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Bloated Male Guppy - PLEASE HELP!?

I have a bloated male guppy and he looks like he's about to pop--it's really bad.

At first I thought he was bloated due to over-eating (he's a food hog), but I skipped a feeding and it got worse. Now he's mainly sticking to the top of the tank. What's odd is that there seems to be a red dot by his anal fins and his gills seem a little redder than normal.

I'm a new fish owner and am having a hard time finding out what's wrong. I plan to call Petsmart in the morning but am worried that he's not going to make it.

Please help!

Thanks!
I found those articles, too, but I don't have any chlorine-free water. Besides, I'm worried about him making it through to tomorrow so I can call Petsmart and don't have any Turk Island salt handy. Thanks for trying to help--I do appreciate it!

I had the same problem with a few male guppies I had. I assumed it was because they were a product of too much inbreeding. At least two of them actually did 'pop' which was disturbing. I can't remember whether they had redder gills or not.

I would definately call Petsmart, sorry I have no advice but I'd like to know what is wrong with them. Could you tell me what Petsmart say?

*edit:

I just found some articles

It's likely that he has 'bloat':

Bloat
When a guppy shows a roughened appearance from the scales standing on end, and it appears to be bloated, it may have an intestinal infection which distends its intestines so greatly that it cannot swim below the surface without great exertion. Some stay in an upright position.
Treatment: Treatment: Try placing the bloated fish in a solution made of two tablespoonfuls of Epsom salts and two tablespoonfuls of Turk Island salt in a gallon of water. Leave it there for 4-6 hours. Then add another gallon of water and let the fish remain in this weaker solution for twelve hours before returning it to tank.

Either that or 'dropsy':

Dropsy is a symptom, not a disease in and of it self. The most common causes are 1) liver failure, 2) kidney failure, and 3) septicemia, with associated toxins leading to #s 1 and or 2, and general organ and metabolic failure. Livers can fail due to poor diet, any of multiple toxicities, or infection (local or general, and may be viral or parasitic or bacterial). Kidneys fail from the same causes, plus grossly improper water conditions putting too much strain on these organs. Septicemias are infections which overcome the body's defenses with the bacteria spreading everywhere through the body. The toxins associated with death from toxemia may be from bacteria themselves, or parasites, or from the liver or kidney being unable to handle the toxin as would a healthy fish, or even from the death of too much of the fish's own tissues.

Sometimes in acute infections, dropsy may appear and not be permanent - the damage is enough to decrease the function of these systems cited above, but the animal may recover. More frequently, the symptom dropsy does not appear until after the organ damage is permanent. That means that even if the toxin were removed, the infection knocked out, the water conditions corrected, etc., the fish still cannot live and metabolize normally and will still die due to organ failure.

I would think you should treat it for bloat as that seems the most likely to me but check for the scales standing on end to make sure.

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M&Ms: The Lost Formulas Get Out of Town Pt.1

Ayurveda - A Solution to All Your Stomach Related Problems

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About the Author

John MichelCane has great information about ayurvedic remedies for stomach ulcers, especially through herbal supplements natural health supplements.