Reef Discussion

[Thomas]

Hello, My dwarf lion fish is looking very fat and I cant tell why but I do have a few theories.

1st, and what I'm hoping is right. My lion is from what I can tell a female, is it possible that she is swelling due to holding eggs?

2nd, possibly a Blocked digestive system.

I first notice signs of her being a little extra round over a month ago, today she is obviously the biggest she has ever been. I am reluctant to think its due to her diet, which is frozen krill, shrimp and mussels. but i guess it could be, I also don't over feed, currently 2-3 times a week. I am also reluctant to think that its a block digestive system because of how long its been there, I would assume that even after a week or two any food in there would be starting to go bad and rot if it couldn't get through.

In terms of behavior, she appears as chirpy as ever. Does spent a lot of time hiding but often comes out to explore anything I do inside the tank. doesn't seem to be effected in any way, so maybe its nothing? lol (fingers crossed)

Also it would be almost impossible to get a picture sorry.

 

[MagicJ]

Hi @Thomas

Unfortunately, I am not aware of too many members who have a dwarf lionfish. I have no direct experience but from what I have found krill can potentially cause a blockage of the gastrointestinal tract resulting in the symptoms you mention.

@Dr. Schell any thoughts?

 

[Dr. Schell]

withoit a pic diagnosis is very difficult. these specise have a high fish content in their natural diet. a diet high on chiton may potentially cause intestinal blockages. is the fish still eating and passing faecies?. if so this is likely to answer your question

 

[Thomas]

to be honest i have never seen it passing, however it does eat, voraciously. lol If there were a designational blockage is there a way to free it up?

 

[Dr. Schell]

to be honest, if the fish was unable to pass faeces, it is unlikely to keep eating!. Lionfish have remarkable digestive systems. Would be best if you could provide an image so that we could provide a better diagnosis! The location and appearance of the swelling is likely to indicate the issue.

 

[Thomas]

yeah i understand how its difficult to diagnose, I guess if I can get as much info as possible I'll be able to asses the situation. As it is I'm sure the swelling is decreasing, however, it starts just before the anus and continues up the body until you can no longer notice under the lower fins. the thing that alarmed me is how far back the swelling is, i would imagine that if it were just a food bulge that it would be situated closer to the mouth.

 

[Dr. Schell]

the ovaries in fish occur along the lower flanks and terminate just before the cloaca. Appears that this fish may just be gravid. If so, nothing to worry about.

 

[Thomas]

Particularly in the second picture you can see how far the bulge extends, from the Pelvic fins to the anal fin.