Bloated Anthias?

[KatesReef13]

Hello,

I'm not sure what's wrong with my anthias. I came home from running errands and she was at the bottom of the tank breathing pretty rapidly. She looks bloated and her scales are all pushed out, but I'm not sure how to treat her. I haven't noticed any stringy poop, but I did notice she wasn't eating as much as she usually does, seemed fine otherwise, and she was still eating as of yesterday.

I have a QT tank I can setup if necessary, anybody have any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

There are some osmotic issues that can cause this, but I’ve never seen them develop overnight.

First - need to rule out osmotic issues from the tank itself - so no rapid drop in salinity, right?

The next two issues are not treatable: liver disease can cause ascites, a build up of fluid in the belly.
This case looks more like the body is flooded with fluids, that means kidney failure. In freshwater fish, this is called dropsy. This isn’t treatable in marine fish that I've ever seen, sorry.

Jay

 

[KatesReef13]

Hi Jay,

That's what I was afraid of, it looks just like dropsy from my freshwater days :/
She seemed fine from what I saw yesterday, but I was busy most of the day and didn't look too close. She's the biggest anthias in the tank so she's easy spot from far away, but I'm guessing she wasn't doing good then.

I just checked the salinity and I'm still sitting at 1.026.

Poor thing, she was one of the first fish I got in the tank.

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi Jay,

That's what I was afraid of, it looks just like dropsy from my freshwater days :/
She seemed fine from what I saw yesterday, but I was busy most of the day and didn't look too close. She's the biggest anthias in the tank so she's easy spot from far away, but I'm guessing she wasn't doing good then.

I just checked the salinity and I'm still sitting at 1.026.

Poor thing, she was one of the first fish I got in the tank.

Thanks for letting me know.

One other thought - it could also be egg bound. That shouldn’t cause rapid breathing unless the eggs have gone septic though.
Jay

 

[ChaosAquaculture]

Dropsy also known as organ failure. seperate the fish as fast as possible - kali

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Dropsy also known as organ failure. seperate the fish as fast as possible - kali

Dropsy typically is not contagious.

Jay

 

[kboogie]

There are some osmotic issues that can cause this, but I’ve never seen them develop overnight.

First - need to rule out osmotic issues from the tank itself - so no rapid drop in salinity, right?

The next two issues are not treatable: liver disease can cause ascites, a build up of fluid in the belly.
This case looks more like the body is flooded with fluids, that means kidney failure. In freshwater fish, this is called dropsy. This isn’t treatable in marine fish that I've ever seen, sorry.

Jay

@Jay Hemdal I'm confident I have this with one my Red Strip Anthias. It looks like one of those fat goldfish and I'm 99% sure it is osmotic in origin. If it is osmotic how can I cure it?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

@Jay Hemdal I'm confident I have this with one my Red Strip Anthias. It looks like one of those fat goldfish and I'm 99% sure it is osmotic in origin. If it is osmotic how can I cure it?

Each case is different, can you post a picture and give background info?

If the scales are sticking out, that is edema (the eyes often bulge as well). If it’s just the belly, then it can be ascites, or even eggs.if the fish bobs when it swims, it could be an air bladder issue.

Jay

 

[kboogie]

Each case is different, can you post a picture and give background info?

If the scales are sticking out, that is edema (the eyes often bulge as well). If it’s just the belly, then it can be ascites, or even eggs.if the fish bobs when it swims, it could be an air bladder issue.

Jay

I'm trying to get a useful picture. The scales are not bulging nor are the eye. She is hanging out at the bottom of the aquarium.

I have three Red Stripe Anthias. They are from 100 to 300 feet of water. I've had them for four weeks. In the last week, she has started to become bloated and it is growing daily. She hasn't eaten in three weeks. She was very active and now swims oddly and breathes heavily.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I'm trying to get a useful picture. The scales are not bulging nor are the eye. She is hanging out at the bottom of the aquarium.

I have three Red Stripe Anthias. They are from 100 to 300 feet of water. I've had them for four weeks. In the last week, she has started to become bloated and it is growing daily. She hasn't eaten in three weeks. She was very active and now swims oddly and breathes heavily.

