fish eats, chews, then spits out food

[wudman]

I have a yellow lab approx. 2" in length. He is behaving totally normal other than when its feeding time... He goes after the food well enough, but it appears that he cannot swallow his food. After eating, he constantly looks as if he is chewing, then minutes later, he spits out his food.

This has been going on for about a month. His abdomen is starting to shrink. What could the problem be?

[fish4me]

What are you feeding him? Pellet or flake?

[wudman]

Results are the same with flakes, pellets, and peas.

[SGypsyMermaid]

is he, or was he trailing stringy white/gray poop?

[wudman]

I got this and 3 others about a month ago. And now that I think about it, he was trailing red poop, not white. The trail was actually pretty long - at least 2" and keep in mind that this is a 2" fish. It only happend once, the day I got it. No new trails so far.

[SGypsyMermaid]

try some live brine shrimp...maybe he's just being finicky.

[wudman]

Could this be caused by stress from a few fights that I have noticed between my yellow labs? This fish use to be the dominant yellow lab. A few fights between he and another yellow lab broke out and he lost. They circled each other sparring for at least 30 minutes one day. He finally had to run away and hide...

I have no idea if he stopped eating before he lost dominance or not. Did he lose his dominance because he was sick? Or, did he stop eating because he lost his dominance and is now stressed and depressed? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Am I pulling at hairs because I am slowly going insane over this fish?

[YourPalCM]

Originally posted by wudman
Could this be caused by stress from a few fights that I have noticed between my yellow labs? This fish use to be the dominant yellow lab. A few fights between he and another yellow lab broke out and he lost. They circled each other sparring for at least 30 minutes one day. He finally had to run away and hide...

I have no idea if he stopped eating before he lost dominance or not. Did he lose his dominance because he was sick? Or, did he stop eating because he lost his dominance and is now stressed and depressed? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Am I pulling at hairs because I am slowly going insane over this fish?

Any luck yet? You said you were going to treat with Maricin-Two. Did you try that?

My Zebra Red Top which is showing similar symptoms to yours has now started becoming more and more lethargic. He pretty much just hides all day, and although he still comes out and sort of acts hungry when I add food to the tank, he isn't getting much of anything, and the one or two times he does put something in his mouth - he is still just spitting it right back out.

He's definitely not acting normal. I started treating him with Maricin-Two last night. The only thing I can think it might be is some sort of intestinal problem or parisite, and the marcin-Two seems to be a bit of a "catch-all" so maybe we'll save him.

[wudman]

I decided against the Maracyn-two after doing some reading on internal parasites... I decided to go with the Jungle labs Parasite Clear and Pepso Food. I couldnt find either of these at any of my LFS so I had to order it online. I hope it gets here soon because I dont think this fish can last much longer. If he doesnt make it, I am still going to treat my tank with this just in case.

If the Maracyn-two helps, please post and let me know.

Thanks

[YourPalCM]

Wudman, I'm sad to report that I have been treating with Marycin-Two since Thursday night, and it has not been helping. In fact, my fish has just about reached the end. He has very slowly tappered off in health. Yesterday he was very sluggish, but was still coming out to the front of the tank when I'd put food in the tank (although he wasn't really eating it). I just got home today (Sunday) and he is in the back corner of the tank between the tube for the UGF and the tank wall, and is not coming out. It doesn't look like he can really swim under his own power anymore. I'm afraid there's no saving him now.

This is particularly frustrating because I really have no idea what this is about, and all of the other fish look and act great.

[wudman]

Sorry to hear that.. I was hoping that you might have had some luck. My fish is still active, but his abdomen is very sunken now. Im very worried about what would happen if this spreads to the other fish in our tanks. The Pepso Food that I mentioned is not expensive at all, if you can find it at your lfs. I had to order some from, http://www.drsfostersmith.com

The shipping was more than the meds, so I ordered a few other items. I hope it arrives in time for me to save this fish...

[YourPalCM]

Well, one last effort for my fish...Today I did a 40% water change and then added a treatment of Jungel Parasite Clear. It's the only other thing I can think of that might work. Unfortunately, I have a feeling you might be right - that may have been a better first choice than Marycin-Two.

I'm not sure my Zebra Red Top can be saved at this point. He can still swim if he absolutely needs to, but otherwise just rests on the gravel in the corner of the tank between the UGF intake and the tank wall.

Based on past experience and from what I've read, fish are very good at masking the fact that they are ill - it's a defense mechanism that attempts to keep them, the weakest fish, from being picked on. So when you can so clearly see that the fish is sick, you are likely past the point of no return.

We'll see.

[wudman]

YourPalCM, have you had any luck with the new treatment?

I just got my shipment of Jungel Parasite Clear and the Jungle Pepso Food... I also did a 40% water change and added the tablets... I fed them the Pepso Food about 2 hours later... I plan on doing 2 more treatments after the 48 hour wait and another water change.

[YourPalCM]

I'm sad to report that the Zebra Red Top had to be put out of his misery. I did a 40% water change on Monday and then used the Parasite Clear.

His condition just continued to deteriorate. He stopped eating, and Wednesday night was laying on the gravel on his side. He clearly didn't have much longer, and at that point I didn't see that there was any hope of recovery, so...

Quite frustrating because I really don't know what it was. I looked at him up close out of the water after I decided that was the end, and I couldn't see even the slightest indication of what could have been wrong with him.

The only thing I can figure is that it was some sort of parasite or internal problem that I couldn't see, and didn't start treating early enough.

Hopefully you have better success. Good luck.

[SGypsyMermaid]

sorry to hear it.:(

[wudman]

YourPalCM, Sorry to hear about your fish.

I was on the verge of giving up on mine also. It had been almost a week since I started the treatments (Jungle Parasite Clear and Pepso Food) and the sick fish was still wasting away. I got home from work today and dropped some pellets in the tank and decided that I would remove the fish after I had dinner. I didnt want the fish to die and be eaten by the other fish. After a few minutes I glanced at the tank and noticed that there was a lot of action going on. One of the yellow labs was chasing anything that came near him. One fish did not back down and they started circling each other. I walked over to investigate, and to my suprise it was my sick fish chasing a few others around. I noticed his abdomen was not as sunken in as it was the day before. He must have ate some of the pellets that I threw in a few minutes earlier... I didnt watch him eat because after seeing him spit out a mouthful of Pepso Food the day before, I basically gave up on him. I decided to drop a few more pellets in to see if he had actually started eating.

Im happy to report that the sick fish is eating now and being a bully to anyone that doesnt back down. It took about 6 days after the first treatment of Jungle Parasite Clear and Pepso Food for him to start eating.

[Chris Garrett]

Hey Wudman can I get a follow up on your lab?I had one doing the same thing and though he still don't eat much he's alive and looks fine.4 months later.Still hasn't grown but???

[Chris Garrett]

He died friday.4 month battle,Kind of glad it's over.Never mind Wudman,didn't mean to take up all your time on a follow up.Don't care anymore.CG

[wudman]

Sorry about you fish. As for mine, hes not spitting out his food anymore, but he does not eat as much as the others from what I can see. He has grown very little if any, and on the days that I dont feed them, his sunken stomach is really visable. I thought about setting up a small tank and letting him gorge himself until his stomach gets bigger, but thats probably not going to happen. I think the problem is that he cannot swallow as much food as fast as the other fish because of his small stomach, therefore, he does not get as much. If there are any changes I will let you know.