panther grouper problem

[is_that_a_fish]

my panther has started to act strangely, he usually is out and about scaring hermits. but now he barely comes out and i have noticed him breathing heavily. But he eats ferociously, when i put in some forumula 2 pellets for the tang he usually devours a good amount, but i feed him meaty foods like mysis, silversides, shrimp, but he still goes after the pellets, well i have noticed his belly is sorta bloated, like he has a small case of gas. Could it be he cant digest the pellets or could it be internal parasites. thanx in advance and please help!

[is_that_a_fish]

bump help please

[Geoff]

you could be feeding him to much. large predators like groupers/lions/eels/etc. need to be feed once or twice a week, or they will gorge themselves and get bload and other digestive tract problems.

try not to feed it for several days. it may have a piece of food stuck in its throat. ours would do this also on occasion.

G~

[is_that_a_fish]

so once the bloating is over it should be back to its normal self rite?

[is_that_a_fish]

i havent seen him poop since i got him so thats why i thought it was gas or something to do with his food intake.

[JennM]

I'm not a fan of pellets. I find they get eaten right away, then they absorb water and expand, sometimes blocking up the fish. Sometimes it would pass, sometimes not. Unless the pellets are really tiny, I wouldn't use them for this reason.

He might be just 'full' ... or the pellets might be causing a problem. About all you can do is watch and wait - there's no Pepto or Ex-lax for fish, I'm afraid

BTW - are you aware that the panther grouper grows to 3 feet? Hope you've got a big tank or an exit plan for it - I've got one that was given to me after it outgrew a 225. It's in my 1000 now but will likely outgrow that too.

I can barely afford to feed the thing!

He eats better (and more) than I do!

Jenn

[is_that_a_fish]

yeah i know their size...they get huge....but we are finishing our basement and are planning to put in a either 1000 gallon plus aquarium on a wall....so i guess i do have an exit plan...we should begin working/building this aquarium by january and should be finished by either june or july of 07...

[partobe]

I had a lion last year and he did the same thing and it was like Geoff said I was feeding him too much. After a cpl of days with no food he was back to his old self