Dropsy? Eggbound? Help with tiger barb

[antipasti]

I have this tiger barb that started acting weird. At first I noticed that it was swimming at an angle and with a more vigorous motion and its belly had a slightly different shape than the others. Two or three days later I noticed that the bulge became bigger and the fish is only swimming vertically in circles all the time. Any idea what it could be? Will this affect the rest of the fish?

Here's a picture of the fish
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6712827/P1010288.JPG

 

[Fishfur]

Dropsy usually shows as swelling and scales lifting out from the body. I suspect this fish has perhaps an injury to the swim bladder. The bladder is, what fish use to control their buoyancy and orientation in the water.

If his belly is a bit swollen, he might be constipated. If you can get him to eat some cooked, shelled, soft mashed pea, in small pieces [ from frozen ones], it may help get his bowel working again and that may solve the swim bladder issue too. Pressure from the gut can impact the bladder.

If he is still eating, try to get him to eat some pea. If it works, great. If not, there is not much else you can try. If the fish is not eating, you may want to consider euthanasia. It's not an easy thing but it is kinder than allowing the fish to suffer with something that won't get better. Sometimes swim bladder problems just do not get better. Swim bladder issues can also be the result of an injury, such as the fish having banged into something or another fish having banged into it.

I wish you luck.

 

[antipasti]

It turns out it probably was constipation. The fish appears to be back to normal again, no swelling and normal swimming patterns. I have to watch its diet though for a few days I guess.

 

[Fishfur]

Try getting him some frozen foods, bloodworms or brine shrimp, he'll love them and they're better for him. Maybe two/three x weekly, and good quality flake or pellet the rest of the time. Don't let him overeat either, no more than he can eat in maybe 2 minutes. If there are other fish, they should all finish what you give within 2 - 3 minutes.
If you can get them and are willing to culture them, microworms are an easy live food to keep around. You can feed them twice a week or so. Live foods, [ and frozen live] give fish beautiful colours and generally bring out the very best in any fishes. Well worth the effort and extra expense. Live fruit flies that can't fly are another great choice, but are certainly more trouble to culture.

Glad to hear he's ok !

 

[Mystic Fish]

With the bloodworms, id say only give them 1-2 times a week as it can cause bloat. Im also thinking of adding peas to my fish's diet maybe once a week, the day after i give them bloodworms.