Fish Exploded

[ddoan]

I woke this morning to see one of my large danios with an exploded stomach.

What caused this? He was doing fine yesterday.

Anything I should be concerned about?

Don

[valerie]

eactly what does exploded mean? What other kind of fish are in the tank and did it have any syptoms you noticed the day before?

[ddoan]

The tank occupants include a Yellow lab, 5 corries, golden chinese algae eater and now 7 Danios. It was doing fine yesterday swimming about, and now the stomach looks like it exploded, intestines hanging out and tissue torn open.

[OrionGirl]

Sounds like a fish attack.

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

It probebly just died and the other fish picked at it causing the stomach to tear open. Are the eyes gone? Usually when the eyes are missing you know it was a fish that was eating it, because thats what they go for first i think.

Could possibly be some sort of parasite?

Or maybe there's an alien in your tank! Eeeeee! :eek:

[Leopardess]

One of my cories "exploded" once...as did a danio. The cories were by themselves at the time, so it wasn't an attack. Also, it didn't appear to be sick and I still have all of the other ones. Its stomach had a big tear (hole-ish) and looked like it exploded from the inside out.


I believe it could have been an intestinal blockage/twist that may have caused severe swelling - which caused the stomach/skin to rupture.

[ddoan]

I have dried kirll in the tank for the Yellow Lab. I read somewhere that dried food can make a fish explode if not properly soaked. Is this true?

[beviking]

Most likely it was an alien. Better check around for some gangly bug-eyed naked dude running around looking like he wants to chomp your ankles off!!

O.k., it wasn't an alien. Aliens only attack cories so Leopardess better watch for them!

It sounds like another fish was chewing on it. Wether it died b4 the fish did this or not is a mystery until you actually see it happening. If it was intestinal blockage, you would see the swelling (unless you didn't look at your fish for a few days?) b4 it died and even then, it wouldn't burst.

As for dried food...I've heard it can cause problems but don't recall exactly what it was. Maybe its the accumulation of dried food that attracts the aliens?;)

[falcon]

Same thing happened to my zebra danio. At first, her tummy was big and then show some redness at the end. Over a period of one day she was swimming at the top and as you said, exploded overnight. I was told that zebras are prone to do that as they have indigestion/intestinal problems. Not sure if it's true.

[fishfood]

I've read that dried food can be a cause of swim bladder disease. I doubt that it's related to this problem. I'd also guess either fish attack or something like dropsy.

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Two of my leapord danios have big bellies. I've always thought they were either just fat or maybe had eggs. But should I have a cause for alarm now? They've been that way for months. What if thier intestines are swollen? WHAT IF THEY WILL EXPLODE!!!!!

*panicks*

[Leopardess]

When I posted about my exploding fish on another forum, I got a few replies.

I heard:

Danios are particularly sensitive to eating pieces of flake food that are too big...as well as eating pieces that are still dry when they eat them (they eat a lot...then they expand when wet in their stomachs).

(I also had danios who had HUGE swollen tummies. One ruptured and died from it, apparently)
I also heard:

Sometimes the females will hold the eggs in waiting for a good opportunity to lay them, but can keep building them up and building them up until she is carrying far too many.

Yes, some fish are prone to bloat and intestinal troubles when eating too much dried food (perhaps presoaking it will help a bit).

I sometimes use Pepso food once a week to clean them out a bit (and prevent parasites). No harm in using this stuff preventatively.
Also, peas act as ruffage;)

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Will spirulina work? Lettuce? So basically they need some veggies right?

I feed my danios + others tropical dried flake food about 5 times a week, other days they either get frozen blood worms or frozen brine shrimp. They only get fed once a day.

I don't really give them any plant material though, only what they get in the flake food. This isn't good?

[Slappy*McFish]

Has anyone actually ever witnessed an exploding fish at the time it was happening? How about spontaneous combustion?

