# Bloated Vents



## Josh_Leisenring (Jun 19, 2005)

I think I may have a parasite problem in my vent colony. For a while they have all seemed rather fat, active, and happy, but recently they've been appearing actually too fat to the point of looking bloated, and just this morning I found one of them dead in the tank. Does anyone have any thoughts on what could be causing the bloating, and have any idea what I can do before I lose any more of my vents? I'm going to try scrounging up a fecal sample to send to Dr. Frye, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions in the mean time. Thanks! 

- Josh


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Do you have a way to get a picture? Female vents can get huge right before they lay eggs.


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## Josh_Leisenring (Jun 19, 2005)

Here are some pictures of the fattest (presumed) female:




























Sorry the last two pictures aren't clearer....I was having a hell of a time with the flash and trying to get a clear picture. You can still get the idea of how fat she is though. 
My first thought was that the females were just gravid, but after finding one dead, I'm not so sure (btw, the dead one was just as fat as the one in the photos). They've been this fat for a few weeks, but if they were just gravid, I would have expected to see some eggs by now. Besides being so large, they appear to be healthy, active, eating ok, etc. Any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Josh


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Get them tested... from the looks they do not look bloated. 

What size tank are they in? How many are in there?


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## Josh_Leisenring (Jun 19, 2005)

There are 4 now. They are in a 35 gal. vertical tank.

Josh


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