Epsom to Treat Constipation

Can someone explain how epsom salt helps fish constipation? I
understand how it could help with liquid bloating but it's frequently
suggested for food blockages. I'm just not fully understanding how it
works.

Thanks.

its a laxative
Regular salt will cause fish to absorb more water. When you've got a bloated
fish, you want them to excrete, not absorb. Epsom salt will get this done
for you.

that is copied from a paragraph about it, if you want it I will give you the
link, think I have a 100 of them, because I wondered the same thing.
Nik


"IDzine01" wrote in message
oups.com...
Can someone explain how epsom salt helps fish constipation? I
understand how it could help with liquid bloating but it's frequently
suggested for food blockages. I'm just not fully understanding how it
works.

Thanks.

Thanks Nikki, a link would be helpful. I understand how it affects
water but I'm still not clear on solids.

it attracts water into the intestinal lumen, so that any blockages
within the intestine become softer and easily move through to be
excreted.

Epsom salts are Magnesium Sulphate. These as far as I remember are no
readily absorbed by the gut (not in humans anyway). So if you load
someone or a fish with them, they tend to stay within the gut. The
more ions that stay in the gut will cause osmosis of water from the
fish's cells, into the gut lumen where the blockages and poo are. The
movement of water then softens the poo and makes it easier to move
through the fishes bowel.

IDzine01 wrote:
Can someone explain how epsom salt helps fish constipation? I
understand how it could help with liquid bloating but it's frequently
suggested for food blockages. I'm just not fully understanding how it
works.

Thanks.

I've never understood how people make fish constipated. I've never
managed to constipate a fish in 15 years of fishkeeping. Is it from
overfeeding or feeding pelleted foods rather than flakes?

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"Altum" wrote in message
. com...
IDzine01 wrote:
Can someone explain how epsom salt helps fish constipation? I
understand how it could help with liquid bloating but it's frequently
suggested for food blockages. I'm just not fully understanding how it
works. Thanks.

I've never understood how people make fish constipated. I've never
managed to constipate a fish in 15 years of fishkeeping. Is it from
overfeeding or feeding pelleted foods rather than flakes?

--
Put the word aquaria in the subject to email me.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

I don't think so, I have never fed pellets, don't even have any...Now I am
not sure if constipation is the problem but I was guessing it was with my
betta, this is the first time I have had a betta with it any way....but as
far as feeding goes, mine get betta gold (biogold) or bettamin flakes, I
give a few flakes or pieces at a time 2-3 times a day, instead of all at
once, but what they get in a day is probably less then what most feed at one
time..the only thing I did different is gave them frozen brine shrimp, he
had that 2-3 days prior to getting sick. I have also had fish since I was a
teen and now I am 33 and only had this problem one other time with my pacu
.......but he was a pig and ate a lot of goldfish and liked cheese curls so
the cheese probably did it..lol.
Nik
for what its worth I am considering this is not constipation because either
the pea or the Epsom salt should have worked...and it has not

I've never understood how people make fish constipated.

Bettas seem to be prone to it. I've never had any fish except bettas
become consitpated. Overfeeding is probably the major cause. Most of
those pellets have only between 6% and 10% moisture and can absorb a
lot of water. The fish eats a few pellets and they swell 2x to 3x their
size. The fish appears very bloated and may not "go" for 3 or 4 days.
Once it passes the fish appears normal again.

So the Epsom salts will draw water out of the fish but into the gut? It
seems, in theory, the only way it would work is if the fish ingests the
Epsom salt only. Epsom salts in the water would be counterproductive,
no?

IDzine01 wrote:
I've never understood how people make fish constipated.

Bettas seem to be prone to it. I've never had any fish except bettas
become consitpated. Overfeeding is probably the major cause. Most of
those pellets have only between 6% and 10% moisture and can absorb a
lot of water. The fish eats a few pellets and they swell 2x to 3x their
size. The fish appears very bloated and may not "go" for 3 or 4 days.
Once it passes the fish appears normal again.

That makes sense. So it's a pellet thing, like the problems fancy
goldfish have. My bettas usually get thawed frozen food or flakes.

Thinking about it, there are some pretty crummy betta foods out there
too, like Betta Bites. Anything with wheat as the first ingredient will
probably give a betta some digestive trouble. ;-)

--
Put the word aquaria in the subject to email me.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

I think Carol Gulley needs a double dose....
Koi-Lo....
Frugal ponding since 1982.
Aquariums since 1956.
Some assholes Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
*Note: There are several *Koi-Lo's* on rec.ponds.
But, I am the one and only original Koi-Lo.
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o