Awhile ago, I asked a quation about my big oranda I bought.... The cycling of the tank is now done (I swear the bottles bacteria sped up my cycling).... It's healthy water, but I am not sure about the nitrAtes.... nitrites 0 ammonia 0 ph 7.0... 30 gallon aquarium, and I'm saving for another filter to have more filtration in the tank....

okay. my oranda is fatter on one side than the other.... even moreso than the last time I tried to get information on this.

do you know where an orandas belly goes out and then dips back in (they look fat and then skinnier)??? It's sort of like a ridge from the wider part of their bodies to the thinner part.

Well. My oranda's "ridge" between the wider part and thinner part is unequal on each side of its body.

On his RIGHT side, the ridge is fatter than the left side. Maybe larger would be a better word. The right side just sticks out farther than the left side....

Does anyone know what this could be? constipation? swim bladder? on what side of a GF is the swim bladder located? hopefully not the right side....

Maybe in a few days I will be able to take a digital picture... my mom's computer is not compatible with the colleges though, so I think I will have to e-mail it to anyone who wants to see.... I'll post again and say if I have a pic available. When I do I will give you all my e-mail address, then you can write me and ask for it and then I can send it to you.

I just want to make sure that she is "naturally uneven" and that this is not a development of some kind of health problem.... Her name is Vivre, which means "to live." So I don't want to see her die....
(hehehehe she also has two middle names!!!!)

Furthermore, as I forgot to add: this fishie otherwise looks as healthy as a horse... errrr. as healthy as a good fish should be!!!! Vivre is not swimming awkwardly or anything.

My female red-cap is "uneven" like that sometimes, and I think it is eggs. I have not noticed this with the males.

And now that I think about it...it is her RIGHT side that is fatter than her left side. OK fish anatomy experts, do MaudlinBlithe and I both have female fish with weird mutations, or is it eggs?

I know this isn't an answer, but maybe it will make you feel a bit better to know your fish isn't the only one!

Laura

That would have been my guess - perhaps it is eggs. If your water has changed temperature recently, I might be even more suspicious of eggs.

You will want to be able to test that nitrate as soon as possible. I have fish that respond negatively to high nitrates (one that flips when it is over 30-40 ppm). Nitrate can really sneak up on you in a tank!!!

Shoot! I messed up and now I have to retype this thing! man..

Okay, I promise I will get a nitrAte tester... The last time I tried to buy it was at a small nasty evil disgusting pet shop where animals are treated badly. It cost 22 bucks for 20 test strips....

My forum member page says I joined this forum member page on October 5th.... I joined so I could ask this question..... so it's been going on for awhile. back then it was warmer in my apartment, and no its colder.... still it is a possibility because for all I know, my place could have been cooler than the mall I bought vivre from...???

So, IF it is eggs..... When will she lay her? don't gf eat them?