Large belly

[tinkering]

a 2 year old koi has a huge belly. I thought initially it was entering breeding season. It's well past breeding now in San Diego.

She's now struggling to swim around.

Is she egg bound? Anything I can do about it?

 

[Lisak1]

Oh my! That is large! Hopefully someone can help! @Dave 54 - any help for this fish?

 

[Priscilla]

That is large! Hope it can be resolved. Gorgeous fish! All three are so unusual. Dave will sort you I am sure.

 

[tinkering]

I just found a thread from last year. The water is over 21-25C every day right now. Previously they spawned in Apr/May. This fish was born 3 years ago. It grew rapidly so that it almost has caught up with its 5 year old mother. The larger belly started to be noticeable around Jan/Feb so I assumed eggs. It has been getting big steadily and, having passed the spawning period, I've been assuming egg bound.

Water is about 1800 US gallons. 8 fish.

I can pop her out of the water tomorrow and feel if it's hard or soft.

Mick

 

[Dave 54]

Thanx Lisak1 I'll try my best to remember what I know about things like this its been a while since I've seen a koi like this .This could well indicate a number of things from worms , internal infections both bacterial and viral , it may indicate the fish has egg retention tumours even dropsy.
I've autopsied a cream Ogon which when examined showd not egg retention as first thought but exessive fat , which in turn hd burst the koi's swimbladder.
I tend to agree the best bet is to catch her then hav a feel of her tbelly , if the belly feels soft to the touch but not fluid then that would indicate unrealeased eggs .
If however you feel that the belly is hard it still may be eggs if not it may be some sort of growth indicating an internal tumour , however I'm in danger of straying into the vets territory [who would probably have to take a look inside of her].
With internal tumours there isnt that much we can do for our koi unless you are either very rich and can pay the fees , so careful monitoring of the fish will be necessary for its welfare, [we have a shusui living with an internal tumour its had it for 5 years now] .
It may be she needs an injection again vets territory
Your last option when all of the above have been looked into with detail would be to euthanize but that would be such a shame, nice sized koi as it is .

Dave

 

[tinkering]

I pulled the koi out and have attached 2 photo's. The belly marks look like they could be cause by skin stretching, although I can't rule out something more serious. The belly feels a bit firmed than normal, perhaps because of the extend of the stretch, but not hard.

My current inclination is that this has gone far enough that I should end the distress this is probably causing.

 

[Tula]

Oh my heavens, that poor fish. Something is quite wrong. I completely agree with your assessment, her suffering should not continue.

 

[Mmathis]

@tinkering If you do euthanize her, would you be willing to cut her belly open to see what's inside? It would be a good learning experience for all of us. But I understand if you choose not to.....

 

[tinkering]

Reporting back on what happened.

I euthanized her. She was still carrying all her eggs, which must have been in there about 3 months beyond normal spawning. Some had detached and were stuck to the abdomen lining (peritoneal). The abdomen was primarily filled with a coloured water, which I assume was dead bacteria/white blood cells (exudate).

Summary: egg bound.

 

[Mmathis]

Reporting back on what happened.

I euthanized her. She was still carrying all her eggs, which must have been in there about 3 months beyond normal spawning. Some had detached and were stuck to the abdomen lining (peritoneal). The abdomen was primarily filled with a coloured water, which I assume was dead bacteria/white blood cells (exudate).

Summary: egg bound.

Sorry to hear, but sounds like was in her best interest. And thank you for the exam -- hopefully that information will be helpful for someone else, as well.