flower horn disease

Question
QUESTION: Hello
i have a 3 years old flower horn which was completely all right. he did not eat properly from last weak i fed him with pea omega 3 lotus carrot chicken heart and some TetraLohan food that i have mixed all and make them frozen. 3 days before in the morning i had noticed some black spots on his back which expanded rapidly then he lost his balance in swimming and stayed downside up in the bottom of tank . i started searching and thought that he has swim bladder disease so i changed half of the water bought a new filter which worked better for better water situation and i added 2 table spoon salt for each 10 gallons and increased water temperature up to 34 centigrade degrees and added 250 ml. tetracycline for every 10 gallons and i also added 2 teaspoon of Magnesium Sulfate to his water for every 10 gallons . but he does not look better after 3 days of cure . would you mind guiding me in order to help my poor fish.
thank you very much

ANSWER: Farnia,
It does sound like swim bladder disease. Doing 25% water changes every week is a good thing. Larger water changes can be done but not too often. Your water temperature is way too high for the Cichlids. Their water temperature should be 28 C. You are causing more damage to your fish. You are cooking your fish. Lower it slowly back down to 28 C. I would really stop feeding him the chicken hearts as well. For swim bladder fast him for 2 days. On the third day feed him a cooked shelled pea. DO NOT feed him the shell because he cannot digest it. Then fast him again for 2 days. Once a week, feed him the cooked shelled pea to help prevent swim bladder disease. You might be having a problem with the tank water now since you added a new filter. Your tank is going to cycle again because if this. I am not sure why you are treating with tetracycline and magnesium sulfate but I would stop using them. You are adding too many chemicals to a fish that is only suffering at this time, swim bladder disease. Do a large water change now to help get rid of the stuff you have added and then a 25% water change for two days. We NEVER treat our fish with medication unless we know exactly what is wrong. The salt in the water is fine but just remember, salt does not evaporate. You will only add salt to the water going into the tank in a water change.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


my fish   QUESTION: Thank you for your guidance . He looks better after 5 days as he can swim now but mostly sits at the bottom of the tank .I had not fed him for 5 days and did not add any more Magnesium Sulfate to the water but i have added 1000 mg Tetracycline to my 160 liter tank and change 25% of the water every day .
Something new that frightens me really is that he lost his color and his head had became too small
and the worst one is that his stomach around his anus has swelled up.
Please help me. Am I killing my poor fish?
sincerely yours
Farnia

Answer
Farnia, Have you checked for parasites? He might also be a bit stressed. I would start feeding him again but try to feed him fresh or frozen small shrimps to increase red coloration. Just make sure to remove the horn of the shrimp. New Life Spectrum is also good. Change the chicken heart to beef heart. These are also good Hikari, Hai feng, Omega one, Sanyu , Meal worms, ocean free. I think that once he gets used to the lowered temperature he should start eating again. Just give him the food and then if he doesn't eat it in 2 minutes remove it from the tank. As for the swelling, I am thinking a parasite of some kind. You can get medicated food to help him get rid of them.