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I think some of my flame tetras have dropsy. One in particular has an extremely swollen belly. It may be constipation, but I can't exactly tell. It really looks like its belly is about to pop. I can't tell if the scales are pineconed. It kind of looks like they are, but the fish is only an inch long, so its hard to tell. Some of my other fish have swollen abdomens, but not as bad as this one.
I tried some peas, because my original thought was constipation. The fish all ate earlier. This one flame was swimming kind of awkward. It swims, but slower. They are not hiding or acting any different, just look different.

I have had them for a few months now. The last fish I added were 2 small angels and that was 3 weeks ago.

I checked my water parameters:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10-15ppm (hard to tell)
pH: 7

I moved it to a small cup that is sitting in the tank. I wanted to remove the fish to watch it. It is probably stressing it out, but I didn't want to frantically search for it in the morning, in case it did pass.

Here is a picture. The fish looks kind of see through, but its the light. It is still hard to tell from the picture:

What are other signs of dropsy? And if this is dropsy, what can I treat it with?


sorry...terrible pictures

*Kristin*

That doesnt look like traditional dropsy (liver and kidney damage) that looks like a stomach rupture or hernia. I would suspect the cause is roundworm, and an associated bacterial infection. The swelling is only in the one place on that fish, I had a flame tetra get dropsy once, and it simply ballooned, and red veins were visible close to the skin. Id treat the tank for internal parasites and hope for the best with that particular fish, perhaps he needs an antibiotic too.

Thanks longhairedgit. I hoped it wasn't dropsy since the fish was not acting strange. I ended up letting it go back into the tank last night because it was very stressed. I checked this morning and while it still is a little swollen, its not as bad.
I know a symptom of parasites is white stringy poo. They don't have that. But, I'll treat anyways...just to be sure.

I am also gonna try to give them peas atleast once a week. I seem to have alot of constipation among my fish...even though they have a pretty varied diet.

Thanks for the help!

*Kristin*