hey guys, my ZZM is constipated (probably a gas bubble) and i need some suggestions on how to allow him to pass it, i have boosted the temp to 86, added Salt, and fed him a couple peas, anything else i can do to ease him up?

how do you know for sure???

slightly puckered butt, a little rounder then normal, gas bubble causes floating a bit, all signs point to constipation.

no, it iisnt from aggression, this guy was divided while i was camping to make sure nothing happened to him.

Epsom salt will do the trick

sweet, thats what i always use.

How's your fish doing now Gage? I hope he's feeling better... :-)

Hopefully i can get the first and last one to breed they should make some pearly fry. Then after that get the better looking female and breed her with the 3rd one. And then get the better looking female out of there and breed her with the other mail. I want to see if i can make my own breed or something like that.

ooo pooo posted on the wrong thread thats what happens when you have to many tabs open.

hows ur flowerhorn Gage? i hope he is all better.....

hes still all floaty, but he is looking a little better though it could just be a figment of my imagination.

I had that problem with my female ZZ. Lasted for 3 or 4 weeks. Just continue feeding the shelled peas and increase water changes.

hes recovering, i didnt even see your post bro madwhitehat, i havent been on this forum for a while. but that is pretty much what i did, its making me paranoid to feed pellets though LOL

i think you mean de-shelled peas :)

This post has been edited by Gage: Sep 1 2008, 09:23 PM

is he back to 100% yet?

no he got it back again, im starting to second guess NLS being a good food.... all this is really making me give up on having any flowerhorns, my first one gets egg bound, this one is constipated, like wow, ive never had any problems with pure breds, makes me wonder if with these guys being hybrids do they have F@#&^ed up organs or something... it just seems so many people have problems with flowerhorns as opposed to pure breds, also the life span thing, 6 years??? compared to a typical pure bred CA cichlid that is less then half the max life span...

This post has been edited by Gage: Sep 12 2008, 11:57 PM

hes finally back to normal again...

Yay... i'm happy to hear that... He's lucky to have such a caring owner:)

good news Gage, I agree about flowerhorn getting sick easier. Not to bring up a sore subject, but an overcrowded tank could contribute to tehm getting sick maybe. MOre fish means more stress and more pollutants. Both of those factors could lead to fish becoming ill IMO. My ILC fish has gotten sick a few times now so I feel your pain Gage. Glad he's better now.

i know the over stock is possible, but only if the water parameters get wacky, i mean, i do water change once-twice a week on this tank and clean the filter every 2 weeks so water quality doesnt go crazy, i keep ammonia at 0, nitrite at 0, and nitrate between 10 and 20ppm (a PITA to keep this low LOL).

everyone else in the tank seems great though, and the RD is still working out!

wouldnt let me edit...

most certainly over stock and water quality problems can lead to illness, but neither of these contribute to constipation, constipation is merely caused by a lack of fiber in the diet, and to much protein (which almost everyone feeds there fish to much protein). ever since i started feeding veggies and veggie pellets the fish poop a lot more often (great...) and are more active, though this does result in higher aggression, surprising no ones killing anyone.

I feed with NLS and its been working great for me. One thing you need to remember about NLS and Omega one foods is they don't have hardly any fillers or veggies. So you need to supplement those foods in their diet. If you follow NLS reccomendations and feed their food exsclusively then you should take your feedings down to maybe one feeding every other day. This way they digest the food properly. This is very true of any cichlid that is around 6" or larger.