# Botia has a Tumor?



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

So I got this Botia from my LFS and he was a few years old... and he had a smaller bump on the bottom of his stomic but as you can see in the video in the last few days it has gotten alot bigger... Take a look at the video...Any thoughts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua4g4PVHwzs

As always thanks in advance...


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

not sure but she may be filling with eggs.....tumors don't usually grow that fast...


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

but she has always had someone what of a bump there is that normal for them?


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

hard to tell for sure...don't know actual age ...but she could keep filling and dumping the eggs...


----------



## Guest (Feb 6, 2013)

I am with loha on this one. Bumps don't grow that fast.


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

and from what I read its not easy to mate these fish in a tank? That is if i were to get a male.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

that is true...but of course with all of the fish you have in the tank there would be a feeding frenzy on the caviar...but if you were successful there would be customers lined up at your door...
and i would be one of them....lol


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

how do you tell a male from a female?


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

what is the exact species name , Striata ?...
try this place.....

www.loaches.com


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

ya that what I purchased it as and when I compare it to images that's what it looks like...


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

So an update on my Botia... She is not pregnant as she is getting bigger... Take a look..

http://youtu.be/FD_zeOx-7dU

Any other thoughts?


----------



## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

wow! She reminds me of a molly I once had that was pregnant, and she couldn't birth the fry. It did not turn out well for her. Of course, it could be some kind of tumour, but no telling by just looking at her.I know goldfish can get intestinal blockage, which is treated with feeding peas sqeezed out of the shell, or other roughage, along with antibiotics. I might try a broad spectrum antibiotic, but it would be just a Hail Mary pass.


----------



## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

I don't have an answer- but yikes! I don't know if dropsy would look like this in a smooth fish like a loach? She seems to be swimming okay, but not sure how long that will last. I don't know if internal worms would do that? Those might be 2 things to look into .


----------



## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

Looks to me like bloating. On a previous tank many years ago I had a similar incident and it was a combination of things only realized after a friend pointed them out to me. One was that I was over feeding and two was that the fish was taking in a lot of air when feeding. I would boil some spinach give that to her, it wont hurt the other fish nor her but rather clean out the digestive track. Also dont feed for the next few days and see if the swelling decreases. It should and for the feed cycle switch to every other day and only once a day with the boiled spinach. Use frozen spinach it does not have any additives.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

it still looks like eggs to me..they take a little time to develop and fill her..my lohachatas used to look just like that when they would get ready to spawn....have you tried to strip her ? that might work...


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

strip her?


----------



## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

That would be great if it is eggs. That would mean what ever you are doing is good since they are hard to breed. You may have some insight to breeding them and did it not even knowing that's great. Hopefully you have a breeder box to try and strip the eggs from her or the others are going to have a feast on the eggs.


----------



## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

I personally have never stripped a belly carrier havent had any in a long time now the mouth breeders are simple for me but here is what I had on file:
Loha may have a better method or an idea to ease you into the process since I know he has more years in and more experience than I do. There are a lot of others that may have and do the process on a regular but hopefully the info below is helpful.

To strip the fish, the female should be held around the caudal fin with one hand, while applying slight pressure to the abdomen with the other hand. If ovulation has occurred, a stream of eggs will emerge. If only a few appear, the female is still “green” and should be returned to the holding tank. If there is a stream of eggs, the abdomen should be messaged from front to back to strip out all the eggs.


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

So I moved him to a QT tank and shot this video... Its hard to see but he now has these two white spots just below his eyes.... Any more thoughts?

http://youtu.be/aiyGubUvleg


----------



## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

WOW I thought I was stumped before. NOW that just blew me out the water. Hopefully one of the other guys or gals will have an idea. Good thing you moved him/her to a QT tank just as a precaution. Have you tried to Google tumors on or in fish. I am sure this is not the first incident.


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

So I took a video on my phone and brought it into my LFS... There is a guy who helps out the owner and he is very knowledgable (Maine_Fish can attest to that) and he looked at the video and in about .02 seconds he said that he is 99.9% positive that it is an intestinal blockage... He said that loaches are known for it (because they dont know when to stop eating) and he has had several in the past that have had it before... He said sometimes they pass them and other times they dont and they end up dieing ... I love this little guy (or atleast use to be little) and really dont want to see him in pain... He said he has always let nature run its course... But he has heard of people using Epsom salt to help the fish pass it... He has never done it before though and he told me to research it before thoroughly before hand....

Has anyone done this before or know of anything else that might help him pass the blockage?


----------



## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

For any of those kinds of things I have only heard of using peas, but I don't think it really helps with an outright blockage, not sure. I would think of a QT tank so you can really limit what he is fed, if anything. 

If you go for the epsom salt you will want to do it outside of the tank in a separate container- probably a dip or soak kinda deal- definitely research before hand specific to loaches, as smooth skinned fish they have specific salt requirements.


