# Cardinal tetra extremely bloated, help!



## GrumpyGills (Jun 20, 2014)

One of my cardinal tetras is so bloated that it looks like his scales are peeling off his sides :icon_sad:

The bloating looks like it is in his stomach, and gives him an incredibly large width compared to my other tetras. One other tetra looks large, but not really bloated like this one so it might just be older, not sure. The other 12 tetras look fine.

What do I do? He is acting pretty normal, still schooling and stuff.


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

Bloating and raised scales usually indicates dropsy. If you're sure he's just bloated then try feeding a blanched, deshelled pea or frozen daphnia if you have it; both of these will act as a laxative. Hopefully that's all it is, but I lost two Neons to dropsy a while back and they went through the same thing. Extremely bloated width wise, swollen eyes, raised/pineconing scales, yet they still swam with the school up until the point they kicked the bucket.


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## GrumpyGills (Jun 20, 2014)

I just fed them the peas. I think he got some but it is hard to be sure how much pea he actually ate. I had already fed them tonight their normal pellets. Is it ok to skip their meal tomorrow morning in favor of more peas (basically, is there such a thing as too many peas?)? I have corys and praecox rainbows in the tank as well.

Your diagnosis of dropsy however seems correct. Most sources I just researched indicate that bloated + raised scales = dropsy.


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## JoeRoun (Dec 21, 2009)

*The Sad Part of Our Hobby*

It is dropsy and once the bloat and raised gill there is no treatment or recovery.

I believe it is time for you to humanely euthanize your fish. The sad part of our hobby, I know.

Joe
FBTB


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

I have a female guppy that was bloated and had raised scales a month ago. I thought it might have been dropsy but she's now perfectly fine now and still alive.


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## GrumpyGills (Jun 20, 2014)

I'll give it a while longer before I euthanize.


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

I just found a video I took of the Neon that came down with dropsy. If your Cardinal looks similar or is displaying similar behavior then I would consider euthanasia sooner rather than later. I waited it out on both of my Neons because I had a medicine on hand that claimed to "cure" dropsy, and both ultimately suffered slow deaths. :icon_neut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYgCst0_lcM


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## GrumpyGills (Jun 20, 2014)

I've thought about it a lot and when I get home if he still looks as bad as last night I will euthanize.


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## JoeRoun (Dec 21, 2009)

*Tough Choices*

I know it is difficult, it is best for all your fish and you as well.

Joe
FBTB


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## GrumpyGills (Jun 20, 2014)

Yeah, I came home and it looked so horrendously bloated that I knew euthanasia was the best option. My cardinal looked just like video of StrangeDejavu's neon, but mine was even more bloated. Glad to not have to watch it suffer anymore. Put it in a plastic bag and then a paper bag, took it quickly onto the porch and stomped on it. It sounds brutal, but I really believe this is the quickest way to do it. Instant death.

Thanks for the help in this thread, the quick diagnosis was really helpful.


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

Sorry you had to go through that Grumpy, it's never fun. I had to euthanize a cory that was bad off not long ago and it had me down the entire night. Sucks but it's for the better of the community and the fish that's suffering as pineconing is the point of no return.


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## GrumpyGills (Jun 20, 2014)

Just happy to have a place where people understand why euthanizing a little 1 inch fish could make you feel down for a night.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

I believe ice bath is a better solution for such a small fish. Big fish, no.
The image of you stomping a fish to death is kind of humorous.


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## GrumpyGills (Jun 20, 2014)

Oh no now one of my rainbows looks bloated. No pineconing, but definitely bloated. Wondering if I should euthanize quickly this time :-(


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

If it is dropsy, then I'd suspect a water quality issue.


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## GrumpyGills (Jun 20, 2014)

Euthanized the rainbow. He was getting bullied by the other rainbows because he couldnt swim fast enough to keep up.

Hopefully that is the last of it.


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

That's unfortunate.  It may be time to look into the cause as well as possible treatment. When my Neon got dropsy, he died that night and the next night another Neon got it and died too. At that point I medicated the tank and all problems stopped at that point. I used Jungle Fungus Clear, not the greatest med but I was in a pinch.


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## GrumpyGills (Jun 20, 2014)

I'm hesitant to treat with anything without a solid symptom to go off of. As all remaining fish appear healthy, I will monitor closely before taking anymore action.


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## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

Bacterial infection, can be caused by poor water quality, overcrowding, handling the fish and poor nutrition.


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