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As some of you know I now have 9 dwarf neon rainbows in my 40G planted tank. I started with 6 males and just picked up 3 females last week. Today two of my three females are getting really fat. Might they be producing eggs or just really well fed? They might be eatting guppy fry but none of the males are fat like these gals. Any ideas would be great. Thanks!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Do you notice any raised scales around the gills or belly? If so, it might be dropsy. I've had 4 dwarf neon rainbows succumbed to dropsy one by one over a span of 6 months (with a few months separation between each). None showed any external symptoms beforehand, just suddenly having a big belly and slightly raised scales near the gills one day. Also the affected fish tends to isolate itself from the rest of the group. But they can go on for a few weeks like that, even eating well.

Well, here's hoping yours don't have it. But if they do, I'd suggest quarantining them ASAP.

-P

Quite possible they're gravid Hows they're colour? Are the males and females dancing?

Well fed, IMO. It takes over a week to condition a fish into breeding condition.

they could be breeding, when i brought mine 4 females and 2 males i had eggs the next day!, none survived eaten by the other fish, but it can happen quick with these fish.


IMO it's better to have a ratio with more females to males, as the males can chase the females all day which stresses them out.

good luck with them, great little fish

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Wow thanks for all the replys. Here is a quick update before I run to work. Females with big bellys don't show any signs of scale issues. The males seem to mess with eachother more than messing with the females. They have started to get a little rough about it too! The funny thing is the big male never gets into it. He normaly just hangs out my him self over his patch of wisteria. Maybe they are just weird. On the females are much thinner this morning. Maybe they dropped there eggs this morning when I wasn't looking...

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Probably, its often the way, a lot of rainbows often drop eggs very early in the AM when most of us are asleep, they prefer to be unobserved. Congratulations.

Unfortunately with rainbows , more often than not they eat their own eggs too, its most frustrating. Occassionally I can be found thundering round the house looking for a net yelling "Out the way quick, the rainbows are laying!". Cats and girlfriends scatter. Even if you are too late though, sometimes its worth taking some gravel out of the spot where you think they may have laid eggs and putting it in a raising tank, and you might get a few fry in the coming days. Even rainbows that usually spawn on plants take to just dropping the eggs on the gravel in a community situation.