barb like a pufferfish

[artfish]

my barb is blown up like a puffer fish and i dont know what to do with it. i filled out the question thing the lady asked for so if anyone knows whats wrong with my barb please reply.

i also just got some amularia snales into my aquarium and something weird is happening to them. they used to be all yellow but now their shells are becoming kind of see through white. what could it be?

Tank Size: 80 gall

Water Parameters: Ph around 7.5, temp around 80

Water Changes: i just did a 100% water change, but desease started before i did. now i change 10% weekly but since i changed all the water last week i just did 10% now.

Feeding: 1 to 3 times a day

Fish in the tank: 9 gouramis, 4 tiger barbs (including sick one), 2 Angel fish, black sucker fish, 2 glow fish, 2 other gouramis

Infected fish: Tiger Barb

Symptoms of the infected fish: it blew up like a puffer fish and the scales are sticking out like a puffer fish. doesnt move much and sometimes floats upside down for a couple seconds.

Time the Symptoms occurred: a couple days ago to now

Age of the fish: had it for maybe half a year

Tank History: same thing happened to my other barb and it died

Medications in Use: none

[Ichthius]

Sounds like dropsy to me.

It's better to do 10-30% water changes weekly than replacing 100% of the water. Replacing that never allows the tank to cycle and is harmful to the fish. Plus, who wants to change 80 gallons of water anyway .

Dropsy's onset is usually due to bad water conditions. You need to get a test kit, if your local fish store won't do it, to test your ammonia, nitrate, and nitrites, in addition to your pH.

Unfortunately, at the stage your fish seems to be in, dropsy is not usually curable, because the organs (kidneys, usually) are too far damaged.

Here's a site that gives an overview of dropsy and its treatment:
http://www.flippersandfins.net/Dropsy.htm

[Scuba Kid]

It could be bloating, but if the scales stick out like a pine cone, then its most likely dropsy like Ichthius said.

Depending on the cause of the dropsy, I don't believe there is a cure. It seems like its pretty far along, so its doubtful that you will be able to treat the fish.

[Mariah]

i have this problem too. my poor plecostomus and otocinclus look like balloons. but their scales dont stick out. wat is it if it's not dropsy?

[Mariah]

ok sry it's bloating? what do you do to take care of it?