# What exactly is going on in a fish stomach when they are bloated from parasites?



## leafshapedheart (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi..,

Sorry to hear about your little guy. I am also sorry I am not the person to answer your question, for it is a very good and noble question. Hopefully some of the experts will be along soon to give you their opinions.

Good Luck
leafshapedheart


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## ER9 (Aug 2, 2008)

never mind...figured it out. surgery is scheduled for 018:00. wish 'mr piggy' luck. he's gonna need it.


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## rich815 (May 21, 2008)

Good luck. Just how much have you and will you spend in medications (let alone the time!) for this fish? I had a dwarf gourami that had this issue and I too tried the hospital tank and meds. Spent over $20 bucks and about 3 weeks in making sure I dosed correctly, changing water, etc! He died in the end and probably suffered along the way.


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## stonedpuppy (Jan 26, 2009)

surgery seems a bit extreme for a dwarf gourami


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## amphirion (Nov 13, 2008)

it depends on the type of parasite. does the parasite affect the way how the gourami swims? 

reading your scenario reminded of a similar parasite that plagues the stickleback. what it does is cause the stickleback's stomach to bloat, and causes the fish to start swimming on it's side. a note about sticklebacks, their flanks have highly reflective scales, but since they swim normally, this reflection does not do anything. However, with the parasite though, the stickleback starts to swim awkwardly and it's flank is raised against the surface. Now, the reflective scales catch sunlight, making the fish an easy target for birds. Then, the parasite finishes its life cycle in the body of the bird, which poops it out, and the whole process starts all over again.

amazing buggers parasites are.

i hope your fish doesn't have this. good luck on getting rid of it.


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## plaakapong (Feb 28, 2008)

good luck Mr. piggy! look forward to a good report from the surgery. I'm very interested to hear what the Dr. found.


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## brion0 (Sep 28, 2008)

ER9 said:


> never mind...figured it out. surgery is scheduled for 018:00. wish 'mr piggy' luck. he's gonna need it.


I found a sure fire way to keep dwarf gouramis from getting bloated an dieing in my tank, I stopped buying them. Until then every one I got had this problem.


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## masroberts9 (Oct 14, 2008)

i hear that a medicine called Metro works great for bloat.


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## Preeths (Jan 29, 2008)

Protozoan infections cause kidney failure. This leads to fluid retention that causes the bloated look. Metro works well if treated early. The medication works well only if the temperature is above 30 degree centigrade. Target about 5-8 mg per liter of water and medicate for a week with daily water change replacing the lost medication. do not feed during this time. start feding slowly from the 5th day a little every day.

Edit: The reason for bloat is something I read on an other forum, but the treatment works well. I have used the treatment as described above successfully. Metro is metrodinazole


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## THaehn (Jul 14, 2009)

I don't mean to open an old thread but this one seems unanswered. 

I recently had 1 dwarf gourami die from this about 4 days ago. I have another one in my tank that is showing the symptoms described above. This disease is nasty. 2 out of 2 sick. Not good. 

I am a huge fan of these little fish. They are a lot of fun to watch swim and move their little feelers around. I wonder if we could get a count of how many people have had this fish die from them in the way. Maybe its just a problem for this species?

In the mean time, I have no idea what to do for my fish right now. This Metro stuff is expensive. Cheapest I could find are $20, and it might not even work.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I use the medicated food package from www.AngelsPlus.com. 

I've started routinely worming my tanks 2x a year. I imagine internal parasites are just as much a problem in the fish world as they are in the furry pet world... just they haven't come up with a practical equivalent to the monthly worming tabs my dogs get (and may not be necessary in a closed system...)

Feeding blanched, peeled green peas is the equivalent of Exlax, if constipation is the only problem. Spirulina-enriched brine shrimp are also good.

Very few fish thrive on an all-protein diet. Most fish need at least some vegetable content. As more scientific studies are being done on wild fish diets, we're learning more and more how much veggie matter "predatory" fish actually consume on a daily basis.


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