Black Skirt Tetra Pregnant?

[GRJ]

I have black skirt tetras in my community tank and i have noticed one of them has a swollen belly, she looks very 'square' and her eyes are bulging a little bit. Is she pregnant or is it something more sinister? She isnt gasping for air or taying at the bottom of the tank, she is staying near the plants. Thanks. GRJ

 

[JamieBailie]

Hi, I have 3 females and 1 male, The females seem to get larger bellys than the male, My father has some in his tank and he says his are the same, But haven't seen any eggs. One of mine is HUGE at the minute. They can be quite greedy at feeding times, Maybe its just that as they don't seem to be fat for longer than a few days at a time.

 

[flash22]

mine are big too thay have grown from 1-1/2 to nearlly 3" in 4 weeks my females are fatter than the males but there skirts arnt as black

 

[GRJ]

Cheers guys, i will keep an eye on her. She looks like she is gonna pop!LOL! GRJ

 

[JamieBailie]

What temps are you guys running?

Im at 24.5 degrees.

I havent fed them in 36 hours to see if the belly shrinks, It did on the male and 2 females.

The male seems to be swiming infront of the one fat female and almost fanning her with his fail, She is also spending a lot of time in the plants and not moving much, Which isnt like her. Is this normal spawning behaviour?

 

[afishdude]

i have a female that has been huge for 6 months, its just normal for them to be bigger i guess. if you want them to spawn do a WC and add cold water to the tank. that usualy works.

 

[SJ2K]

This really proves that all fish truelly have individual problems etc, if I was to see a swollen tetra id instantly assume Neon disease/another bloating based disease and concider euthinasia. Proves I have a world of knowledge to learn Thanks for the eye opener!

 

[afishdude]

This really proves that all fish truelly have individual problems etc, if I was to see a swollen tetra id instantly assume Neon disease/another bloating based disease and concider euthinasia. Proves I have a world of knowledge to learn Thanks for the eye opener!

huh? its not a probelm for blackskirts. its just how they are, the females are bigger and have more rounder bellys than the males, the males are usualy small and skinny.

 

[SJ2K]

she looks very 'square' and her eyes are bulging a little bit.

A bit of a belly id understand but buldging of the eyes would alert some serious problems to me, luckily now I understand that for some even this doesnt mean disaster.

 

[GRJ]

Well, this morning i got up to find a white cotton wool like lump on her back so have been and got some Fungus meds and administered that now. Just have to keep an eye on her. Thanks for the info guys! GRJ

 

[GRJ]

Unfortunatley, i have had to euthenase the black skirt tetra today. Her scales had risen and so i think it was dropsy, with the swelled abdomen and bulging eyes too. She was struggling and i cant stand to see a fish suffer, i also have to think of my other fish. RIP Tetra Girly!