Eggbound Tiger Barb?

[Paul70]

Hi all.
Just wondering if my green tiger barb is full of eggs. I personally think so but want to make sure I am not overfeeding.

If she is eggbound should I just release her into the general community for fertilisation? I don't mind having babies.
thanks
paul

 

[KittyKat]

It looks a bit on the big side, how is it compared to the other tiger barbs and other fish?

And yes, you should just release it back into the community.

 

[Paul70]

it is pretty still and has been sitting in the tank head down since last night. all water readings are ok, amm=0, nitrites=0, nitrates around 40-80ppm. no new fish introduced recently and no signs of illness in all my other friends

thanks again kat for your invaluable help

 

[KittyKat]

What have you been feeding them and how much of?

 

[Vin Swords]

i used to have one look like yours.. lived 4/5 years happily.... he was the leader of the school of 20+..

yours look like a male too...

 

[fluttermoth]

It looks like a female to me! (no red nose or in the dorsal fin, plus that belly, lol)

I've got one like it and she's quite old; I'm not even quite sure how old, but she might be nearly 7!

You can try getting them to spawn by feeing a lot of live food (my kids go fishing for mosquito larvae in the water butt for our lot!), putting them in a tank where sunlight can hit it early in the mornings and a warmer (unlike most tetras for instance) by 3 or 4 degree water change the night before; it sometimes works!

 

[Paul70]

i feed nutrafin brine shrimp flake and they also nibble at my pleco wafers and pellets. they also get treats of frozen bloodworm. enough to last 2 mins

 

[KittyKat]

i feed nutrafin brine shrimp flake and they also nibble at my pleco wafers and pellets. they also get treats of frozen bloodworm. enough to last 2 mins

That's on the too meaty side, I think.

My preferred base diet is omnivorous flakes and pellets (so mix of meaty and veggie), then occasionally they get shrimp based, beef heart based, etc, meaty flakes/pellets/frozen, with bloodworm as treats. Plecos get wafers and cichlids get pellets, but those are too large for the schoolers.

 

[Paul70]

the problem i put the food in seperately and all the fish go for everything. my tubby female is the only one that is showing this symptom so I wouldn't have thought it would be diet but I could be wrong.

 

[KittyKat]

Yes, that's a difficult one to get around. I generally feed all the fish at the same time, so the fish go for whatever is in their general swimming area because it is easier to reach. Also feeding only one type of food at a time and feeding nocturnal fish late in the evening could help with getting everyone a balanced diet.

What about shifting to omnivorous dry foods and veggies only for a week or so? The fish won't miss the treats much and it won't do them any harm (just make sure the shark gets his food).

 

[bullit]

i had 2-3 females that looked like that. They were really fat. I then gave them someone else and maybe the temp change but they started spawning straight away.

 

[mark99]

i have to albino barbs exactly the same bellys are big always active maybe just full of eggs

 

[Paul70]

unfortunately I found the barb dead yesterday. When I examined her belly and squeezed it a lot of yellow pus came out. at least I think it was pus!!

water parameters are good also so im not sure what happened there. I have only lost 3 fish in my tank in 3 months and all have been green tiger barbs. perhaps the green strain are a little sensitive. my water temp is usually 27-28c. is this too warm for barbs?

 

[KittyKat]

Yes, the green strain are normal ones which have been inbred, so are very likely more fragile. Sounds constipation related, from what you say..

I prefer to aim at 23-25 C, feel free to experiment a bit, just don't change the temperature drastically.

 

[Paul70]

have lowered my tank temp to 25c as this will suit all my fish. it is on the published limits of a couple of species but still within parameters according to seriouslyfish.