Either my Black Skirt ate a Neon, or.....

[ScottG]

OK, I thought I had 3 MALE Black Skirt Tetras, but now one of them looks like it either ate one of the Neons or it's pregnant.

I don't know anything about breeding, and didn't really want to get into fish obstetrics, so if someone can help me out that would be great. Couple of questions......

1) Is there any way to "know" if this fish is pregnant? I think I'd have a hard time getting it to pee on a stick.

2) Assuming it is pregnant is there anything I need to do? i.e. boil a pot of water, breathe deeply....

3) Could it be something else? And before you ask, all the other fish are accounted for. The bulge is pretty extreme in people standards i'd guess 7-8 months pregnant, and the Black Skirt has been acting weird lately, territorial, with a "stay away from me" attitude - chasing the other two Black Skirts away instead of the normal schooling behavior. But no morning sickness - yet.

Oh, my tank is a 30gal lightly planted with four Neons, Three Black Skirt Tetras, six Rasboras, Three Guppys, three Red Wag Platys, two Gouramis, and one very young sunset Angel - 22 altogether.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Scott

 

[bs6749]

Tetras lay eggs so the fish isn't pregnant. It may be loaded with eggs but it sounds like the fish may be sick.

 

[ScottG]

Hmmmm.... well, I said I didn't know anything about breeding.

Now I have to figure out how to move this thread...

So, if it is sick, what could it have and how would I treat it?

 

[An t-iasg]

Moved to Unhealthy Fish forum.

If you say the bulge is equivalent to 7-8 months pregnant in human terms, that's pretty big for a fish! Even if the fish was about to lay eggs, I don't think it would be that big from just carrying eggs. I suspect an illness. If you look down at the fish from above, does it look like the scales are protruding? No other fish look sick? Not schooling with the rest of the fish could signal an illness.

Try to feed a pea - get some frozen peas and microwave them in a cup of water for 4-5 minutes. Peel off and discard the skin. Cut the rest of the pea up into pieces that are the same size as the fish food. See if you can get the bulging tetra to eat that. If it's constipated, the pea may help pass the blockage. If you do get her to eat the pea, don't feed anything the next day to further rest the digestive system. I know it will be hard to feed the community tank while trying to keep her from eating.

 

[ScottG]

Soooo I should feed the fish a pea laxative? Interesting, I'll Give it a try and let you know.

 

[bs6749]

The pea thing may not work since the fish may not eat the pea. I'd recommend putting the fish into an epsom salt bath if you think it is constipated. I'm not sure of the doseage exactly but I bet you'd be able to Google it and get answers.

I should also clarify that tetras are egg "scatterers" and not "layers" so to speak. Either way, the fish isn't pregnant.

 

[ScottG]

Yeah, the fish (I'm not ready to call it a she - I'll feel silly enough letting the world know I thought it was pregnant!) anyway the fish was not interested in the pea at all.

Do I have to set up a separate tank to quaranteen i.e. how long cn I put the Tetra in a glass bowl filled with tank water (no filter, no air)

I'll have to research the epsom salt thing - seems contrary to put a freshwater fish in a saltwater bath. does anyone have any other advice on this.

 

[bs6749]

There are almost always at least trace amounts of salt in freshwater habitats. A saltwater bath of 20-30 minutes isn't going to kill a fish and aquarium salt can be used to calm new fish. It also helps reduce the toxicity of nitrates.

You shouldn't do the bath for more than 30 minutes, which will be enough time for the fish to have oxygen.

 

[An t-iasg]

I have read about the epsom salt treatment for bloated fish. Don't think of the epsom salts as being equivalent to saltwater. SW has many more elements in it, and the epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. I got this dosing info from Wet Web Media: one teaspoon per 10 gallons of water. You could modifiy that to 1/2 teaspoon per 5 gallons or 1/4 teaspoon per 2.5 gallons.

EpsomFAQs