Big Belly Apperance... Sick?

[MIKE649]

Dwarf Gourami that's at least 1 year old. Belly has gotten noticeably larger. In a 10g w/com fish. Feed very lightly. There's an excess of plantX snails the ones you don't buy.

Is he eating those snails? Is he sick?

[Amidicus]

I remember years ago having a snail problem and I would crush them,then a zebra danio would eat the remains.They CANNOT digest the shells,and it will block up their digestive track.That zebra danio eventually ruptured it's stomach(it's belly literally just split open).I was about 10 or 11 at the time but never forgot that.The snails were added to the tank by accident and the next thing I knew there was 50+ in a 10 gallon tank.That is why I crushed them with a spoon back then.Be careful,it must be eating whole ones.Hope it will be ok :eek:

[AngelMom]

More likely it's a parasite or internal infection.....I've never seen gouramis touch snails.

You need to give us more info the be able to help though. What are the tank parameters? (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, temp, pH, etc.....actual numbers, not "they are OK"). How long has the fish been like this? Is he otherwise acting normally? Have his eating habits changed?