unclenedsfishfactory.com

Hi,

In one of my mbuna tanks, there are a couple of fish with concave stomachs. They do not act sick, and have been this way for awhile. I watch that they eat, and I know I am feeding enough. I am regular with the weekly water change and am careful about maintenance. Anyone know what this may be or what I can do if it is a sickness? If it is a sickness, should I treat all fish or only those that have the sunken stomach?

Thanks,

Ben

I've seen sunken stomachs on Mbuna before.
Frankly, if it's real bad, and the fish are not particularly rare,
I just euthanize them.
I suspect it is a non-fatal tape worm.
I would at least remove them from the general population.
Because the internal worms release eggs
which go into the system
and can spread to the rest of your fish.
I usually do not feed frozen foods to Mbuna
(it's usually to rich for herbivores)
but if you want to try to turn these guys around..
feed frozen Mysis Shrimp (piscine Energetics is my favorite brand),
add garlic to the food (Kent, Seachem, or supermarket),
add Fenbendizole to the food (can often be found in dog de-wormer pills)...
...might work

The sunken stomachs don't usually kill the fish,
but they are certainly unsaleable and unshowable.