Fat Tiger Barbs :(

[dragosandovich]

i just got  tiger barbs and a couple of then are really fat. i think it's swim bladder. but i have seen a few people said to give them a couple peas. are they talking about the vegetable? i won't feed them til i find out what to do just to be safe. thanks! 

 

[TallTree01]

Yeah they mean vegetables. I don't think youll find anyone wanting you to have a wizz in your fish tank lol.
Is your tank cycled?
How big is it?
What are the water readings?
What is the complete stocking?
What are you feeding them?

 

[az9]

hi. i am his bro and i meant to put this on my profile but i didn't know he was logged in . for your questions yes it is cycled, it's 30 gallon (112 liter), the water readings are: nitrate 5, nitrite 0, ph 8.4 little high, ammonia 0.25, the stocking is 6 tiger barbs, 2 albino tiger barbs and 2 platys, i am feeding them tropical flakes.

oh, and lol. i just thought it might be some kind of medicine.

 

[This Old Spouse]

They're likely bloated because they've been fed too much and now are constipated. I usually feed mine some thawed frozen peas with the outer shells removed, then squished through a strainer or just smashed so they can get the little pieces in their mouths.
 
Tiger barbs will eat and eat and eat if you let them. Keep in mind their stomach is as big as their eye, so it doesn't take much to feed them. Only feed once a day or even every other day, and feed the peas about once a week.

 

[cpwebsite]

The .25 ammonia in your tank is not good, I would recommend a water change to solve that problem and maybe some prime if necessary? Maybe there wasn't enough bacteria to handle all of the fish? Also, the best way I've heard for swim bladder is don't feed them for a day or two, and then after that feed them a pea or two.

 

[az9]

ok, thanks for all the help!

 

[Brianandrews1951]

A bit more... Were the fish fat when you bought them? Or did they get fat following feeding with dry foods. As mentioned, tiger barbs will gorge on flakes and other dry diets until they are bloated (if over-fed), and may even battle to swim downwards for a while. This should wear off before the next feed! (Make sure you don't over-feed them.) 
 
Female tiger barbs can be very plump when spawning-ripe, so this could also be the reason, if they are old enough and were already plump when you got them. However, maybe yours are too fat for this to be the case? (Are all of your tiger barbs fat, or are some thin? Mature males are thinner - narrower when viewed from above - and slightly redder than females.) 
 
Dried diets can cause digestive problems (blockages) on occasion, more so in some species than others. If you can feed them with live foods, or frozen live foods once or twice a week, this can help greatly with digestion, and is generally a healthy practice.  

 

[az9]

i haven't seen them chasing each other but i'm pretty sure it is just the females. 

 

[TallTree01]

I've gotta reccomend to feed sinking tropical pellets instead of floating flakes. Sooo much better for all of my fish. When they were eating flakes I found they were swallowing a bunch of air which made them look quite fat and their tails were floating. I switched to tetra pellets, they still eat them all before they hit the bottom and they no longer appear so fat and floaty.

 

[az9]

thanks! i should be able to feed them tomorrow. they look a lot better.  

 

[This Old Spouse]

Just a *pinch*

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I've gotta reccomend to feed sinking tropical pellets instead of floating flakes. Sooo much better for all of my fish. When they were eating flakes I found they were swallowing a bunch of air which made them look quite fat and their tails were floating. I switched to tetra pellets, they still eat them all before they hit the bottom and they no longer appear so fat and floaty.

 
 
You can also swish the flakes in the water while pinching... this drops it below the surface of the water.   (Saves having to buy new food right away.)  I do this for my fish.  I have top feeders (harlequins) with midwater feeders (neon tetras).  This enables both to feed at the same time... the neons are far less aggressive at feeding time than the harlys. 

 

[This Old Spouse]

For my cory tank, I take a wood chopstick, dip it in the water and dip that in the flakes and swish it around. It's hilarious watching the shrimp try and swim after the flakes.

 

[az9]

i just fed them and all i did was put the food in a little cup of water for like 2 minutes and it worked really well.