[Leopardess]

Spirulina/lettuce would work yah - if your fish will eat 'em.

I think its just important to not feed exclusively dry food/big flakes that aren't presoaked. I feed my fish everything under the sun (listed in the nutrtition section on my site)...the frozen foods are really good for them.


*shrugs shoulders and remembers fish are very weird little creatures!*

[Leopardess]

oh, btw, yah, I have...and its not pleasant. I only saw the danio though - not the cory which had an even more distince hole.

This is what I posted on the other forum when it happened...it gives details about exactly what happened.


"Alright, as some may know, I found a cory that died, apparently from "exploding." There was a hole in its stomach that definitely should not have been there. WELL, after setting up a new ten gallon tank, I sat myself down in front of the 55 to see how the ottos I had just transfered to it were doing. What did I find? A zebra danio, half floating, half swimming. Also, in another thread, there was mention of zebra danios that appeared to be OVERLY, very overly, distended in the stomach, but which showed no signs of extended scales or off-kilter swimming. We had determined it was possibly that they were females that were holding their eggs. However, the one that I found (which had been one of the "fat" ones) has gone too far, I think, to just be holding eggs. It's stomach is grotesquely distorted and I do not think she will make the hour. Her tummy looks like it is bleeding from the inside and it appears the scales are pulling apart plus she is breathing rapidly and is trying to lodge herself in the floating plants at the surface. "


So, thats what happens - for me at least:( (this fish died soon thereafter)

[cdawson]

Originally posted by ddoan
I have dried kirll in the tank for the Yellow Lab. I read somewhere that dried food can make a fish explode if not properly soaked. Is this true?

It was probably the yellow lab, it's not a good idea to have him in a community tank. African cichlids require different water conditions than most fish and are alot more aggressive than most fish. Cichlids are best left for cichlid tanks, I guarantee it was the lab that killed your danio.

[thekrib]

i think you should leave the cichlid facts for the cichlid people...yellow labs are very notorious for being overly mellow, i have a 5 incher that i kept with new born guppies (literally) and fancy guppies, and killifish, and baby cichlids, and small barbs, and small cories...it doesnt even glance twice...it is by far the biggest, and by far the mellowest and least carnivorous of all the cichlids in the tank...besides german rams, yellow labs are probably near the most kind of the cichlids...i can almost gaurantee the lab didnt kill the danio (although picking at the dead fish is definitely not out of the question)

and if you have ever seen an aggro yellow its because they become more aggressive if the fish they are living with are more aggressive...hence yours should be a sweetheart

[cdawson]

I stand corrected, =)

I was under the impression all standard african cichlids, other than the krib were not good community fish (aside from african communities).

ddoan still shouldn't be keeping the lab in that tank, cichlids may be hardy but keeping them in unnatural conditions is unhealthy for the fish.

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Its true, even though yellow labs are peaceful they shouldn't be kept in community tanks with non-rift lake cichlids. Even fish from different lakes should not be mixed, because of different water conditions that vary from lake to lake. However, lots of people mix rift lake cichlids from different lakes because the water conditions are somewhat similar. Although its better than mixing them with other fish from rivers and even other continents!

Yellow labs are malawi mbuna that like high ph of 8-9, and very hard water. They like sand and rocks and low lighting. They also need a high amount of spiraluna or other vegetarian foods in thier diet. These are all reasons why labs should only be placed in a species only or mixed malawi tank, and not kept with other fish. Even if they aren't as aggressive as thier other african friends.

I know many people have kept labs in community set ups, and they might do fine, but it doesn't mean its good for them.

:)

[Sensei_the_dojo]

Originally posted by ~*LuvMyKribs*~

Yellow labs are malawi mbuna that like high ph of 8-9, and very hard water. . . .
:) I'm so glad somebody finally pointed that out. I was having one hell of a time figuring out why anyone would have a Yellow Labrador Retriever in their aquarium. I know they love the water, but gosh!!! :D