----------



## Guest (Feb 19, 2013)

I would definitely go for feed this loach peas, and keep feeding peas until he/she is no longer bloated. When Baby Girl, my biggest clown loach, had swim bladder disorder, I fed her veggies the entire time that she had it and she recovered. Now I fast my fish at least once a week, if not twice, so that they don't get swim bladder or get bloated.

Peas will help with bloat. Afterwards always feed a veggie at least once a week that way it can clean their system, and fast them once a week as well, this will help them not get swim bladder disorder or bloat.

Hope this guy/gal gets better soon and I hope you can save this loach.


----------



## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

Epsom salt is not a bad idea. It is not actually salt, but magnesium sulfate, and will help the intesines to absorb water, so the fish will pass any feces that has backed up, if it is bloat from severe constipation. Is it still eating? Has it passed any feces? If it is constipated, stop feeding it, with the exception of fresh or frozen peas (not canned) which have been just blanched in boiling water, and squeezed out of the tough skin. There are differing opinions about how much epsom salt to use in the tank, anywhere from 1teaspoon per gal. to 1tablespoon per gal. I would start with one teaspoon, and if the fish does not pass anything in 4 hrs., add another. If there is no improvement within 24 hrs, I doubt it will work. Another method, which makes more sense to me, is to use it as a dip. 1tablespoon in a gal. of water that is same temp. as water he is in now, let him stay in it for 15 min. to 1/2 hr., or remove him at any sign of distress. Can be repeated up to twice a day. I have also heard of people feeding a bloated fish a pea prepared as above with a tiny grain of epsom salt in it, but if the fish isn't eating, I don't know how that would work. With the dip method, the idea is that the fish will ingest some of the water, and the epsom salt along with it, which should help the fish evacuate, if the bloat is caused by constipation. If the bloat is caused by a bacterial infection, I would treat with a broad spectrum antibiotic like Maracyn 2. (remove any carbon from filter) In any case, increase temp to 80-82 degrees, and make sure to have good aeration. If it were my fish, I would use Maracyn 2 in the sick tank, and do the epsom salt dips. Let us know what you do, and the outcome.


----------



## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

So it is Bloating after all...
That was my first guess either spinach or peas will work as I said before and I am not to sure about the epsom salt but if it is used to help humans release it sure as hell will help them go with a bit more ease.

Read up on it especially for the specific species, I dont think it will harm it but just double check to be sure. Good luck and keep us posted on his condition.


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

So I have been out of commission for about 3 days with strep but I still managed to give the Botia Epsom salt baths for 5 out of 6 days and hes hasn't passed anything 

He's still alive but its not looking good for him as he is getting so big he is have problems swimming sometime and now in placed it looks like he is almost shedding skin... I feel awful for the little guys (well not so little) but I don't know what else to do... I also put some peas in the tank that i pealed the outside layer off from them but he wont touch them... 

Hard to watch him because he has to be in some pain...


----------



## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

I am so sorry that he is suffering now. Try spinach cooked and I mean like super soft dont put a ton in the tank just a few pieces to see if he will eat. If he does then put a few more in hopefully that will pass through him very fast. I dont know anyone elses experience with bloating but I remember when I had my shark tank back in the ****'s not going to date myself but my grandmother told me to use collard greens. I did and it solved my problem although my shark at teh time was not in a state as your lil guy.


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

Ya I think he beyond the point of help now... Its just a matter of time...


----------



## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

sorry to hear that bud, hope he don't suffer too much


----------



## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

you certainly tried everything....sometimes, we lose them anyway.


----------



## Guest (Feb 26, 2013)

Have you tried hold some peas in your hand and seeing if he will eat out of your hand? If you can get some, frozen veggies, from the petstore, will hopefully help. They are in a box with the bloodworms and brine shrimp, but only feed him the veggies.


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

ya I tried and actually took a pea and placed in right in front of his mouth and he didnt eat it... 

Thanks guys for everything its just the waiting game... I guess the only thing that giving me any hope is there was a person in the pet shop when I was talking with the guy about it and they said that had the same issue with a loach they had and they said it got to the point where it looked like it was about to break in half... and then they woke up one morning and for no good reason he had passed the the obstruction and he was good and it had been a few years and he was still living...

So I am holding onto the hope for as long as I can....


----------



## BęttãBåbë1 (Feb 11, 2013)

Well good luck. Hope all ends well. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

Well the ordeal has come to sad end my fish finally released it blockage but within and hour of releasing it he passed away... I am going to guess that he probably had internal issues that let go once the pressure was released. RIP little guy....


----------



## Guest (Feb 27, 2013)

I am so sorry to hear that. You did everything that you could for him. He is in fishy heaven right now.


----------

