Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

ammonia: .25 nitrites: 0 nitrates: 40-80 pH:7.4

I attribute the ammonia and high nitrates to some dropping temps and slow bacteria in the past week. I have about 150gallons in the tank and 9 total tilapia all about between 50-80g.

Any idea what this is and how to solve it?

edit: sorry about the picture size. I'm relatively new to posting.

Also I put him in the tupperware just for the picture and he's now been quarantined in a separate tank.

With dropsy (which is a symptom more than a diagnosis in and of itself) usually the scales are all sticking out so the fish looks a bit like a pine cone, so I'd say no, not dropsy. More likely tumour, egg bound, or some sort of digestive blockage; if the swelling/bulge is symmetrical it's more likely to be egg bound or blocked, if it's bulging out on one side it's more likely to be a tumour.

If it's a tumour, there's really nothing you can practically do except euthanase it if it's in distress. If it's an egg bound female, you might be able to 'strip' the eggs out with gentle pressure, but I've never done it myself. Digestive blockages in goldfish can sometimes be resolved by feeding them peas and similar foods.

Good luck!

I guess the good news is that the bloat is symmetrical. I assume the smart thing would be to act as if it's a digestive block and get some peas to feed them. I'll report back when I resolve the issue.

Thanks for the help!

Hopefully tilapia like peas!

Unfortunately this fish has died. The aquarium store near me got me to try melafix and then kanaplex when that didn't work but he went belly up before the kanaplex cycle ended.

My question now is, would it be stupid to dissect the fish to see what the problem was? I don't really know what I'd be looking for just curious. I just want to make sure it would relatively safe to do this

I would dissect it, what if there are eggs?

It wouldn't be stupid at all! Wear gloves, do it well away from your tank setup, and clean everything you used well afterwards; that way if the fish had any sort of infection you shouldn't transmit it to your other stock. Whatever was wrong might be really obvious... or at least interesting.