Serpae tetra super fat!!! Idk why?

[kmny34]

My serpae tetra all of a sudden got super wide like a balloon!!! It's so bad that it looks like he's going to explode! What could it be? I don't over feed my fish! I feed twice a day and just a pinch at a time. What could it be? HE'S HUGE!!!

 

[kmny34]

Here are three blurry but the best pics I could get! It's really odd how fat he is!!!

 

[armymp327]

best case is he is constipated, i would try to feed him a blanched pea (cooked with water in the microwave about 45 seconds) with the skin removed. It is a natural laxative for fish. i feed my platies pea's once a week because they will look like that at the end of week, and thats with feeding once a day lol

the other thing i could think of is dropsy, which would be very bad. are his scales sticking out? kind of like a pine cone? lets hope not

 

[kmny34]

Is a blanched pea just a regular pea? A green pea?

 

[Sillyfishies]

Is a blanched pea just a regular pea? A green pea?

A blanched pea is a normal pea, skinned, put in water, and microwaved for 45 seconds.

 

[kmny34]

Ok ill try that! I hope it's not dropsy!!! The fish is swimming around fine so I don't think it is!!

 

[armymp327]

Ok ill try that! I hope it's not dropsy!!! The fish is swimming around fine so I don't think it is!!

i dont think so either, but once you give them the pea, you should see a difference with in a few hours, the next day at the latest.

 

[Coyne]

I had previously read about feeding the occasional pea, but never how to prepare it until now.
I do not own a microwave. Im assuming boiling water on the stove will work as well? Is there a way to tell when its "done"?
Also, one pea per fish and remove what's not eaten?

 

[armymp327]

boiling will work, its done when the pea becomes soft to were it is easily smooshed, also remember to put it in some cold water afterwards to cool it down and stop the cooking process and remove the outer skin.

and how many peas per fish depends on the size, i have 8 cherry barbs measuring .75 inches and 4 platies at 2 inches and they barely finish 3 peas.

 

[kmny34]

So I should just use the inside of the pea?

 

[armymp327]

yes just the inside of the pea, and cut it into tiny pieces that will be able to fit in your fishes mouth.

 

[kmny34]

Unfortunately the peas did not do anything!!! He really ate them up and seemed to enjoy them but its a day later and he hasn't lost anything! I have a feeling that dropsy might be the case. If it is what should I do? I don't have a quarantine tank so hopefully my other fish will be ok!

 

[Sillyfishies]

Unfortunately the peas did not do anything!!! He really ate them up and seemed to enjoy them but its a day later and he hasn't lost anything! I have a feeling that dropsy might be the case. If it is what should I do? I don't have a quarantine tank so hopefully my other fish will be ok!

Dropsy isn't a disease, but an effect from various diseases. Is he pineconing at all or floating around?

 

[kmny34]

Yea he seems to be pine coning a little bit. He just sits in one spot for the most part! Moves sometimes.

 

[armymp327]

Yea he seems to be pine coning a little bit. He just sits in one spot for the most part! Moves sometimes.

if he is pine coning and not moving much, then that is dropsy and has sillyfishes said it is a symptom of a disease but can be hard to pin point which one, i would QT this fish immediately if you have not done so already to prevent whatever it is from spreading to the other fish.

the sad part and this is just from my experience is that once dropsy occurs it is almost always fatal

 

[kmny34]

if he is pine coning and not moving much, then that is dropsy and has sillyfishes said it is a symptom of a disease but can be hard to pin point which one, i would QT this fish immediately if you have not done so already to prevent whatever it is from spreading to the other fish.

the sad part and this is just from my experience is that once dropsy occurs it is almost always fatal

Is there a treatment for dropsy? How do I determine what disease it could be?

 

[armymp327]

i dont know much about treating sickness, so ill point you to an outside source, you can also do more research online if you are not satisfied with this, or hopefully someone more knowledgeable on the subject will chime in

Dropsy