Newbie says hi and please help

[Leylana1462]

Hello everyone. I've just come on board and look forward to chatting with others that have similar interests.

I have a large communal tank (4 foot long x 2 foot high). I have an older Molly mum (Milly) a couple of her surviving babies, some cleaners - various s**k, a fighting fish that I'm sure thinks he is a Molly , about 8 breeding bristlenose of various ages, so far I've only managed to have 2 of the fry survive but Hercules, the main man, now has a huge new stack of eggs, and two gorgeous orange guarami.

I think my female is pregnant but I'm not sure. she is huge and it seems to have happened over about a week!

I don't know if they are egg or live bearers could somebody please let me know. Also, at the moment, just to protect her young if she is preggers, I've put her into a fry net. She is still in the tank but suspended away from the others.

If she is pregnant what should I do to encourage her to be happy until she gives birth. Could I put some of my black tubing in there for her (we use hidden little lengths of the black pvc piping that goes in the ground for drainage, it has little holes and ripples all the way down it, it seems to work really well), should I put that in or just take the risk and let her back into the tank to do what comes naturally.

I'm concerned the fighting fish may eat any eggs or fry.

Wow, talk about a long winded introduction...........lol

I look forward to any replies.

Elly

[t_chelle16]

Gouramis are egg layers, not live bearers. She could be eggy & ready to breed, but it could also be something more serious like dropsy.

Is there any way you can post a picture?
What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte?
If you look at her from above, do her scales stick out kind of like a pine cone?

-Chelle

[Leylana1462]

Hi and thank you.

Unfortunately I don't have a photo of her but I just had a good look at her from above and yes her scales are sticking out! I hadn't even noticed that before. She looks a bit like a puffer fish!

[Leylana1462]

Okay, now I'm concerned.

I now think it is the male that is bloated, the male has the pointed dorsal fin don't they???? The other has a rounded fin and also the scales stick out very slightly all over but doesn't appear to have any bloating.

Now, is this dropsy contageous? I have moved them into my communal tank only this morning. They were previously in a smaller tank with just some s**k cat fish.

Should I put both of them back into their old tank for now? Both tanks are very close to neutral and all other fish are quite healthy and fine. I know they do spike every now and then because the bristle nose are breeding and i know they like the acid a little higher.

[t_chelle16]

There's actually several things that can cause dropsy. The most common cause is kidney failure due to either old age or a bacterial infection. I'd still quarantine him anyway.

Unfortunately, dropsy is almost always fatal in tropical fish. But if you want to at least try to save him, you can try getting some food with antibiotics in it. Medigold is probably the best, but I think you can only order it online. Jungle makes some too and your LFS might have that. And you can get some antibiotics to put in the water. I recomend Maracyn Two (not plain Maracyn).

-Chelle

[Leylana1462]

Hello again,

Well, it's been around 4 weeks now and my poor guarami is still twice his size!

I've had him in the 'hospital' tank and have been doing his antibiotics every 4 days as the bottle says.

Unfortunately I don't think the female was sick because she died within a few days of me starting treatment.........whoooopsie.........

The male is one tough fella. He still seems reasonably fine. He's eating and still swims most of the time but is still very alert and everything.

Do you think he is going to live? Or am I just prolonging the inevitable? Would he be in any pain? I mean, he looks like he's going to pop!

I don't want to distress him and I'm happy to just keep treating him with the antibiotic, if he's going to live, but I'm just worried it might be hurting him.

I now have photos of him but couldn't figure out how to put them up here without having to pay that money??

But, like I said, he still seems ok?!?!?!?!

This link goes to my yahoo page and there is a couple of pictures of him. I don't know if it will work but here it is.

http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/users/448525abzd594739a/933escd/__sr_/e90dscd.jpg?phgBesEB772V9NOR

[t_chelle16]

Unfortunately that does look like either dropsy (which is basically kidney failure generally caused by an infection) or a tumor and the prognosis isn't very good.

Here's a really good article on the different humane & inhumane methods of euthanasia if you'd like to go that route (please note that putting the fish in the freezer is not humane).
http://www.oscarfish.com/cms_view_article.php?aid=13

-Chelle