# Electric Blue Acaras: Sunken Belly Swollen Anus



## MellySalz (Nov 13, 2019)

Hi everyone, I'm new here and this is my first post on this forum. I've tried researching these symptoms online, and while I did find posts on several forums describing similar symptoms, I have yet to find any solid answers.

I purchased the fish about 3-4 months ago from my LFS, and when I brought them home I noticed they had sunken bellies. I initially assumed it was internal parasites, so I treated the tank with PraziPro, then after seeing no changes, I treated with General Cure. Again, no changes. However, all 3 fish have been growing since then and they are very active, behaving normally, and eating well.

Since then, I've noticed that on all 3, their anal area has become swollen, and I've seen what may be the sex organs(?) poking out, but sometimes I see one, and other times two(?). They don't appear to be worms (I've had experience with camallanus worms several years back). Their poop is normal (brown, solid, not white/stringy), but sometimes appears kinda large/slow to pass (as seen in first photo). I feed them New Life Spectrum pellets and Tetra cichlid crisps, along with frozen bloodworms here and there.

Anyways, I'm not sure what I should do at this point. They've been acting fine. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## MellySalz (Nov 13, 2019)

Here's a better shot. It's hard to get decent photos because they swim around all crazy when I'm near the tank...


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Welcome to C-F!!

I've never kept this species so I went and searched for some online videos of them and your fish appear to have the same 'bump' near the anal fin that a lot of the videos show.

Have you seen any spawning behavior with your fish? What about any sign of eggs on driftwood or rocks?

Does the swelling come and go or is constant?

Can you provide more details on your aquarium set up including tank mates, tank dimensions and any water tests you do on the tank?

I'd love to see a full tank shot if you can. :drooling:


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## MellySalz (Nov 13, 2019)

Thanks for the reply! The tank is 65 gallons (36 7/8 x 19 x 24 5/8) and I use a canister filter. It's been running for about 6 months or so. It's pretty beat up (lots of scratches) so I was using it as a temporary setup until I got some things situated with my other tanks (I plan on putting them in my 75 gallon, but I want to empty it out and move it before I do that). Because it's temporary, the setup is kinda random, so as far as looks go, it's far from spectacular, but I'll take a picture in a bit to show you. Tankmates include a school of Harlequin rasboras, one random angelfish I rescued a while back, and one bristlenose pleco. I just tested the water this morning since it's been a little while (this tank has always been very stable) and the results were 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and surprisingly, 0 nitrate.

Anyways, I do think the degree of swelling in the anal area fluctuates from time to time. This morning for example, it appears less severe than in the pictures I added (I'll take new photos and add them). As far as spawning behavior, I did see some very early on when they were smaller, maybe a week or so after buying them, but it lasted only a week or 2 and I haven't seen anything since and definitely no eggs.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Thanks for the update!!

If your test is more than a year old or the reagents have been opened, it may be time for a new test kit. A zero nitrate reading could be indicative that the kit was old or you didn't shake the bottle enough if using liquid reagents.


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## MellySalz (Nov 13, 2019)

Thanks, I was actually thinking the same thing, and it IS more than a year old. I'm going to buy a new one today and see how the water tests out...


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