The fish doesn’t look positively buoyant, as fish collected in deep water often have issues with- this fish is negatively or neutrally buoyant.
The swelling looks to be ascites, fluid build up, not gas. This is a serious symptom of liver or kidney failure, just like in humans there is no cure….sorry.
Jay

 

[kboogie]

The fish doesn’t look positively buoyant, as fish collected in deep water often have issues with- this fish is negatively or neutrally buoyant.
The swelling looks to be ascites, fluid build up, not gas. This is a serious symptom of liver or kidney failure, just like in humans there is no cure….sorry.
Jay

Thank you for the diagnosis. I figured it wasn't going to be a positive outlook but it is better to know.

 

[MoonKat]

Hi there - Reviving this thread as I too am having an issue with my anthias. See pics attached. Very large lump in belly. Front ventral view lump is on the left side of the fish. I was hoping we’d get lucky and fish might live. Moving fish to QT but unsure if we should attempt to treat with anything specific- any advice appreciated

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi there - Reviving this thread as I too am having an issue with my anthias. See pics attached. Very large lump in belly. Front ventral view lump is on the left side of the fish. I was hoping we’d get lucky and fish might live. Moving fish to QT but unsure if we should attempt to treat with anything specific- any advice appreciated

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Tough to see, but is the lump on one side? How long have you had the fish?

Jay

 

[MoonKat]

Yes lump shows on both but is much more pronounced on one side. Have only had the fish 5 wks. Got a pair at the LfS the other seems to be doing fine at this time

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Yes lump shows on both but is much more pronounced on one side. Have only had the fish 5 wks. Got a pair at the LfS the other seems to be doing fine at this time

Asymmetrical lumps are less often an contagious disease issue - most of those cause more generalized symptoms.

Sometimes, divers use a needle to aspirate the air bladder of anthias that are collected in deeper water, to vent off the pressure as they reach the surface. In some cases, these punctures become infected.

Can you post a clear video?

Jay

 

[MoonKat]

I wanted to go ahead and post an update here in case someone else has this issue down the line. We moved the anthias to QT. I noticed some white trailing feces so we treated with metroplex soaked foods. He did much better in the QT for a while but I think it was really just because he didn’t have to expend so much energy to get around and he wasn’t being fed quite as much as the main tank. Sadly the fish did end up passing away the day before yesterday. The lump on his side was still slightly visible but smaller. If I ever have this issue in the future with an Anthias I would be willing to aspirate the swim bladder. If someone else is having this same issue with their fish in the future it’s probably worth a shot. To aspirate. I added another photo of the lump.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I wanted to go ahead and post an update here in case someone else has this issue down the line. We moved the anthias to QT. I noticed some white trailing feces so we treated with metroplex soaked foods. He did much better in the QT for a while but I think it was really just because he didn’t have to expend so much energy to get around and he wasn’t being fed quite as much as the main tank. Sadly the fish did end up passing away the day before yesterday. The lump on his side was still slightly visible but smaller. If I ever have this issue in the future with an Anthias I would be willing to aspirate the swim bladder. If someone else is having this same issue with their fish in the future it’s probably worth a shot. To aspirate. I added another photo of the lump.

Sorry to hear.

Just for future reference - if the issue was an infection from decompressing the swim bladder after collection, aspirating it again won't work - the root infection needs to be addressed.

Jay

 

[MoonKat]

Sorry to hear.

Just for future reference - if the issue was an infection from decompressing the swim bladder after collection, aspirating it again won't work - the root infection needs to be addressed.

Jay

With antibiotics?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

With antibiotics?

Yes - but this would have been a case where antibiotics in the water wouldn't work, and in the food won't work once a fish stops feeding. That leaves injectable drugs, and that is outside the realm of most home aquarists.

I'm not positive that this was an infection from being "needled" by the collector - that is a process that is used all too often on deep water anthias, but this species is often caught in shallower water, and then doesn't need to be needled.

Jay