sick looking bristlenose

[Dan_Forbz]

hello there, today i woke up to find my bristlenose catfish( smiley) has bloated up alot. at first from watching i noticed her mouth fully opened and she went to the surface for air.

after researching about bristlenoses going up for air due to lack of oxygen in the water, i decided , although my tank has plenty of oxygen in the water, to increase the amount in the tank.

after work coming back she did not seem very well. she has stopped going up to the top for air, but it still very large at the abdomen and mouth. with her mouth still opened.

also after work i decided to go to the pet store to ask what the owner thought of could be the problem, he says that the bristlenose might have swallowed a rock and it is blocking her insides and she will die.

i just thought i might post it on here to see what everyone thought could be the problem

please get back to me soon.

I've had a look just recently and no signs of getting better

here's a pictures of her below

 

[Dan_Forbz]

latest update: she looks like she has a little white growth on her, and her bloated-ness hasn't changed. sort of looks like the white thing on her is her flesh protruding from the skin. Also she is still going to the top for air.

any ideas?? i don't think she will live for long?

 

[dkpate]

Is there any way you can look in her mouth to see if there is a pebble in there?
Why don't you try some anti-parasitic meds if you don't see a pebble?

 

[yardjass]

I agree with Darby. Also, what are you doing about oxygen? You may want to try getting an air stone if you don't have one already. Can you get a picture of the white growth? I am having trouble telling what is "bristle" and what is not right now.

 

[Dan_Forbz]

i believe the white growth is her flesh sticking out of her skin, which is not gone. shes swelling up alot now, and has what looks like internal bleeding. i believe there is a pebble in there, but cant actually see as she is never facing the right way. is it even possible to remove the pebble?

i think there is internal bleeding due to when she swims up for oxygen , i see very red parts in her belly. she also has red parts on her side fins. shes about double the size as she normally is.

 

[dkpate]

Poor girl. If you don't think you can save her, I would think about euthanizing.
People sedate fish and look in their mouths. I saw a video not too long ago where one fish ate the other, and they brought them both out, and got the fish out of the mouth and both lived. :O
Maybe you can find something on YouTube showing how?

 

[Dan_Forbz]

heres the picture of her underneath

as you can see, she has got little red bumps on her. from looking in her mouth i cannot see any pebbles, ( they would be blue if any) unless she has swallowed them completely and they are blocking her intestines.

below is the picture of her belly and her very large abdomen

 

[Dan_Forbz]

smiles the lovable bristlenose is now riding the underground river a.k.a. shes going out to sea.

 

[dkpate]

Sorry about Smiles. Were you ever able to see if there was something stuck in her throat?

 

[Dan_Forbz]

nope, she had swollen up and i didnt really think it was right to perform an autopsy on her. lol. but now i have another fish with i think looks like a parasite, which im going to get treatments for today


im just soooo glad this sort of stuff doesnt happen with my cichlids in separate aquariums