# Severely Bloated Fish



## Frank-n-Zippy (Nov 19, 2010)

The last of my fish from my friend's tank was just flushed. He wasn't dead yet but the poor thing looked like he was about to split in half. It was a male Platy that was nearing three years in age. He was the last of my fish still in my friend's tank: tank mates, 2 4.5" plecos and a 5" Bichir.

It had been increasing in bloating for about 1.5 to 2 years, so it wasn't something sudden. At first he just looked pregnant, but this was clearly a male fish. Up until recently his bloatedness didn't seem to have any affect on his swimming. I went to check on him today to make sure that the Bichir hadn't eaten him like it did my other platys. The poor fish's stomach was bigger and wobbled as it swam slowly. It seemed to have a small tear in the scales along the center line of the stomach and just before the anal fins it looked like it was ulcerating. I couldn't stand to look at the pitiful state of my fish and my boy friend flushed him to put it out of what looked to be a lot of pain.

I just want to know what would cause my fish to bloat so severely that it was going to split in two and cause blood vessels to burst and ulcers to form.

Note: it was not "pineconing" like dropsy, nor was a sudden bloating.


----------

