Bloated neons

Matak

Matak

Out of the blue!
Jun 18, 2002
1,133
0
36
66
Near Toronto
I have eight Neons. One is an adult and the other seven are about 2/3 of full size. Four of the eight have big bellies and seem to have trouble swimming down and stabilizing while swimming down. I have noticed that one of the bloated ones has a deep red (inflamed) gill on one side. Thier bellies reminds me of what my Black Molly looked like before she dropped her fry. They all seem otherwise healthy, and eat well. Any ideas?

I am hoping that it means babies, not disease.
 
my neons the females you could almost see the eggs in them little silver ball looking things.Tetras are hard to breed in a comunity tank let alone raise neon fry in there.
I quit keeping them as they would always die no matter what tank temp or co habitants or water cond 6mo tops.
I must have slaughtered over a hundred neons:( (3for a buck specials)
Over and in breeding have created some very week strains of neon tetras
 
The inflamed gill (it never completely closes, right?) is due to gill parasites, maybe flukes. That fish will never go back to normal, even if the tank is cleared of flukes

Clout is used against flukes. Quinine too-- less toxic to the fishes. Several does are required, to get each generation of young flukes as they hatch.

The swollen bellies may be symptoms of liver disfunction, the result of an easy life with too much protein.
 
I try to vary thier diets somewhat. I would say they get freeze dried grubs about one third of the feedings and various flake, spirulina or a small chunk of shrimp the other 2/3. Most feedings last for only 2 mins. or less. Could this be the cause?

If it is flukes, should I euthanize the affected? :(
 
Matak, I can't make a responsible call from a distance, only voice a hunch. Our small tetras live long lives in captivit. Your feeding sounds excellent. They all eventually must die when something fails. I find that my tetras eventually die of liver disfunction, often as not. They swell up with liquid.

I have a Glowlight Tetra will swollen gills from a parasite infestation I didn't catch early enough. Makes me look like an amateur-- which is just what I am!

But I couldn't catch him in the planted tank, even if I planned to euthanize him! ...
 
Do your fish always swim like this?..I notice my neons behave and look the same way sometimes after feeding...which I believe to be caused from their taking up too much air due to the way they grab food floating on the surface. After a few hours they begin to swim and look "normal" again. I haven't had this problem in awhile though, since I started adding their food near the filter output, forcing the food down into the water away from the surface.
 
Wetman: I completely agree with RTR and thanx for your info. I will monitor the neon and euthanize if necessary.

Slappy:
Do your fish always swim like this?..I notice my neons behave and look the same way sometimes after feeding...which I believe to be caused from their taking up too much air due to the way they grab food floating on the surface. After a few hours they begin to swim and look "normal" again.
Click to expand...
I noticed that my neons were bloat free at 5 Pm. Immediatly following dinner, the bloat returned! I think you solved the mystery.

Thanx all for the help :)
 
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