Is my electric yellow holding eggs?

[jaxon9]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I've had three sunnygolds in my tank for a while, but one of them passed away a few months ago, leaving me with a male and a female. Recently, I did a large water change, and then I noticed the female just sitting by the heater, refusing to eat or move. I'm thinking she might be holding eggs in her mouth, but I'm not entirely sure. Her mouth is always open, but I don't see the usual swelling I've seen in pictures and videos.

I've attached a picture, but it's not the best quality. If she is holding eggs, I'd love to try and raise the fry. The thing is, I don't have a separate tank for them. Are there any other options for me? Could I use a floating fry basket to keep her safe until the eggs hatch?

Oh, and I just remembered - her stomach area is really swollen, like she's eaten too much or something. This is fluxx, I'm starting to think she might be sick rather than carrying eggs.

[daxelion]

I'm not convinced she's definitely holding, to be honest. The immediate concern I'd have with a Malawi displaying a stomach like that is bloat - it's a possibility that can't be ruled out. Have you considered that it might be the cause of her behavior, rather than her being egg-bound?

There's a great article on bloat that might be worth a read, I found it really informative.

We'd also need to know a bit more about your setup - what's your tank size, what are your water stats like, and are there any other tank mates that could be stressing her out?

[jaxon9]

My tank's 40 gallons, pH is 7.8. It's a community setup with tetras, 2 angelfish, a gourami, and 2 bristle nose cats. I'll check out that article, thanks.

[darkflow]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I've had three sunnygolds in my tank for a while, but one of them passed away a few months ago, leaving me with a male and a female. Recently, I did a large water change, and then I noticed the female just sitting by the heater, refusing to eat or move. I'm thinking she might be holding eggs in her mouth, but I'm not entirely sure. Her mouth is always open, but I don't see the usual swelling I've seen in pictures and videos.

I've attached a picture, but it's not the best quality. If she is holding eggs, I'd love to try and raise the fry. The thing is, I don't have a separate tank for them. Are there any other options for me? Could I use a floating fry basket to keep her safe until the eggs hatch?

Oh, and I just remembered - her stomach area is really swollen, like she's eaten too much or something. This is fluxx, I'm starting to think she might be sick rather than carrying eggs.

Thanks for the concern and the article. I'll have a read of that now. Tank size is 40 gallons, pH is 7.8 and it's a community tank with some tetras, 2 angelfish, gourami and 2 bristle nose cats.

[lentoa]

I concur with daxelion and darkflow, Mbuna shouldn't be mixed with other tropical fish due to their unique dietary needs and water requirements. The symptoms you've described, particularly the swollen stomach area, suggest Malawi bloat. I'm curious, what are you feeding your fish? I'd recommend quarantining the affected fish as soon as possible and administering medication, such as Octozin, though I've found that up to 10 times the recommended dosage is often necessary.

[jaxon9]

I had a pair of labs, male and female, but unfortunately she didn't make it. I've been reading more about Malawi bloat and I think that's probably what got her.

[lentoa]

My main concern now is figuring out what caused this, as your remaining yellow lab could be at risk of getting bloat too. What type of food are you feeding them, it might be worth considering rehoming your last one to prevent the same thing happening.