Pregnant Balloon Ram?

[edwin_the_elder]

Hi Guys!

Really need your help on this. I recently purchased a breeding pair of balloon rams from Nanyang Trading and they've been eating and growing well for the past month or so. However, recently the female ram has not been eating well and her belly is starting to swell and turn pink (see attached pic)

photo_2019-02-01_00-56-05.jpg
Should i be worried of parasites? Or is she just pregnant and if so, how do i increase the chances of the fry surviving?

Thanks in advance!

[boofeng]

Loss of appetite is always cause for alarm. I can't comment on its visual appearance as I'm not familiar with balloon forms of fish.

The usual diagnoses/medications for cichlids with loss of appetite are:

1. praziquantel, to treat tapeworms

2. metronidazole, to treat internal protozoa

Early treatment is important - I often dose medicines once fish show difficulty eating.

All the best with your fish