fat fish

[Little cherub]

I dn't know if this should be in the emergency part of if its ok in here. my brother lost a fish this morning this fish had got really fat in the belly over the past 2 weeks or so, i've just been home to check on mine and his other fish(different tanks) and have noticed that half of his have swollen bellies and most of them are males so there not pregnant(i hope!) anyway what i want to know is could his fish have died from something that causes there bellies to swell up and how can i treat the others if they have the same thing. his water is fine i check it for him every week or so and do regular water changes. As far as i know he is not over stocked i try to keep on top of things for him. he goes on holiday tomorrow and i have 6 tanks to look after on my own for a week and i really dnt want anything to happen to them whilst he is away. Any help is much apreciated.

 

[clutterydrawer]

I dn't know if this should be in the emergency part of if its ok in here. my brother lost a fish this morning this fish had got really fat in the belly over the past 2 weeks or so, i've just been home to check on mine and his other fish(different tanks) and have noticed that half of his have swollen bellies and most of them are males so there not pregnant(i hope!) anyway what i want to know is could his fish have died from something that causes there bellies to swell up and how can i treat the others if they have the same thing. his water is fine i check it for him every week or so and do regular water changes. As far as i know he is not over stocked i try to keep on top of things for him. he goes on holiday tomorrow and i have 6 tanks to look after on my own for a week and i really dnt want anything to happen to them whilst he is away. Any help is much apreciated.

are their scales sticking out? could be dropsy?

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

Well, one disease is Dropsy, which has many symptoms, one of which is fatness, and eventually leads to the death of the fish. One way to differentiate dropsy from fatness is to look at the fish from above, if its scales stick out like this:

Than it is most likely dropsy.
Are you sure he is not over feeding them? it is a mistake many beginners make and one of the most common demises of fish. Although, if you were testing the water and detected no ammonia, it is unlikely that he has been over feeding (unless it has been going on for a long time).
Although I have read that their are many medications for dropsy, I have heard that they are mostly ineffective.
I'm sorry for his losses , But the best thing to do is to explain this to him before he goes away so he does not blame it on you.

 

[Kitt_81]

what kind of fish are they?

 

[Kitt_81]

are they swimming lopsided or anything?

 

[Little cherub]

well i know he doesn't over feed them if anything he under feeds them. he has been looking after fish longer than me and tells me off all the time but i do help him out with the testings. he has a community tank so platies,mollies,lemon tetras,swordtails and neons i think thats all there is. i will check when i get home whether or not the fins stick out when you look from above, i hope not! does anyone actually know what causes dropsy if this is what they have got? oh and no i dnt think they swim lobsided how come? thank you for trying to help me.