What Causes Sunken Belly in African Cichlids

Sunken belly or skinny disease is when the belly of the fish appears to be sunken in or concave. While initially there may not be any difference in the behavior of your fish, over time the condition will worsen and the sunken appearance of the stomach will become more obvious. It can be difficult to treat, especially when the fish stops eating.

Sunken belly also known as skinny disease or wasting disease is primarily caused by the internal parasite Hexamita, intestinal worms or bacterial infection. A combination of metronidazole, praziquantel and levamisole will be your best shot for treatment of the condition.

First of all, it is possible that the fish is not eating enough if it’s being bullied and out-competed by other fish in the tank. New fish may not have been fed for a few days prior to shipping until it reached the local fish shop. And even then it may not have been fed much at the fish shop. If it is a case of malnutrition, feed it up slowly, don’t try to force feed the fish as that could easily cause bloat. Small frequent feedings are the way to go.

Treatment of Sunken Belly in African Cichlids:

Most medication for treating hexamita is added directly to the water column but it is much more effective when mixed with food and eaten by the fish. When consumed the medicated food gets directly to the source of the problem, the intestines, at a much higher concentration.

If the fish is still eating the best approach is to medicate the fish food.

To start you should move the fish to a quarantine tank, where you can control the amount of food the fish is consuming. You don’t want to overfeed the fish in your main tank while trying to ensure that some food reaches the intended fish.

How to make medicated fish food?

What you will need:

• Fish Food (pellets are best).
• API General Cure or Fritz Para Cleanse
• Seachem Garlic Guard

Instructions:

1) Pour a spoon full of pellets into a bowl. Hikari Cichlid Bio Gold is great for this as it soaks up the medication readily but the pellets your fish is accustomed to eating should be fine.

2) Empty a sachet of API or Fritz medication into the bowl on top of the pellets.

3) Add enough Garlic Guard to cover the food. This is used to improve the flavor of the food as it will not taste so great with the medication been added.

4) Swirl the bowl for a minute or two to mix the contents thoroughly.

5) Wait for 10 minutes to allow the pellets to soak up the medication before feeding to your fish.

6) Any leftover food can be stored in the fridge for the next feeding.

I normally feed the fish with this medicated food for a period of 10 days.

If the fish is not eating you will need to medicate the water instead.

API General Cure or Fritz Para Cleanse is still the medication of choice. However, this time the medication should be added to the tank as per the manufacturer’s directions and can be used at the same time as the Levamisole treatment for worms.

• Try feeding the fish frozen brine shrimp.

I have often found that fish which are not accepting other food will eat brine shrimp. After a few days of eating brine shrimp, the fish may regain its appetite and start eating pellets again.

De-Worm Your Fish:

Intestinal worms are another cause of sunken belly. Worms are easier to treat than internal parasites and both can be treated at the same time. Medication containing Levamisole is a good choice for getting rid of intestinal worms. The product I use is called EIHO Worm EX. It is added to the water once a week for 3 weeks to avoid reinfection.

• While the fish is in quarantine for treatment add the dose of EIHO Worm EX once a week for 3 weeks.

• Epson salt can be added to the quarantine tank at a dose of 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. This works as a laxative to help the fish expel the worms and worm eggs.

Prevention of Sunken Belly:

Sunken belly and Malawi bloat are two diseases that are much easier to prevent in the first place, as treatment can be difficult and not effective unless caught early.

To prevent sunken belly I follow the below treatment of my display tank on a half yearly schedule.

• Feed my fish the medicated food recipe for 10 days.

• Complete a course of de-wormer, one dose each week for 3 weeks.

In addition to the preventive treatment, the below are advised measures to keep your tank disease free.

• Avoid adding any new fish to the tank unless it has completed the quarantine period.

• Don’t feed live food such as tubifex worms or feeder fish as these are known ways to introduce disease and parasites into your tank.

• Keep up with routine water changes and tank maintenance schedule.

• Observe your fish regularly for signs of disease, such as loss of color, spitting of food and labored breathing

Conclusion:

Hexamita, the primary internal parasite responsible for sunken belly can be difficult to eradicate. Treatment with medicated food is more likely to be successful than treating the water. It is best to move infected fish to a quarantine tank for treatment.

Avoid the temptation to overfeed the skinny fish during treatment as the food may cause blockage of the intestines. Small frequent feedings with a good quality pellet is the approach to take. Slowly nourish the fish back to health after the medication has done its job.

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