Obese Glofish [Pics]

[purplecandle]

I have been dealing with a problem for quite awhile, I have an obese glofish. (I will post pics later tonight or tomorrow night, my husband has the camera)

I have tried everything and wanted some advice on what to do for my REALLY fat glofish.

First let me say, this did not happen suddenly so you can rule out most illnesses, thankgoodness. I first noticed this issue when I had him for about 3 weeks, and ever since then I have tried to make him loose weight. I have had him for a while now (months and months)

All of my other glofish and all of the other fish in the tank are normal weight.

I have tried feeding the tank every other day. I have even tried putting two days between feedings...but he stayed fat and the other fish got skinnier
I have moved him and his school into a long tank.
I sprinkle the food around so they have to hunt for it.
I have tried flakes only
Flakes with mysis shrimp
Mysis shrimp only
Flakes with blood worms
Blood worms only
Lil squid only
Different (several!) kinds of flakes (can't remember names but I have tried kinds that had fish meal or protein as the first ingredient and I have tried the kind with carbohydrates as the main ingredient)
And as far as exercise, he is a glofish and does not stop moving.
But, I have tried more plants (fake) floating at the top since he stays at the top a lot.

After eating he is so fat that he looks like he swallowed two peas literally, his scales stretch, while the other glofish stay their normal streamlined selves. He might as well be a yellow puffer glofish.

I do not think I over feed, all of the food is gone in a few seconds. I do not want to separate him and put him by himself because he is a schooler.

Any ideas? Is there a diet fish food out there..or does anyone know of a flake food I can try?

[RTR]

Obesity is the bane of many fish and fishkeepers who have made it past the initial hurdles of water management. Very, very few hobbyists realize how little food is required to keep the average fish healthy and strong. To be honest, I am still learning to feed... I don't have it down perfectly even after all these years.

My current practice is that all, repeat all, adult fish are fed alternate days at the maximum. Certain predators - including lurker puffers are fed less often, every third or fourth day, depending on the particular fish and how mush it eats at one feeding.

You mention the fish as being in a school - all the same variety? Are all about the same size> if they are of varied variety and size, the chances of each fish getting what it needs and not have one or more eating to excess are slim to none.

How big are the fish and what size are the fish and the tank?

If the particular fish is getting more than its fair share, the only solution is to keep it as a singletom IME.

Obesity shortens life in fish as it does in humans.

HTH

[orchidman]

so a dp should be fed once every three days?

[Nick]

I was doing every other day.

[purplecandle]

ok here are some pics of the fat glofish





Here is a normal glofish, I bought this one at the same time I bought the fat one


And here is another one of my glofish, she is a senior and is years old



I think I "might" know the problem..he is not just fat he is smart...he has live with cory cats since I have had him...

I have noticed that he eats mostly from the bottom or mid tank..and he will move sand around to get to food. I think he is copying the cory cats...He eats a little from the top like the other glofish...and then goes for a second meal with the cories in the sand.

Do you think that is possibly the problem? Is he smart enough to be doing that on purpose?

[purplecandle]

[quote="RTR"]

You mention the fish as being in a school - all the same variety? Are all about the same size> The fat glofish is a juvinile most of the glofish are except for one senior...i just recently moved them in with a small school of cardinal tetras and two rams and a few cories..all the fish seem appropriately sized. This is a 20 gallon long. I had planned for the tank to only house CTs and the Rams, but I had to take down the tank they were in.

How big are the fish and what size are the fish and the tank? Most of the fish in the tank are juveniles except for two cories and 1 of the glofish..no fish is bigger than 2 inches, but most are 1 inchers

If the particular fish is getting more than its fair share, the only solution is to keep it as a singletom IME.--I would really hate to do that

[RTR]

That looks too localized to be general somatic fat. It may just be an egg-laden female. You did not answer how many of them there are. If you have 6 or more, you should by the odds have mixed sexes and the males should drive the females to dump their eggs, which will then be eaten unless the tank is very densely planted, and likely so even then. It is possible that the particular fish just had early puberty and the males have not yet kicked in, so that issue may well be self-limiting. If by chance you have all females, that one still should wax and wane periodically as she dumps excess egggs anyway. It has been too many years since I bred any Danios to remember much about their cycle time in tanks.

orchidman: Dps should be fed daily for about 6-9 months, until post-puberty. After that they can go to alternate-day feeding. If your fish were near-adult size when purchased and males and females can be distinguished, they are ready for every other day food.

As these tend to be very selective eaters, they fare poorly in mixed tanks IME. I never house them with any other open-water fish, only algae grazers such as Otos.

[purplecandle]

There is just 4 glofish now..

This one has always been fat, I swear! Besides, I thought this type of fish was sterile because of the genetic interference?

[RTR]

Nope. They have added genetic material, but the base material is still there. The added pignments originally were added (from inverts mostly) linked to physiologic responses to certain water conditions or contaminants. If you had to re-clone each fish, it would not be practical for a test animal (which is what these fish are designed to be, and are). Reproduction for sale/dissemination is forbidden as part of he contract for sale, but that does not mean that the fish cannot produce eggs/sperem, even if a lethal had been added to block easy reproduction with live fry - and that would much more than doubles the work/cost.

[purplecandle]

It has always been the fastest one since he was microscopic tiny, but if it is eggs....what do I do about that???

[Nick]

I suspect you can only wait on eggs.

You should check them out under an actinic bulb if you haven't, because of the origin of their colors, they really pop.

[RTR]

Yup, IME, even solitary females of almost all fish will eventually dump the eggs - although they may turn around and eat then afterward. Some fem,ales will resorb them internally. But if there are males in the group, once all are sexually mature, they should be dumped regularly as spawning behavior. The chances of live fry are slim to none with even the parents in, or in a mixed tank are vanishingly small.