friesema

Hello. I have a female cherry barb (Luanne) that is just fat! She's about twice the width now as she was two days ago. She sits at the bottom of the tank real still then swims around her little area a little bit. I thought she was/is getting ready for a family, so I put her in a different tank with my male barb (Lucky) and not much of anything is happening, she's just acting weird in there. They did a bit of a dance, but then it ended after about 7 minutes. She's still fat to the point where she looks like she's got blood vessels that look like they are popping as a result of her increase in size. Lucky doesn't really want much to do with her anymore, and I'm wondering what is going on. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!!

neverendingninja

First things first, barbs are egg scatterers. Just leave them in the tank, she'll drop the eggs, and the male will come behind and fertilize. There is no coitus.

Secondly, is she acting lethargic? Fear is, she may have dropsy. Do some research both on fishlore.com and search google.com also. Dropsy is a broad term relating to the bloating of fish and can be attributed to bacterial infections, parasites, cancer, etc. If she grew that rapidly, it is, unfortunately, most likely due to bacterial infection. I've not had to deal with this, so I can not give first hand advice. Most I can tell you is to do some research, and check back here frequently for responses from some of the more knowledgeable and experienced members here. You should get some excellent expert advice shortly.