Is it dropsy?

[Lorazoo]

I wrote yesterday, but got no replies. I have a female congo tera that has a swollen belly. No other signs of sickness, but she did have a white thread coming from the anus this morning. It is gone now.

I have read that dropsy will require the scales to pinecone, which they havent.

Should I worry? What else could be wrong with her?

 

[TropicalNorth]

I can only speak from experience. I have 5 Black Widow tetras, 4 males and 1 female. The female is constantly full of eggs ie her belly is nearly always swollen. If she is acting normal in all other ways (active, smooth scales, no spots or discolouration etc) then that's probably it.

 

[Lorazoo]

i sure hope so. i have heard that parasites can cause a swollen belly. I have about 60 fish in that tank and see no other problems, but i did have a cory cat die last week from an awful infection i couldnt get rid of, so i am a bit paranoid.

 

[TropicalNorth]

White threads can also be a sign of constipation (not 100% positive on this one). An increase in vegetable based foods can relieve this. There are parasite medications but I would only use them if your certain thats what it is. Usually internal parasites will usually show up in more than one fish though. Just keep an eye on them if they are acting healthy then they probably are.

 

[Star_Rider]

white thready slimy poo?

could actually be one of two things (that come to mind)
internal parasites or bacterial infection.


is the fish eating?

is it is you can treat with medicated food. I usually soak the food in either an anti parasite med ot antbacterial med.
if you suspect constipation then try peas (blanched and cut into tiny pieces)

good luck

 

[Lorazoo]

i wouldnt say it was slimy. It was one piece of white, stringy material. She only had that this morning. I only feed them every few days and held off feeding today b/c of her. I guess if she doesnt get better in a couple of days i will quarantine her and try treating her. My QT tank is in the middle of an anitibacterial/antifungal treatment for the gourami with the ulcer (i have written about this one). After this i will just be putting metaflex and permaflex (or whatever the name is) in the tank as a last stich effort to heal this guy, so maybe she would benefit from this treatment too.