Are My Fish Doomed?

[Steve H.]

SO, 1 Week to the day that my tank had finally fully cycled and water was pristine I woke up to find the water was really cloudy with a lot of large white particulate floating around. And then I noticed my fish...all had completely bloated bellies, and were coughing up what ever this white stuff was.

Tested the water right away, got am 0, ni 0, and na 5. Ok seems good. But I can't emphasise how much of this stuff was in there...pieces large and small floating and all over the substrate.

I did a 90% water change and got a good amount, but there is still a lot in the substrate. I will probably do another wc tonight.
While examining the stuff I had pulled out it has a soggy bread like texture??

When I questioned my 4 and 3 year old boys if they had put anything in there all I got was "fishies eat breakfast"

What and who put it in there I am not getting.....
I can only guess it was a cookie, or maybe bread

Are my fish as good as dead?

 

[tribalbrit]

shouldn't bother them that much.. my koi love bread so cant see it hurting trops.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'm sorry, but I had to


I don't think your fish are doomed, just overfed currently by the benevolence of your kids. Don't feed them tomorrow, and give them some frozen peas the next day (shelled and defrosted of course). This should take care of it. Then have a talk with the James' Boys and tell them that it is daddy's job to feed the fish. My son is 5, and he loves to feed the fish, but he only gets to do it under my supervision as a treat. This is actually a great opportunity to teach them both a good lesson though. Have them look at the bellys of the fish and see how large and bloated they look. Tell them this is what happens when they get too much food and it can make them sick. I found my son understood the concept of being sick early on, and never wanted anyone to feel that way. So, he learned not to add things to the tank pretty quick. I'm sure your boys were just trying to be helpful. Next time you feed the fish, let them in on the treat. They will probably love the chance to squish the peas out of their coating and mush up the pieces inside.


In the long run, this will probably work out pretty well for you as the boys might learn a new appreciation for the fish.



If not, then ship the kids off to boarding school fast before your fish suffer any more at their hands. At some point it might come down to fish or kids... I'd choose fish.
Just kidding, of course!

 

[Steve H.]

shouldn't bother them that much.. my koi love bread so cant see it hurting trops.

Thanks! Puts me a little at ease, but I should have been a little more specific in my post.
It's not just what they ate, but how much!

I have Tiger Barbs which are a pretty slim fish....all their bellies are so shockingly bloated. Bloated to the point they look deformed and on the verge of popping!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Tigers are pretty notorious for over eating... so it isn't surprising that they are bloated. Fast them a day or two and follow that with the peas to keep things moving. It should all be fine in a day or two. Just be sure to vac up as much of the extra food as possible as they will continue to eat as long as it is there.

 

[Steve H.]

Tigers are pretty notorious for over eating... so it isn't surprising that they are bloated. Fast them a day or two and follow that with the peas to keep things moving. It should all be fine in a day or two. Just be sure to vac up as much of the extra food as possible as they will continue to eat as long as it is there.

Thanks Eagles! Always there to put me at ease.
Hate to see what the ammonia spike is going to be like after they purge all this.

I guess its part my fault. This has always been a father son thing. Water changes he holds the hose into the bucket, water testing he holds the color chart and helps me decide what color it is, and feeding has been his job. We only feed once a day at dinner time, and I work nights so he and mommy feed the fish 5 nights a week. The tank is actually his. But I'm the one with the new hobby and obsession.

Thanks again

 

[Steve H.]

Tigers are pretty notorious for over eating... so it isn't surprising that they are bloated. Fast them a day or two and follow that with the peas to keep things moving. It should all be fine in a day or two. Just be sure to vac up as much of the extra food as possible as they will continue to eat as long as it is there.

Oh BTW I forgot that this is probably a little payback from when I was a kid.

When I was about my sons age I took my dads prized veil anglefish put him in a frying pan and cooked him.

So this little incident is minor compared to the karma payback I can expect.:'(

 

[gdoggy1678]

^ LOL! Thats one of the better stories I've heard for a while!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

WOW! Now that is a good story! Its awesome that you are getting your son involved in the fish keeping experience. "My" tank actually belongs to my son as well. But, since he couldn't lift it, fill it, reach the substrate to decorate, etc. It is really my tank and he just gets to call it his. I make all the decisions regarding stocking, etc. He is actually pretty easy going about all that. If he sees a fish that he really likes at the LFS, I just explain to him the compatibility issues or size, etc. He wanted an algae eater this whole time, so when I finally found a BN pleco, I snapped it up and it made his year!



Any update on how the tigers are doing?

 

[Steve H.]

Hi...

Tigers are doing fine today! Thanks for asking.
5 of them show no more bloating(males), and the other 4 are only slightly bloated(females).
Didn't do a second wc yet because I noticed last night it was coming out of them as fast as it probably went in. Going to fast them today, and give them some chistmas peas for dinner tomorrow.
Wierd thing is that each had distinctive markings, so I could tell who was who. But, after this the markings changed...like the leader used to have 3 black scales on his right side shaped like a triangle, but now they have turned into one circular spot.

My wife was able to get out of my older boy that the "Tigers ate the fishies". So, it was goldfish crackers he threw in the tank. I told him about putting things in the tank will make the fish sick. Let's hope it sticks.

Thanks again!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Gotta love kids. It could be worse, it could have been "Daddy ate the tigers!"

 

[XeroTolerance]

^ lol

Happy to hear that your tank is getting better.

 

[Steve H.]

Gotta love kids. It could be worse, it could have been "Daddy ate the tigers!"

Lol!!! Exact reason I keep my net well hidden.

 

[XeroTolerance]

Yeah, that's probably a good idea.