others that have used metro please tell me what you recommend.

I have never had any problems with these fish before and have done nothing differently. I simply want to treat the situation before I have one more too big. When treating metro...when can I add salt to the tank?

This method has worked for me:


Day 1
remove the carbon or any resins from your filter.
do a 30-40% water change taking care not to stress the fish.
fill an 8oz. jar or glass bottle with tank water and dissolve 1 tablet of Clout per 10 gallons of tank water. Round up if you have a 45, 55, etc.
shake well and pour in the mixture slowly over a 1/2 hour or so as it can be very strong - this is important!

Day 2
repeat Day 1 instructions exactly

Day 3
repeat Day 1 instructions exactly

This should be enough of a treatment if the inflammation is not
severe. Do a final water change 24 hours after the last
treatment. If the fish has not resumed eating, treat for a full five
days, though often three is enough. In some cases it is
necessary to do another treatment after doing the initial five day
one. If you don't see improvement after the first 3-5 days, take
two days off continuing water changes and then start over
again with a three day treatment.

Steph, I've never used pure metro, but I know that alot of people will treat the visibly "sick" fish with Clout, and feed the seemingly healthy fish met soaked food, rather than hit them with the Clout, since it is so harsh.

I got so nervous trying to treat my Tropheus that time that there is no telling what I did...I hope things go better for you than they did for me. Either I had alot more sick than I initially realized, or the treatment wasn't strong enough. (I used JPC...)

I'm having a hard time finding Clout around here these days. I like to keep some on hand in case I need it, and I've checked all the LFS, to no avail.

I'd be interested in hearing whether Klaus treats the whole tank, or just those showing signs of illness. And, also, do you use epsom salt in conjunction with the meds?

Good luck, hon...

Kim

I have never used salt in addition to Clout. I really don't want to make it tougher on them as is.

If I see a really bad case, I will remove it but still medicate the whole tank.

Well I lost two...I have the lights off and did a water change this morning...will do the same again with another treatment...crossing fingers here!

Steph, sorry to hear about your bloat. I hope the rest of your fish pull through for you. Did you decide to stick with the metro treatment, or did you find enough clout? Out of curiousity, are these wild caught trophs? Just wondering.

I hope things turn around for you soon, Steph!

I don't know about you, but dealing with bloat makes me a bit paranoid with all my tanks.

Kim

I've never had to deal with any large scale bloat before...and never with the trophs. So far they seem to be ok, and I went with metro due to availability and tank size. I'm crossing my fingers here...please do for me. I'll do another water change today and look under rocks for any losses! :blink:

Steph, when my Nangus got sick, I was losing one a day...I've never seen bloat move that quickly through a tank. Most of the time with mbuna your losses are far enough apart that you might not even realize what's going on and that you have a problem.

It seems to affect Tropheus worse, and the progression with them seems to be more sudden, from my own experience as well as what I've read.

I think substrate vacuuming is also key while dealing with bloat in any species. If it is truly spread by health fish mouthing the feces of infected fish, then that would be your best weapon of defense.

Kim

Thanks guys! I have finished three full days of treatment and will do another water change to remove metro. I have started LIGHTLY feeding them and so far they are all eating hungrily with no (knock on wood) new bloat victims. I am gone for two full days this weekend, so I will do a light feeding and double check everyone when I'm home Sunday night! I'll keep you posted!

Steph, Bloat is a result usually of a hexamit parasite. Depending on the type and level of infection, you're success is dependant on how fast you recognize it. I have always used Metro in conjunction with Clout until recently when I was faced with a very unique case of "bloat" Details don't really matter(Klaus knows the story). I had no luck with metro and clout, and necropsy results dictated that I needed to fight a very strong parasite. I talked to several "experts" referred to me from the necropsy and I was told to use both Metro and either neomycin and/or kanomycin. Metro is a broad based antibiotic, and may or may not attack the parasite. Neomycin has a very strong affect, and kanomycin as strong and with the ability to be absorbed into the fish even when they have stopped eating. I use the metro at a rate of 250mg/10 gals. Like Klaus suggests, remove the carbon, turn up the temp, turn off the lights, as metro is broken down almost instantly by light, and then if you can get neomycin(available through you're vet) treat in conjunction as prescribed. This treatment worked wonders, and cured what I had. (And it was major). Unfortunately, you should eventually sterilize the tank and everything with it with some sort of bleach after you empty it, as the parasite will survive, and could rear its ugly head again.
Good Luck
markw
p.s keep up the treatment for at least 10 days even if they resume eating. Water changes after first day and then again every 2nd day during treatment, and vacuum up all feces.

markw, would you mind posting the full details of what happened and the "unique" situation you were dealing with over in the disease folder in the bloat thread we have started??? Please?

http://z7.invisionfree.com/Cichlid_Haven/i...c=19&st=0&#last

I would really appreciate it when you have time!

Kim

Kim, pm sent
Thanks
markw

Thanks for the info Mark. So far so good...I'm going to continue for 10 days as you recommended...muchos gracious!

Just wanted to add that I made it through the bloat with only the loss of two fish...guess I acted quick enough and did everything right! Thanks!

Glad to hear the good news, Steph! the Clap the Clap

Glad you made it through with only 2 losses, I am no help here as I have never had to deal with bloat...knock on wood!