# Male guppy bloated



## masmba (May 18, 2013)

I have 1 male guppy. His tummy looks bloated. Other than that, he looks normal. He looks the same shape as the 2 female guppies now. Any ideas as to why this would happen? I just noticed it today, but I was super busy this past week, so other than feeding, I didn't look at the fish much. No idea when it started, but he wasn't this way a week ago when I did the last water change.


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## masmba (May 18, 2013)

So no one answered, but I have an update. I stopped feeding for 2 days and his tummy went back to a normal size. It's been a few days since I started feeding again and so far no more problems. So now I'm curious. I usually alternate between feeding flake food and shrimp pellets, then the next day feeding dried bloodworms and algae wafers. Could any of that cause bloating?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

bloodworms are most likely. They can get tangled in the intestines. All dry food will swell up when wet, but freeze-dried anything swells more. You can't predict which fish will gorge themselves and have a problem, but once it happens, it seems more likely to happen again. Flat fish like angels and fish that eat a lot of plants like goldfish seem most susceptible.

Try breaking dried worms into smaller pieces and soaking them a bit before you feed and control the quantity. You might also cut back to only once or twice a week for worms and shrimp pellets.

IMO guppies should get some green stuff every day. Maybe a few spirulina flakes before lights out.

The traditional fish laxative is a cooked frozen pea(s) (nuke in water), shell removed, and chopped to bite size. 

If you can teach your fish to eat peas before they have a problem, the "pea thing" will be more likely to work when they really need it.


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## masmba (May 18, 2013)

Thank you so much. I'll try that.


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