Eggbound Female?

[celaeno]

(reposted from tropical discussions forum)

one of my two female rosy barbs has been very fat for over a month. i just finished treating her with 3 doses of kanaplex after trying 2 maracyn-2 treatments in a quarantine tank (it looked like dropsy at first). i also used some epsom salt (first at 1 tsp per gallon and later at 1 tsp per 5 gallons) to see if it was constipation.

however, there has been no improvement and the barb is just as fat. so i'm convinced she is eggbound. i fear she's going to burst eventually if i don't do something. is there anything i can do to help her get rid of the eggs?

the only 2 males that are large enough to get her to release the eggs haven't managed to do that, probably because they can't swim properly (i used to pour water in a little too fast when i did water changes with a bucket, so probably permanent damage has been done to their swim bladders; now i use a python).

 

[Colin_T]

Pouring water into a tank quickly should not cause any problems to the fish's swimbladder. If the male rosy barbs can't swim properly then they are probably genetically weak fish and should not be used for breeding.

Barbs and Danios should be kept in cool water (16-20C) to prevent them from developing eggs. Then when you want to breed them you increase the temp to 24-26C. If they are kept in warm water all the time the females often become egg bound because the males are no longer interested in breeding after a few weeks in the warmth.
You could try doing some daily 50% water changes and that might help encourage the fish to breed. If possible use soft water (water with little or no mineral content in) to keep them in and to breed them. The eggs are less likely to absorb calcium in soft water and this means they are less likely to causes blockages in the female.
You can try lowering the temp or raising it for a week or so. This can sometimes encourage them to breed.
If none of the above things work then try adding a couple of new males to the tank. Often the new fish will get excited by the gravid female and when they start breeding, the hormones they release will often induce her to lay and the other fish to get excited.

 

[celaeno]

i would lower the temp, but i have other fish in the tank that probably won't do well in such low temperatures. also, 50% daily water changes are out of the question, as it's a pretty large tank (55 gallons).

my water is pretty soft though (KH of 2 and GH of 3). i have 2 female rosy barbs, 1 of which is always thin and the other is always eggbound. i've never had this problem where she couldn't get rid of the eggs though.

i've considered getting 1 or 2 males, but they rarely or never have adult rosy barbs for sale at the lfs. i have 2 smaller males in the tank, both offspring from the currently eggbound female, but both are smaller than the female.

so i guess the only option left is to raise the temp from 77F (current) to 80F?

 

[Colin_T]

smaller males will breed with large females. As long as they show the red colouration of a male then they can breed.

If you have a skinny female that doesn't get fat then she might have intestinal worms.

your water is fine as far as the hardness goes.