[fablau]

Hi everyone,
I would like to know your thoughts about one of my neon having a huge belly, I apologize for the pictures below but, boy, it has been hard to catch it:

I will wait for your thoughts... Thanks!

 

[GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy]

All of mine look like that after I feed them. All 9 look like that and some have even been fatter.

That being said, that appears to be a female and your tank looks really comfortable. Hopefully she'll lay eggs, but don't count on it. It's likely she found something to eat.

How many do you have in the tank total? The one behind her appears to be female as well. What else is in the tank? What is the pH and temperature?

 

[fablau]

Thanks for you reply, that comforts me! I have around 30 neons, besides other fish, the tank is a 75gl planted tank, and PH, when co2 is on, drops to 6.2. Temperature is around 78.5.

Here is a picture of my tank:

That's very interesting though because after more than 30 years of fish keeping I have never seen a neon with such a big belly, but if you had a similar experience, and you say that that fish must have eaten something, I trust you!

I will let you know if tomorrow that fish is still fine, and hopefully with a "deflated" belly

Thanks!

 

[creekbottom]

Have you noticed them eating from the substrate? I have some white clouds that look like that too and I think they may have eaten some substrate.

 

[Oceangirl]

Do you have shrimp/fry? I had one neon look like this after eating a fry.

 

[fablau]

Have you noticed them eating from the substrate? I have some white clouds that look like that too and I think they may have eaten some substrate.

I haven't seen them specifically eat the substrate, it they are picking around all the time, so that might be...

 

[fablau]

Do you have shrimp/fry? I had one neon look like this after eating a fry.

Yes, I have a lot of red cherries and they keep breeding all the time.

Here is some pictures of the neon again, taken right now:

It is still well "inflated", no difference since yesterday, and I haven't fed them yet. I am just afraid that fish could have gotten some kind of disease...

 

[GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy]

Usually mine deflate once they pass the food (so by the next morning)... If yours ins't deflated, it may be eggs. I've never bred neons before so I don't know.

Funny thing, I noticed this morning that one of my female neons was in the plants where it was dark and she had a round belly that bulged outward when looking from above. There was a male near here kinda "twitching" his fins.

From seeing your tank, if she does lay eggs, you may see one or two fry within a few months swimming around the tank. They should be able to hide in the plants. I've seen that happen in a tank before (not mine, on YouTube).

 

[GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy]

But dang... Now that I look at those pictures of her today, she looks bigger than any of mine after they eat something.

As long as it isn't dropsy (do neons get dropsy?) or a swim bladder infection, it might be eggs.

 

[Art by Stef*]

WOW.
She either has been cherry pickin', or full of eggs, or something...
Dropsy would effect more or less the whole fish, not just the belly, and the rest of her would have a "pinecone" type appearance, which I can't tell from the pics.
Get a close up of that belly. It's amazing.

-Stef*

 

[DarkCobra]

Eeeesh!! I've never seriously attempted to breed neons, or feed them enough to condition them for breeding, so I'm no expert... but that just doesn't look right to me.

If that were mine, at very least I'd isolate it in a breeder box (along with some plant trimmings to help ease stress). And fast it for three days to help with any potential digestive issue. Should it die as a result of some infection, it will be easy to locate and quickly remove; and the other fish won't be able to nibble on it in the meantime, which could potentially result in more infected fish.

If I wanted to maximize chances of survival, I'd remove it to a separate quarantine tank. Water at 78°F, treated with Epsom salt and Kanamycin. Fast for a couple days, then a couple days more of feeding shelled/blanched peas (if it will eat them).

 

[fablau]

Yes, I have isolated the fish because after 24 hours, no difference. Let's wait and see what happens now... Thank you for the tips!

 

[Ras]

looks bloated or something, might try peas . and try to see what its poop looks like to see if it has a parasite (stringy and white poop is a red flag)

 

[Aqualady]

Eeeesh!! I've never seriously attempted to breed neons, or feed them enough to condition them for breeding, so I'm no expert... but that just doesn't look right to me.

If that were mine, at very least I'd isolate it in a breeder box (along with some plant trimmings to help ease stress). And fast it for three days to help with any potential digestive issue. Should it die as a result of some infection, it will be easy to locate and quickly remove; and the other fish won't be able to nibble on it in the meantime, which could potentially result in more infected fish.

If I wanted to maximize chances of survival, I'd remove it to a separate quarantine tank. Water at 78°F, treated with Epsom salt and Kanamycin. Fast for a couple days, then a couple days more of feeding shelled/blanched peas (if it will eat them).

+1 agree....

 

[fablau]

Thank you guys for your advice, it unfortunately the little fish is deceased this morning. I woke up and it was dead. My red cherry shrimp inside that shrimp-only tank were doing a feast on it.

I am sorry about that, and I hope I prevented any possible disease to be spread to other fish in my big tank!

 

[Art by Stef*]

Sorry for your loss. Too bad you didn't get a chance to see what was in that belly to determine COD. It looked like a kangaroo with a joey in its pouch.

-Stef*

 

[fablau]

Yeah, I know, but I did notice yesterday it had a log poo coming out, so that might have been some sort of worm or something. Thank you again!