Ember tetra too fat - exploded?

[Beastije]

I know embers are particularly prone to overeating but I have a second female die on me in a span of month or two. All looked similar and third one is gasping at the surface.
I cant take a good picture of this particular one, so posting one of my other females that are also particularly fat and I am concerned.
I found a second one today, swimming dead with large belly with chunks missing out of it. Could have exploded or I dont know.

I am assuming over feeding is the cause, ofcourse could be bacteria or parasites, what do I know. But the feeding is the only one I can regulate at this point

How do I feed the 20 corydoras and the three bamboo shrimp, that need constant meals, without overfeeding the freaking ember tetras, that will eat everything, from flakes for hatchetfish, to spirulina wafers for snails. Do I feed after lights out, so the corydoras will find it but the embers wont? I will do a two day break again and hope the last one doesnt die, though it is fat all over and gasping at the surface so not holding my breath.

 

[GaryE]

I see egg bound embers. They wouldn't explode. We collect fat under our skin, but fish collect it in their body cavities, where it can press in on their vital organs. So it can kill them, but more from a type of chronic smothering.
The missing chunks are likely something biting at it. Your overfed embers do look nutritious.

I don't know the shrimp, but I have never had a Cory that needed constant meals. Are they juveniles you are trying to grow? You only need to feed once a day - twice a day a couple of times a week if you are prepping them to breed. If you aren't breeding snails, they'll thrive without wafers. It sounds, and looks like a lot of food is going into that tank.

 

[Beastije]

I only do feed once a day with a day or two breaks. The wafers go in every third day, in combo with smaller flakes (like hikari micro bites or sera vipachip baby), once a week the vegetables, otherwise i do the bug bites or shrimp pellets or half a cube of frozen Daphnia or cyclops. I try to not overfeed but I have 20 corydoras now and half of these are just a few months old now. Hard for me to judge the levels of feeding. Same with the hatches cause i know they don't eat half of what i put in.
But the embers eat everything that i put in...

 

[GaryE]

The embers, like glowlight tetras, or cardinals, are great indicators if you are overfeeding. Cut the amount you put in by half, if not 2/3.

 

[Beastije]

Will do. Two days feeding break now and then every day half of what i fed before. Or will do every other day feeding if i can't manage that.

 

[GaryE]

It's difficult. I love feeding my fish. I had a couple of female cardinals getting bigger last week, so I put them in a breeding tank to get rid of the eggs. I hope I also get fry from them, but that would be a bonus. I'm watching and waiting, and they are back in the shoal.

 

[Beastije]

Reducing the feeding didnt help. Since the last post I lost another 3. I also added 20 rummynose tetras, all survived the quarantine, moving them was a nightmare, since adding to the tank they are amazing, sleek, fast, curious. Absolutely love them and they work amazing with the hatchetfish.
They are also voracious eaters, but it doesnt deter the embers from eating too, it makes the corydoras eat less. Yesterday I watched the rummynose tetra spent the whole evening next to a slice of zucchini I put in there for the otocinclus and poke at it, until they freaking ate the whole thing. Unbelievable!
I decided to try something different, since my quarantine tank is now empty except all my tylomelania snails, I started to move the worst ember tetras there for a diet (or deworming if the problem lies there).
I suspect it may take me few days to catch all the embers I want to move, but no rush.
Question is, how to approach the diet. Will feeding once a week do? Is that too little, since they are small fish?

 

[Archerfish]

Have you tested your water? Is CO2 being injected into the tank? It is normal for Corys to bolt to the surface for 'gulp' but to have fish gasping at the surface indicates a water quality or health problem.

 

[Beastije]

Have you tested your water? Is CO2 being injected into the tank? It is normal for Corys to bolt to the surface for 'gulp' but to have fish gasping at the surface indicates a water quality or health problem.

Normal ammonia and NO results, no to CO2. Only the tetras with issues sometimes hang around the surface and gasp, which is why I am saying they are having issues. Not all the fish are gasping at the surface, not even all the tetras, like 2 or 3.
Btw with embers I noticed they sometimes also hang out at the surface as a part of stress behavior (noticeable when added to the tank in the first week, I believe I even asked about it when I got them in 2021)

Now when they are moved in the quarantine tank, neither of the embers are at the surface, all are in the lower or middle parts of the tank swimming around. Maybe they like the surface only in the 360l because otherwise they are lost in the big space Who knows

 

[Archerfish]

hang around the surface and gasp, which is why I am saying they are having issues. Not all the fish are gasping at the surface, not even all the tetras, like 2 or 3.

The gasping is what caught my attention. Sounds like you have everything under control.

 

[Beastije]

Now that I think about it I may be describing it wrong. They seem to be rapidly breathing or just moving their mouths (not sure about the gills, too small for me to properly notice). Is that gasping or would that be longer with more breaks in it? Like what is the definition in a fish.
Overall not a normal behavior. I thought initially that they are fat and thus breathing harder but maybe i need to look at it from another angle.
I will try to make a video of it, that will be best and you could advise better

 

[JuiceBox52]

Now that I think about it I may be describing it wrong. They seem to be rapidly breathing or just moving their mouths (not sure about the gills, too small for me to properly notice). Is that gasping or would that be longer with more breaks in it? Like what is the definition in a fish.
Overall not a normal behavior. I thought initially that they are fat and thus breathing harder but maybe i need to look at it from another angle.
I will try to make a video of it, that will be best and you could advise better

What are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels?
Have you had anything like a scented candle, or air spray in the same room as the tank?

Is your tank well oxygenated? Turn up the filter flow or add a bubbler.

That can be a sign of toxins in the water. Do an immediate 50-70% water change (after testing) and test again.

 

[Beastije]

I will do another set of tests later, today I spent some time trying to catch few of the larger tetras, no luck sadly. Will try to do so later on
Here is a video of my two worst tetras in the quarantine, sadly quality is bad since I had to zoom, sorry about that

There are other larger tetras in there too but they are normal fat, these are weird fat, you can see the rapid mouth movement.
I do not use aerosols or perfumes or candles in the room with the fishtanks