Guppy with Swollen belly

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justintoxicated

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Dec 19, 2005
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One of my male guppys has a swollen belly. I'm not sure if it is just because it is a pig, or if it is sick. it is acting normal and nothing else looks strange about it but he does not hang out with the others as much. Ihave been watching it for over a week and it does not look to be getting smaller.

I think something is wrong. Should I dose Pimafix? how can I be certain this will help?
 

psilo

AC Members
How old is your male guppy? I sometimes find this happens with young males but as they mature it goes away. Just how swollen is his stomach. I suppose he may have dropsy but this is not so common.
One thing to be absolutely sure of though is your water quality. What are your water parametres?
Maybe a few water changes may proove more effective before any medication.
 

justintoxicated

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Dec 19, 2005
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I believe he is almost a year old now, but I'm not sure, he does not have pine-coned scales or anything but it's poo is a bit stringy. I decided to add some Pimafix since it seems to be a pretty safe medication and I always have a bottle on hand. I saved guppys with it before when they had pineconed scales (likely on the way to dropsy) but this one seems to have some other problem.

I feed my fish mostly Tetramin Pro Crisps, and sometimes live blackworms.

I believe my water parameters to be 0-0-0 since I am having to dose Nitrate just so the plants will grow.

he has been like this for a while but it loos to be getting worse rather than going away.
 
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justintoxicated

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Dec 19, 2005
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I think it is constipated anything I can do? if I remember someone saying something about frozen peas or something?
 

TropicalNorth

Bligh..The Demander Of Attention..
Jun 9, 2006
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North Queensland, Australia
I believe an increase in vegetable based foods (including peas) may help. I wouldn't feed for a few days then feed blanched peas (with the skin taken off). Couldn't hurt to try.
 

justintoxicated

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Dec 19, 2005
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Well I fed him vegies and he pooped but his bell is still swollen. Since I feared the my gouramis that passed may have had IP I have been treating him with Gel Tek PX since monday. His belly is a bit less swollen but now he sits on the piece of driftwood all day in the same spot.

he does perk up if he sees me close to the tank and will ask for food. I asked the LFS and they though maybe I should try the Gel Tek BX, so I just started dising that. He shows no problems externaly so I think he may have an internal problem. There were other Gel tek antibiotics there as well but the LFS expert said that this one would treat a wide range of problem (Good one).

I'm thinking I should have got Gel Tek Antibiotics that said for "swollen Belly" but I'm not sure what the difference is...
 

new_owner

Registered Member
Apr 28, 2013
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I just noticed one of my male guppies has a swollen belly. I'm new to this hobby, and have the tank and fish for the last 12 weeks. I bought 3 guppies at the same time, and the other two don't seem to have this issue.

I've attached the picture. The one with the swollen belly is the one on the right.

I have a 10 gallon tank, 3 guppies and 2 neon tetras in there. I lost 1 neon tetra a few weeks ago.

Am I just over reacting, or is this something I have to be concerned about. What next steps do I take?
guppies.JPG

guppies.JPG guppies.JPG
 
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