Indigo dottyback with bloated belly

[Aquarist76]

I just notice my indigo dotty back having a severely bloated belly. I live out of state and just got into town a few days ago to visit my family who take care of my fish. I can't say I noticed the belly being large at that time. I saw the fish then but didn't look at it closely. Today I noticed the belly was massively distended and the fish with some increased labor of breathing. No signs of disease on the fish. Other fish in the tank healthy; some may have some tail rot going on chronically for years vs aggressive fish (I've tried treating if for years and it stays minimal so I've never been to concerned about it. It's a 96" 210G tank. I also have a whitetail dottyback and dilectus dottyback in there. They never hang out together so I doubt this is eggs; and no aggression amongst them. This fish is probably 4-6 years old.

I'm leaning toward constipation. There appears to be a dark brown/black spot where I imagine the anal opening would be. I'm going to try epsom salts but have heard varying tales if it works on saltwater fish. Also have kanaplex and metroplex I can try.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!
Sorry for the nighttime lighting.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just notice my indigo dotty back having a severely bloated belly. I live out of state and just got into town a few days ago to visit my family who take care of my fish. I can't say I noticed the belly being large at that time. I saw the fish then but didn't look at it closely. Today I noticed the belly was massively distended and the fish with some increased labor of breathing. No signs of disease on the fish. Other fish in the tank healthy; some may have some tail rot going on chronically for years vs aggressive fish (I've tried treating if for years and it stays minimal so I've never been to concerned about it. It's a 96" 210G tank. I also have a whitetail dottyback and dilectus dottyback in there. They never hang out together so I doubt this is eggs; and no aggression amongst them. This fish is probably 4-6 years old.

I'm leaning toward constipation. There appears to be a dark brown/black spot where I imagine the anal opening would be. I'm going to try epsom salts but have heard varying tales if it works on saltwater fish. Also have kanaplex and metroplex I can try.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!
Sorry for the nighttime lighting.

This appears to be constipation and if fish is eating, feed it brine shrimp only. The raise scales concern me but often coincides with bloating. Is fish breathing normal or heavy?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I just notice my indigo dotty back having a severely bloated belly. I live out of state and just got into town a few days ago to visit my family who take care of my fish. I can't say I noticed the belly being large at that time. I saw the fish then but didn't look at it closely. Today I noticed the belly was massively distended and the fish with some increased labor of breathing. No signs of disease on the fish. Other fish in the tank healthy; some may have some tail rot going on chronically for years vs aggressive fish (I've tried treating if for years and it stays minimal so I've never been to concerned about it. It's a 96" 210G tank. I also have a whitetail dottyback and dilectus dottyback in there. They never hang out together so I doubt this is eggs; and no aggression amongst them. This fish is probably 4-6 years old.

I'm leaning toward constipation. There appears to be a dark brown/black spot where I imagine the anal opening would be. I'm going to try epsom salts but have heard varying tales if it works on saltwater fish. Also have kanaplex and metroplex I can try.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!
Sorry for the nighttime lighting.

Abdominal swelling can be from a blockage, ascites or egg binding. Any of those three, combined with other symptoms (the rapid breathing) means the issue is causing systemic problems. Sorry, but there isn't any treatment for ascites or egg binding. If it is constipation, and if the fish is still eating, the brine shrimp trick might work. Epsom salts only work for freshwater fish, unless mixed in with the food.