# Please help with identification of this issue. I am very worried.



## Mmbrown (Jul 21, 2012)

Hi everyone, first post here.

I have a 10g with 1 BN (I know it is too small but I have had a hard time organizing an upgrade) as well as 1 betta- they get along great. We have had the BN in there since December. Specs:
Nitrate 20
Nitrite 0
Trace ammonia at 0.25 we can't get rid of
TopFin 10 filter, cleaned about every month because of brown gunk buildup in the impeller
Water changes/gravel vacs every week

The BN is fed once every few days with either a Hikari algae wafer or a slice of zucchini. There is also driftwood in the tank.

So, the problem is that she is kind of pudgy. I feel like she has looked this way ever since the start of summer, when we first added the driftwood, but I am just now realizing it could be a bad thing. At first she rasped on the driftwood nonstop and so I thought she just had a full stomach from over eating. But this may no longer be the case. What is this- bloat, constipation, parasites? I am very worried. Because of a lack of information, my boyfriend and I had a very rough start to fishkeeping but this girl has survived it all, and we both really love her. I'm so nervous that we are going to lose her. She acts normal in every other way.

Please, if you could help me identify what is going on (wouldn't it be nice if you told me this is normal looking for plecos and I'm just being silly?) as well as give me a course of action. I feel like I should just start with peas (they have to be fresh, right, not frozen?) in case it is constipation as it couldn't hurt. Also, I have not seen her poop recently (I am living in a different city over the summer and do not get to see her often) so I cannot say whether it is white or normal.

I am not allowed to yet post pictures on this site and did not want to spam through 5 posts to be able to do so. So basically, she has the normal slope of her head but then it raises up in her midsection. She looks kind of stretched. And instead of being flat on the bottom, she has a bump there as well. This is all right after the base of her head and before the end of her fins. It is gradual, but still noticeable.


----------



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

In a small tank with good food, she could simply be getting fat. Possibility two, a very likely one if she is happy, is that she is filling with eggs. 
It doesn't have to be parasites or disease - obesity does hit fish especially in small tanks, and bristlenoses can be an easy species to bring into breeding form, whether you plan it or not.
I wouldn't worry. What we need is for Susankat to see this. She's the resident BN authority - I've only bred them a few times and haven't kept any for a couple of years.


----------



## Mmbrown (Jul 21, 2012)

Thank you so much for your reply. I do hope that it is just the eggs, as then she would be a happy camper instead of sick - much better situation! I read somewhere that BNs couldn't fill with eggs without a mate around, but that could have been wrong. I eagerly await more replies 

Edit: Now that I think about it, I do remember seeing her "use the bathroom" and it was indeed long with sections that were clear, but it was mostly brown, so I figured since it wasn't white there was no problem. Though, that was a while ago.


----------



## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

It would indeed help to have a picture but I understand not wanting to spam. To be honest my first suggestion is to find a bigger tank. I know sometimes its easier said than done but browsing craigslist may land you a good deal. Fwiw my bn females are round a lottle too but I am sure its from eggs. Do you know its a female or just a guess?


----------



## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

I would like a pic to confirm that she is getting full of eggs. If you can get one while she is on the glass would be perfect. Bristlenose are prolific breeders so that is what I am guessing.

About how big is she? taking a guess is okay. Depending on size it could be just fat.


----------



## Mmbrown (Jul 21, 2012)

Hi everyone 

She is about 2 to 3 inches long, and I'm fairly certain it's a female because she doesn't have a single tiny bristle, anywhere.

To get around posting the links to the images, if you go to imgur with the extensions /VNgfx and /RIve7 after the com then you will see them. I can try to get a picture of her on the glass tonight when I go over to where her tank is set up.

I do desperately want a larger tank. The thing holding me back is I am a college student who moves four times a year, so that is always a consideration. But I think once I get back to school in two or three weeks I will bite the bullet and get a bigger tank. As long as I can exercise enough restraint to not continue to stock it and just stick with what I have, it shouldn't be that much harder to move.

Thank you again for the replies. Sorry if my post sounded panicked - I'm a definite worry wart when it comes to my pets.


----------



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Hey, don't worry. When you show you care about your fish, other aquarists respond quickly.


----------



## Mmbrown (Jul 21, 2012)

Well, I wasn't able to get a good picture of her. She decided to explore everywhere BUT the front of the glass!

I did feed her some peas just in case, although I can't be sure if she ate them or if the MTS did... silly snails.


----------



## Mmbrown (Jul 21, 2012)

Hi again, sorry for the delay but I have been out of town.

There is a picture of her on the glass on imgur with the extension .com/ib55J


----------



## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

copy and paste image link on here, should show the pic, or upload to gallery. I can't get the links that you are posting to work.


----------



## Mmbrown (Jul 21, 2012)

Oh it wasn't letting me do so before, but I can post them now. Sorry for the run around:

imgur: the simple image sharer
imgur: the simple image sharer
imgur: the simple image sharer

Someone on another forum recommended that I decrease her intake of algae wafers and up her intake of veggies, as she might be getting too much protein.


----------



## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Ok first off, the veggies and algae wafers aren't giving her enough protien to cause a problem. She's fat for sure, but looks more like eggs. She will either drop them or absorb them. I would cut back on feeding her though to maybe twice a week. One day algae tab and one day fresh veggie as I can imagine she is also eating algae and any other food that drops to bottom of tank.

She does look healthy.


----------



## Mmbrown (Jul 21, 2012)

Thank you for the reply, I'm sorry I've been so slow in replying myself.

If it's eggs after all, once she drops/absorbs will she go back to looking trim? Or still be a little pudgy? And this is probably one of those things that's hard to predict, but about how long would it take for her to do something with the eggs? As in, how long is a normal amount of time to... well, to be this fat?

Thanks again for all the help


----------



## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Dropping and absorbing eggs vary by fish so I could'nt give you even a round about answer. She's a female and will never look trim. She will continue to produce eggs. If you get her in a bigger tank and a male about the same age you would have babies.


----------



## Mmbrown (Jul 21, 2012)

Cool 

I would so love to do that, but I'm a college student who has to move the tank four times a year. I don't think I could handle a breeding operation around that.

Do they stay breeding age long?


----------



## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Yes they do about 8 years


----------



## Mmbrown (Jul 21, 2012)

Oh cool, that's a long time. So she still has a chance to make some mini-Chesters at some point


----------

