Phinny12

I have 3 Black Tetras .. One is becomming Hugely fat...unnaturally fat.. She/he ( I can't tell the difference) acts normal in every way. eats, hangs out, comes up to the top....? It has been a while..so I am thinking if it is a girl how long would she be pregnant for? I don't see a dark spot like on My guppies when they are pregnant...what is happening?

Lucy

Tetra aren't live bearers so I don't know if they'd have a gravid spot. Have you checked your readings?
Is it pine coning?
Is it pooing normally? It could be constipation.
I'd try to feed a few bits of thawed, frozen, shelled pea. It won't work any.
Sorry for all the questions.

cerianthus

If eating well. behaving normally, just observe and monitor water condition.
If have extra tank (10G), how about setting up breeding tank using water from main tank. When water is stablized with fish, perform 50-75 % water change (avoid extreme as far as pH, temp) w/ well aged water (rain water as long as not near chemical plants), and slightly cooler temp. If possible, attach feathery plants (live worked bettre for me) to driftwood/small rock or pot the feathery plants. They scatter eggs and MUST remove parent after laying eggs since will eat their own eggs. Could use Large marbles as substrate so eggs on the bottom can not be seen/eaten by parents. You may also want to try Eheim Ehfisubstrate (as spawning mop) but marble worked better for me, at least for tetras.
Layer of Peat Moss could do but must beon top to avoid pH drop. Used PM usually for Killies.

mikki

All tetras are egg layers. I would say its a she and she might just be full of eggs but you have to watch because there has been cases where the female has become that full with eggs that she burst.

Phinny12

BURST!!! That is what I am afraid of! Water conditions are good ..readings right on.. all other fish are fine. I got a quarentine tank cerianthus, If she lays her eggs in there and I put her back in the community tank .. what do next and how long before the fry hatch?
Lucy, No pineconing, seems healthy in every way,no unusual behavior, hangs with the group as usual.
Could she be somehow not dropping the eggs because she feels unsafe in the community tank.
I am islating her tonight!

Amanda

Is there any way that you could post a pic of her?

cerianthus

Dont isolate her. Put all of them (black Tetra; hope you have male). I dont think she will lay eggs w/o males. They perform courtship to lay eggs.
Make sure to use the water from main tank. I believe you have 55G but dont know the size of Q/T. If possible fill Q/T 2/3 with water from main tank. Take some gravel from main tank as well as plants/deco.
Before doing this, make sure to run the filter for Q/T (Sponge Filter) in main tank for couple of days before setting up Q/T (I always added gravel in a bag for easier removal). Dont forget to add heater either.

Don't rush (Rushing can lead to an error which can be fatal to fish). If you have male/female, will drop eggs in main tank (tetras usually scatter eggs at dawn, at least with my experiences). If can not breed them this time, you know when to prepare Breeding Tank next time.
I never seen or experienced bursting of fish yet since I never kept any school of tetra less than 20 or so. Fish may have scattered the eggs and may never have noticed.

Keep observing fish and keep a journal which can be very informative to others and even you down the road. Memory is not as sharp as it used to be, at least with me.

It could also be intestinal infection (worms, etc) where it is not totally parasitic where it does not kill host but coexist.

Hope all goes well!!

Phinny12

My Quarentine tank is a 10 Gallon. with Lid Light strip & Heater...nothing Fancy. I will start setting up tonight as per your instructions. Thank you cerianthus for all the good information.

macmom6

I am having a similar prob. My tetra does not chase the others away but she has been huge for a couple of weeks. Here is a video of her.

Amanda

The one in the video is full of eggs.

macmom6

Any suggestions for encouraging her to lay?

jack--sos

i am in the same boat, i have a HUUUGE bleeding heart tetra thats been growing for about 2 weeks and has started loosing colour...could this be the same?

Amanda

I'm not sure. My danios that fill up lay eggs on their own. They'll get real fat, then one day they'll be super skinny again.

macmom6

Wish I could get skinny that easy

cerianthus

I agree (full moon must be approaching,lol!) since swimming well with the rest. Is it eating as well?

cerianthus

Is it behaving/swimming/schooling/eating normally? Usually fish wont lose color due to spawning activities as far as I know.

cerianthus

Doing water changes with cooler water will stimulate spawning as does in nature (rainy season is time when most fish spawn as more foods are avail for frys as water level rises.
Would not recommend this practice unless separated in breeding tank. They May spawn (they scatter their eggs) on their own (probably in darkness/dawn) in the tank but most, if not all, eggs can be eaten by other fish including parents. But you never know, you may find few frys that survived one day.

summersquash

I also have a black tetra that is very fat. I have a small gallon aquarium. Is that big enough for a quarantine tank? it has a small air pump with a sandstone and a bottom filter of sorts. I have two filter systems on my 55gal tank, so I could possibly rig it up for a better filter. I'm just not sure if it is big enough.
Keep is posted with what happens with everyones fish.

IIIHawKIII

i have a glowlite that is like that. think she is EGGstremely full?

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