Frontosa - Gravid or Bloated?

Hi guys, so I'm quite the noob when it comes to fish keeping etc hence why I joined this awesome forum!

Just a quick one - I have a frontosa female (origin unknown), +- 3 years old, getting very fat, and not sure whether she is carrying or not...I done some research and according to sources I've read, you need a male for them to spawn (if the breeding tube is visible). I tried to check and I see some sort of tube but couldn't get a good look. She is the only frontosa in the tank mixed with a variety of other cichlids.

Can any of the other cichlids fertilize her or is this impossible / unlikely? Should I remove her and place her in her own tank and try to source a male? She's been very secretive and shy since the expansion of her tummy and hides in her lil cave as soon as I come close to the tank.

I tried contacting a few peeps and she might have Bloat? Please see picture attached (its the only pic I could get so far). I really hope its not bloat and that she is actually ready to breed.

Any suggestions / guidelines would be much appreciated.

 

Can't hybridize with others. Only other frontosa varieties.
Looks more bloated, what diet are they on?

 

What are you feeding it?

 

Hi and welcome to the forum

I am not an expert on Frontosas but they are cichlids after all and i must say i have never seen one bloat up that much before spawning.. even my oscars dont get that bloated

From how bloated it is and laying around at the bottom I "think" it could be bloat bt lets see what others have to say
Is she still eating?

 

If you're seeing other symptoms too, such as the scales sticking out, eye protrusion, etc., you're likely looking at typical bloat (AKA dropsy). But bloating may arise from many other sources such as parasite infestation, constipation, to even cancer.

Additional photos and descriptions of behaviour, diet (be specific), and maintenance routine would be useful in diagnosis.

Regards,

 

Hi Guys,

Wow! I'm overwhelmed with your quick and efficient responses! Thank you!

Okay so I'm feeding her "Tetrabits Complete".......could this be the cause? She's been eating this all her life. I will try and get more pictures after work hopefully. I didn't see any scales sticking out and neither eye protrusions.

I do a 40% water change bi-weekly and I have a 250l tank which I try my utmost to keep clean and healthy with no live plants. With regards to behavior, she has been more shy since the "bloat" appeared (super bummed that it's actually looking more like bloat according to you experts) and feeding less. She would usually come out of her cave immediately once feeding begins but now she takes her time. I was under the impression that she is maybe "carrying" hence the change in behavior.

So seeing that it has come down to the worst case scenario - bloat, what would be the best way to remedy her? Someone told me I should look at using Epsom Salts and Metronidazole but didn't specify amounts. I just want to double check before I do anything. I stay in Cape Town and if there's any suggestions on where to get these medicines I would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance

 

High protein diets can lead to bloat in some African cichlids. Not sure about fronts

 

@Hendre - I'm not sure about the high protein with Frontosa. They're predators, though I'm sure someone else can comment more on the dietary requirements of these animals.

Before treating, check up on your water parameters, both in terms of suitability for your fish, as well as pollutants (nitrite, nitrate, ammonia etc.). Keeping a healthy environment is the first and arguably most important step in treatment and prevention of ailments.

The treatment I know of is with salt and Metronidazole. I'd prefer to quarantine the fish first. Then I treat with salt first (I'm not sure on treatment with epsom salts), at about a "teaspoon per gallon" as many of my antiquated books put it (tsp per 4 litres). Reduce feeding (or no feed at all). See how the condition improves (it may slightly). Within a few days, do a largeish water change (the new water should be salted, as above), and dose the Metro after the water change. I don't know if Metro comes with instructions, so check if it does and follow that (I can't remember off hand). Wait a few days, water change and dose as above. Once condition appears to be improving, water change but no dose. I only feed again once bloat has reduced quite a bit.

That's my way, taken from some books and older sources. There may be newer and more effective treatments, though. The key, as ever, is paying attention to the condition of the fish over the course of the treatment, as your guide to handling dosage.

Regards,

 

May be bacterial then. I think it's mbuna (?) That suffer without a veggie diet

Epsom is for internal parasites usually. The salt is correct

 

Welcome, I am not an expert, and the picture is not very clear. But that look more like a Butterkofery cichlid. If it is , then the body shape is rather round.

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Thank you so much for the guidance and help. This forum rocks!

I will remove her from her current tank today and put her in a separate tank for treatment. She's definitely not a Butterkofery. I'll try and get more pictures later.

You guys sound like an amazing bunch, stay blessed!

 

Definitely bloat


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Howzit all!

@Uncle millie did ask me this question via PM on Whatsapp,

It is my opinion that this Front is deformed (maybe not a Front?).

Similar looking to the "balloon" Mollies etc. etc. Bloat will not make a fish any shorter, only wider.

 

Could be a shortbody buttifokeri or some hybrid?

 

I guess this would be the case for the so called "balloon" mutations but not too certain on that.

Have a look at this thread: http://cichlid-forum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=292225

The body of the fish in the thread above is similar to the one in photo. They are born this way and should be culled by responsible breeders as they would be by predators in the wild.

This fish could also be experiencing bloat, the belly is rather large and protruded even for a "shorty". I would however like to point out that this is extremely uncommon for Frontosa. I have never had to assist anybody with this before.

@Uncle millie

You will need to give me information on the fish behavior for proper diagnosis. If you have reason to believe the fish may have bloat from improper water conditions, feeding or diet you can treat appropriately and see what happens. The fish will not perish from the medication alone.

This fish is not a good Frontosa specimen. I would advise against allowing this fish to spawn and pass on the gene which causes this "balloon" like mutation. I very much doubt that these fish will live as long as a healthy Frontosa can. Aside from that, the collection location is unknown which means they can easily be confused with other species "Gibberosa", "Sp. North" from the Frontosa genus or mixed up with Frontosa from different locations (each has their own markings in nature).

 

Hi Guys,

So I managed to get her into her own tank and didn't manage to get the metronidazole, however, I got my hands on Octozin as I was kinda desperate at the time. Has anyone ever used this treatment before? I managed to get better pics too, please see below.

Thanks @Jack Stone I appreciate your input and guidelines. Super bleak that she's from the "special" ones.... I definitely don't want to cull her, I also wouldn't breed her either.

Over the weekend up until yesterday she's been move around a lot more and she protrudes her mouth and shakes her head in a quick motion as if she's regurgitating something but nothing comes out? Could this be the start of getting the bloat out (whatever it is inside that's making her swell?). With regards to her scales, I noticed when I moved her into her own tank that her scales look raised in certain sections too.

@Jack Stone - Could you please help me source some metronidazole by any chance? I've been to 3 pet stores and none of them had. Please see picture of the treatment I purchased below.

Thanks again to all for all your effort and input... I truly appreciate it.