Pregnant Swordtail in distress??

[matteo]

Hello all.

I have 5 Swordtails (1m:4f) in a fully stocked 75 gallon. Two of the females appear to be pregnant; one of which has been laying on the bottom of the tank in some anacharis for the last 36ish hours. Her gills seem to be moving normally, and there is no redness or other discolouration; however she is moving her mouth constantly as if saying 'get these things out!' Other than the gaping mouth (and sitting on the tank bottom) she appears okay.

I have never cared for Swordtails and do not know if this is normal, so I am now worried she might be in distress. Is it possible for live bearers to become impacted the same way egg layers can become egg-bound? Is she ready to explode? If I were to guess I would say she is certainly close!

Tank regime is 50% water change every Sunday. I use Prime as dechlor. The tank is a planted tank and I currently use Seachem Flourish, Excel, Trace and Potassium. The Excel is added daily (other than water change day), all others the same day as the water change. All additives for plants are added at half of what the recommended dose is. I include this information because I'm not sure if these chemicals can have an affect on the fish.

50% water change was done 3 days ago. Tested water params tonight and they are as follows:
Ammonia. 0
Nitrite. 0
Nitrate. 5-10
Ph. 7.8
Gh. 8
Kh. 5
Temp. 79f

I have attached the best picture I can take as she popped out of the anacharis for a few moments.

Any comments/advice/ideas as to her laying on the bottom of the tank would be greatly appreciated.

 

[matteo]

Hello, so this Swordtail is still laying on the bottom but otherwise appearing normal. Can anyone tell from the pictures attached above if she is infact preggos?

Is this normal behaviour for a preggo Swordtail?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[efors]

What are you feeding them? A constipated fish can behave that way. And then, how much are you feeding them?
Also, with Excel you are adding liquid carbon to the water. I'm not sure but maybe she doesn't like that amount of it. I would not add Excel for 3 days to see what happens.
Swordtails are upper water dwellers; so she is not supposed to stay down there. Pregnant livebearers can get stressed but just shortly before the fry are released. From the pic, she seems to be pregnant.

 

[GuppyGirl1230]

Pregnant fish tend to find a safe place to rest and labor and give birth. Check for teeny tiny fry! Good Luck!!

Maribeth

 

[matteo]

So this preggo Swordtail is still behaving the same way. I'm thinking now she did jusy find a 'comfortable' spot and is hanging out there to give birth. Although now she has moved from the anacharis to some dense watersprite.

I got a new pic of her today when she came up for some zucchini, and shes HUGE! Problem I have right now is that yesterday I found the Ick in this tank.

Any thoughts on when she might pop? I have also noticed she seems very translucent. Is this normal?

What are the chances of the fry surviving with the Ick / raised temp / salt? The tank has Angelfish so I know probability is already low, although there are lots of hiding spots for the fry.

 

[KarlTh]

I'd say she's still got some way to go. Angelfish are very efficient fry predators, but my Columbian Tetras form an ever increasing shoal even with one in there.