# Guppies with swollen bellies- help!



## ncilexie (Sep 26, 2018)

Hello all,

I have a few sick fish at the moment. I currently have three male guppies and one otocinclus in my 20 gallon tank. I had a fourth guppy, but he died from this mystery illness and I do not want the rest of my fish to succumb to it.

With the deceased guppy, I had treated with kanaplex because I feared he had dropsy (this was in the beginning of September). When I dosed the second time, it seemed like his intestines burst and he died a few days later.

Now my other three guppies have swollen stomachs, and my oto is looking a little plump as well. One is doing poorly, he is sitting at the bottom of the tank and is refusing to eat. The other two have swollen bellies but are still eating. On the 22nd, I dosed with API General Cure, as I was thinking that perhaps they had parasites (their poo was stringy and clear/cloudy). I re-dosed yesterday and am supposed to do a partial water change tomorrow, but all guppies still have swollen stomachs and I haven't seen any improvement.

I really don't know what else might be the cause. I've had this tank for almost two years, but I haven't been able to test the water as I can't afford the testing kits. I really don't think they have dropsy, as they aren't pineconing their scales.

I've had these fish since they were fries last winter (about early/mid March). I've had the oto about as long too. They're fed flake food once or twice a day (depending on if they act hungry) and the otocinclus is fed mini wafers at night.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I really don't want to lose any more fish. I've attached pics of my fish down below.


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## Will_1_Am (Sep 16, 2018)

Hey ncilexie,
I did a quick internet search for your predicament and I might have found what might be the problem. Its quite possible you've already read this and if this is the case I'll keep searching. It says that its possible that your guppies could have a sort of bloat? If you read this article it might give you some more insight. 

https://www.myaquariumclub.com/my-g...ture-any-idea-what-it-could-...-11828917.html

Good luck!
--Will_1_Am


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