Fighting fish over-wintering

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

Question:

My fish appears to have a very swollen abdomen. Could this be due to me overfeeding him?

Persistently enlarged abdomen post-feeding.

Answer:

Siamese fighting fish (Bettas) originate from Thailand (hence “Siamese”) and this is a tropical country where temperatures would not normally drop to what we experience in Perth. It is true that during transporting (exporting/importing) of ornamental fish, the temperature is reduced slightly to decrease their metabolic rate, this is not usually tolerated for long periods. Fighting fish may “survive” one or two Perth winters, but will eventually succumb to disease/illness in unheated tanks during winter. The abdomen is swollen, most likely because the food ingested is not being digested, and is instead being fermented. Differential diagnoses include granulomatous reactions from Mycobacteria or Nocardia infections or problems with fluid balance, usually associated with bacterial nephritis. My advise would be to cease feeding for 1 week and in this time, slowly raise the temperature to 26degC.

The Fish Vet is now blogging!

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

There are very few veterinarians who are involved with fish health. And the majority of these are employed in a commercial capacity (involved with aquaculture). Their services are often beyond the reach of the local suburban clinic for your much loved pet fish. So this is a ground breaking step forward for both the clients and for the veterinary profession. Pet fish health has somewhat been neglected for many years and it is now time to make that change.

My aim is to help pool the knowledge that aquarists already have, dispel false information and then educate my clients where appropriate.

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PET TIME is VET TIME!

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Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

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