Bloated White Widow (Very Worried)

Hi Guys! I have a white widow who has bloated up to triple the size, her scales are not raised so it can't be dropsy. i've had her in internal bacteria med from Inter pet but she hasn't got any better in 8 days of treatment. Her water temp is 25 degress & she's in a quarantine tank! what could be the problem if it's not bacteria, i don't see any sign of worms could she be constipated & how can i help her?:wondering:

 

Could be Eggs ...

 

I have 2 white widows & they are both females, ?, if it is eggs how do you help her to release them? She's just getting bigger and bigger!!!!

 

Pm Vee and Zaf they might be able to help,,, i have personally lost widows with eggs in cause i couldn't get them to drop them .

 

Trying to put a pic on the site but not winning

 

getting there

 

Fish- goto quick reply - click the Go Advanced button and then click the "paper clip" attachments. This will bring up a window where you can browse for your pic and add it as an attachment..

Just make the pic less than or equal to 600x480

 

from what i can remember i could visibly see the eggs,, i seperated the widow put her in her own tank with marbles at the bottom and still no luck

 

I think i got it right!!

 

yep picture is working , but go no further advice sorry speak to Zafgak

 

Thanks anyway Donny!!
Zafgak or Veegal anyone with this knowledge heelllppppp please!!!

 

Fish - I can solve your problem - but you not gonna like it..

This looks very like a digestive problem which has got out of hand.. Happens to Blue Tetra's a lot.. Your only route is to humanely cull the fish..

The way I do it is to use a VERY sharp knife and cut the head off just in front of the gills - severing the spine immediately.

This was not something you could have done anything about - I tried everything I could with a number of tetras and all perished in the end..

I think my post should have been after Veegals

 

Fish Fantasy so sorry for not being on earlier....Saturday's are usually tank maintenance days here and with all the tanks it takes a LONG time.

It doesn't look good at all I'm afraid, especially if you have been treating it for internal bacterial infection for 8 days already.......Abdominal swelling in itself is not a disease - but a clinical sign of several possible health problems. Because an internal disorder is involved, in most cases it isn't possible to say what the problem was until a post mortem is carried out.

However that being said, the most common causes are either a genetic disorder that usually shows as the fish grows older. In the early stages this seems to cause little discomfort for the fish and it will lead a normal life for some time - often several years OR it could be a tumour or growth of some sorts. It could also be systemic bacterial infection, which is usually accompanied by raised scales, protruding eyeballs and sometimes reddening / inflammation on the body - which it clearly isn't in this case. Another alternative is a viral diseases which has no cure if it is this.

If the swollen section feels soft (a tumor would feel harder) then it could be an internal organ disease which has lead to an accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. Again there would be no cure for this.

The final thing it could be is constipation but this is usually seen as a loss of equilibrium, but in some severe cases it can lead to swelling. The only possible treatment is either try to feed the fish a few frozen peas, which act as a laxative, or else try baths in Epsom salts (70g / liter for 5 minutes) which has the same effect. However it seems that if it is constipation the success rate is unlikely to be good I'm afraid as it is rather swollen already.

You've tried the internal bacteria medicine so I'd as a last resort try the epsom salts bath and if that does not work I would cull it I'm afraid :wondering:

 

Hi Vee & Zaf! Your help is greatly appreciated I know Sat is a busy day for you guys & I'm sorry for throwing this on you guys at the last minute. There seems to be a glinmmer of hope with the Epson salt bath but if that doesn't work i will do as you say & help my baby on to a better place with no swelling. This would be the first time i've had to cull a fish & it's breaking my heart even to think about it but if it must be done then it must! Thank you for all your help guys! I don't know what i would have done without you! You're angels!!!

 

Sorry to be the bearer of not so good news Fish Fantasy - Please let us know how it goes. I must admit I don't cull the fish, I just don't have the heart to do that, so Gavin does them all for me. I'll hold thumbs just in case.

 

Any change in Fish ???

 

Fish - If you want to - overnight it to me and I will cull for you

 

any changes in the tetra, fish?
I really hope it survives....
Let us know