fat neon........about to burst???

[millym]

hi
we have a few female neon tetras & have just noticed that 2 of them have HUGE bellies. 8O is this babies??? or obesity???? ive posted a pic - its a bit blurry but i think you'll get the general idea you can see some slender males nearby.
thanks

 

[astroguy]

Hmm, I would doubt that it is pregnancy... How much do you feed them? A possibility is that they are constipated. Try not feed them for about 3 days, and see if it goes away. If it does not, it may be due to some disease (e.g., internal worms).

Any other details about the tank (ammonia, etc) would be helpful.

 

[Sati]

Holy.... RUN!! They're gonna pop 8O

Looks like they're preggo, but it appears like the bulges go all the way toward the front of the fish... odd. Maybe it's just the blur....

 

[TankGirl]

Is the fish looking healthy, schooling with the others and swimming well? I would be suspicious of a disorder, because generally a small tetra who is about to lay eggs does not have such a dramatic distention of the belly. It is not like livebearers' who get rather large before they drop their fry.

I would personally get the fish into quarrantine, and look into problems like dropsy (or bloat, as mentioned above) and even neon tetra disease.

Good luck!

 

[ScottS]

Whoa!

I once read about feeding a constipated fish food that was soaked in castor oil. I did this with a gourami once and it recovered, but I can't say you should do it, because my memory is a little vague on the source of info and I'd hate to lead you astray.

 

[TankGirl]

I'd try a blanched, peeled pea first, but again, in quarrantine!

 

[Christmasfish]

Quarrantine..each is in a different stage..there is a 3rd one in the blow-up starting to bloat. Maybe justa bad batch of food...but unless the tetra are the only occupants..put them puppies in QT! Better safe than sorry....

 

[madasafish]

I doubt it's neon tetra disease--that's usually a wasting disease, not a bloating one, as I understand it (certainly my fish health book indicates as much).

Yeah, QT them. If they *are* pregnant it's better for them to be in a separate tank so that the eggs aren't eaten as quickly.

 

[Christmasfish]

neon

I was thinking Tuberculosis if fish get it like reptiles do..


However real Neon disease is not to be scratched out completely...
Especially when an ounce of QT can prevent a whole gallon of RIP s
Though no one saying hat it WAS neon tetra disease....bloating is a symptom however uncommon.
Are there like 3 maladies go by neon tetra disease? I couldremeber two to find

Neon Tetra disease
Quote:

Once in the intestinal tract, the newly hatched embryos burrow through the intestinal wall and produce cysts within the muscle tissue. Muscles bearing the cysts begin to die, and the necrotic tissue becomes pale, eventually turning white in color.

Symptoms:
Restlessness
Fish begins to lose coloration
As cysts develop, body may become lumpy
Fish has difficulty swimming
In advanced cases spine may become curved
Secondary infections such as fin rot and bloating

During the initial stages, the only symptom may be restlessness, particularly at night. Often the first thing an owner will notice is that the affected fish no longer school with the others. Eventually swimming becomes more erratic, and it becomes quite obvious that the fish is not well.

False Neon diease

Similar to Neon Disease. Pale white patches appear under the skin beneath the dorsal fin. The fish also becomes emaciated and may swim erratically.
When symptoms show suspect Neon Disease as an alternative.
Fish Affected
Primarily Characins. Chilodonea can give similar symptoms on Tetras.
Details Of Infection
The disease is caused by bacterial infection.

better safe than sorry :? My ill fated neons had 3 things put forth as neon disease. They croaked..then the one I saved died of Horrible water that developed in that wretched minitank over Christmas holiday when I couldn't buy a test. Poor lucky..I erased his luck.

 

[brendan]

Millym,

Have the exact same thing happen to my Neons right after I feed them a big meal of bloodworms. I'm probably over feeding them a but they seem to be doing fine.

Word of advice to anyone buying Neons. Considering the bad shape most of them are in from the LFS, feed them BW's and I gaurantee within a week they'll be doing a lot better.

 

[TankGirl]

I have heard of the cystic form of NTD creating a bloated look like that, so that's why I mentioned it, but whatever it is, it certainly does not look normal (unless the fish movement in the pic made the belly "blur" and seem worse than it looks in the flesh).

Keep us posted, as this is an interesting case study that will be useful in the future!

 

[Christmasfish]

There are two cases with same symptoms on other boards. One with a possible death (dead new tetra at the start..no clue why), one with a tank wipe out. they both started as "fat pregnant tetras" threads. The one in Tropical Fish Breeding is underway. The one in a sub forum link off Aquabid has death of all since fist posted mid Jan.

I'd say agin, not to be repetetive...QT first, figure it out later...

BTW have you jarred one to show your lfs? Especially the one you got them from?

 

[brendan]

Try to get a clear shot, maybe it would help identify the problem.

 

[millym]

we've had our neons for approx 8 months, i'll try & get a clearer shot today,but the one i posted even though blurred is actually quite accurate...does that make sense, what im trying to say is yes the girls belly was that big, however
their bellies seem smaller today, maybe it is food related........maybe im just being optomistic.the 2 'fat neons' themselves look quite happy - swimming around in their little school as normal. i am going to try some roughage (lettuce.peas etc) & reduce dry food for a few days
but thanks everybody for your advice most appreciated.ive quarantined them & am keeping a close eye.

 

[Roach]

brendan,

My neons bloat up big time when I feed my community tank bloodworms too. They are pigs for bloodworms and will actually grab worms out of much bigger fishes mouths. The bloating goes away after a day though.

 

[millym]

update:fat neon ........about to burst?

hi
just thought id let you know how my 2 fat neons are doing. had the qt for a while and their bellies got smaller, still looked perfectly happy eating ,scooting about etc.........so had a dilemma.........try them back in the main tank???? gritted our teeth & though well we can try. theyve been back there for about 4 days still their bellies look a little swollen but nothing like they were (esp the one in the pic i posted) and they still look quite happy. maybe it was just overfeeding dry food(??? we use flake, dried bloodworm,daphinia etc, spirulena + other tabs, also put in lettuce or zucchini at least once a week - but never notice the neons nibbling at it)
dont really know, except all both the 'fat bellied ones' were definitely female. maybe its some weird neon tetra gynaecological problem.....perish the thought!!!!
cross all your fingers for us & thanks for all the advice/suggestions from my first post.........all VERY helpful.
ps: i said id post a better pic - didnt manage it they were all blurrier than the one i posted, no matter how hard i tried.

 

[AdamsZoological]

Best of luck with it, hope everything comes out ok