Kuhli with bulging side

[Diamondcut]

Hi Everyone:

I noticed that my Kuhli Loach has a bulging mass on his/her side today. I'm not quite sure when it actually appeared since I don't see it very often. Behavior and food intake seems fairly normal. The mass is only on one side and is slightly translucent allowing me to see what looks like small green eggs inside. Perhaps I have a female? Anyway, I'm not sure what actions I should take at this point...

Here are some photos:

[Mark in Vancouver]

She looks gravid, but that lump doesn't look right at all. A cyst? Would it be worth treating with Maracyn 1 & 2 in low dosage? Wait for Shari or Cybermeez to weigh in on this.

[cybermeez]

I've never see anything quite like this. Your kuhli is definitely a female and I wouldn't rule out something related to egg production. How long have you had her and how long since the last time you saw her and she looked normal? How many other kuhlis do you have and do any of them show signs of trouble? The fact that she is eating and otherwise acting normally is a good sign.

[Diamondcut]

I have had her for almost a year now. She is the only Kuhli in the tank and I'm not quite sure when this showed up - possibly within the last week? It's hard to say since I hardly see her. I had to move her favorite rock to get the pics. I have a few tetras, a common pleco, and a dace minnow in the tank as well. Everyone is behaving fairly normal with no sign of illness. Could it be infection? I'm not too familiar with fish anatomy/physiology, but maybe it is a plugged up gonadal duct? Ether way, please advise!

[mistergreen]

looks like a herniation of some sort... I'm guessing it's a bacterial infection eating the body's lining. Treat it with antibiotics.

My barbs had something similar. I lost them though. If you see redness in the area and in the fins, that's another sign.

[shari2]

I'd say a definitely gravid female.
How long has she been this full of eggs?
Can you tell if there is scale coverage over the distended area? The red lines look like veins, not the type of redness usually seen with septicemia or infection, and I see what you mean by the green translucence.

I've not seen anything like this, either, but it doesn't look 'infected', more like an external/barely subdermal problem.

If the scales are absent, could be the skin thickening to protect the area? (That's a wild guess, btw...) How raised is it from the surface of the rest of the adjacent body?

You think she is eating/behaving normally as best you can tell? What do you know of her normal habits? Does she burrow? Squeeze into any favorite hidey holes? Could she have scraped off some scales?

If she's eating normally she should be pooping, too. Have you noticed if she is or isn't?

I'd keep the tank water meticulously clean for now and observe carefully for behavioral or physical changes. If her gravid state is fairly recent, could she have underestimated her size and thought she'd fit somewhere she no longer does? Robin would know if khuli's get egg bound, or if they function normally when gravid for extended periods...? In other fish both constipation and being 'egg bound' lead to other systemic types of problems, not usually an isolated area such as what we see on your fish.

Sorry I'm not able to offer any conclusive answers.

[Diamondcut]

Thanks for all the input everyone, I really appreciated it. The bulge is about 1-2 mm from in height from the surface and about 5 mm in diameter. The tissue in the area appears stretched and thinner and does appear to lack scales, though it’s hard to tell. The pigmentation is definitely lacking.

I'm not sure when she became gravid, but probably for a few weeks now? I just thought she was getting fat for a while, but it was probably just eggs maturing. My initial guess was a herniation as well, and I agree that she doesn’t look septic. Are the eggs wrapped in a lining/membrane in the body? If so, perhaps this was an outcome of mechanical trauma, ie trying to squeeze into a hole too small and causing the eggs to herniate into the visceral cavity.

Another questions is, do loaches develop eggs spontaneously? What will happen to the eggs because there is no male? I’m hoping she just drops them instead of absorption. She is so full currently, and I don’t want it to cause any more trouble. Perhaps I should get some more and see if she will spawn…


I can't tell if defecation/excretion is normal. I have a pleco in the tank, and I feel like most of the piles of poop is from him (regrettably).

Anyway, I will try and get another photo later and see how it has progressed.

[Diamondcut]

Here is a new photo. Looks about the same as yesterday though.

[cybermeez]

I'm inclined to think it's some sort of herniation. There's no redness to indicate infection and the blood vessels present look like normal anatomy. There's always the possibility of a tumor, but there's not really anything you could do about that if it was.

I have a bunch of female kuhlis and they are gravid all the time. Some of them get so chubby they look like they are going to pop, though they never do and seem no worse for wear. I also never see any eggs around the tank so it's most likely they get reabsorbed into the body.

Like Shari said I'd maintain meticulous water quality and keep an eye on her. If she's eating and acting normally I'd let her be. If you can manage to find some other Kuhlis for her I'm sure she'd greatly appreciate it. But quarantine them before putting them into your main tank. You wouldn't want to take the chance of introducing any new pathogen and put her at risk.

[andre]

In another thread (cannot find it now) I remember a kuhli which actually burst. I can't remember whether or not she survived

[andre]

Found it!

http://www.venividivissie.org/viewtopic ... 533#463533

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php ... 1044756d23

[Diamondcut]

Burst? That is so not cool.... I think I'm going to remove all of the decorations, rocks, etc just in case. I don't want her rubbing on anything and causing more problems. Thanks for the link though. It appears those rupture spots are isolated and could have originated from something like a hernia. I hope she will be ok....

Best close-up yet:


Profile(sort of):

[cybermeez]

In another thread (cannot find it now) I remember a kuhli which actually burst. I can't remember whether or not she survived

Jeez!

If I hadn't seen it I would never have believed it could happen!

[shari2]

Whoa! Can't believe I didn't remember that.

It may be worthwhile getting her some company - sooner rather than later. Looking at your closeup that skin is very thin...

[mistergreen]

i'd treat her with antibiotics just to be safe..
The tissue looks like it's deteriorating and not stretched.