Eggs, death and a bulbous belly

Yes, we have a third batch of cichlid eggs being watched over constantly. Some look white, some clear and I’m sure they all look tasty to the other tank residents!

One of my two apple snails died a couple of days ago. It had retracted into its shell much more than usual and on closer inspection, the shell like ‘door’ had been nibbled. The foul smell was not as long lived in my nostrils as last time so I must have netted it out just in time. Phew.

The last thing to note is the unusually round belly on a small upside down catfish. It is swimming normally but hanging around the big one more than usual (the boss of the white rock, seen at the top of the photo). I’ve read that they are very unlikely to breed in a home aquarium but I’ve also seen a YouTube clip of one with bloat and mine is nowhere near that swollen. Can it be an eggy belly? I hope so as I don’t want a sick fish. On the bright side, the other day we noticed threeupside downies; I thought there were only two left of the original four so that’s a result!

Thanks for reading and if anyone has suggestions about my catfish then please do let me know. I’ll keep you posted.

Help! Rene the Bristlenose Has Blisters!

Poor Rene the Bristlenose catfish has what look like skin blisters of varying sizes (1-3mm) one or two on each side lower down under his fins. His abdomen also looks bloated. I have done a water change today as the main advice I read online is to do this. I think he may be sensitive to the anti-bacterial drops I’ve been putting in the tank for the last 4 days (5 day treatment period). If this is the case, I am hoping the lumps will heal when I stop the treatment. I’ve been adding Waterlife brand Myxazin which contains Formaldehyde 0.12% w/w, Malachite Green 0.085% and Acriflavine Hydrochloride 0.055% w/w. I have used the full recommended dose for the small tank with 4 x Sparkling Gouramis, and HALF the dose for the main 200L tank as I know the Bristlenoses, Corys and Suckermouth may be sensitive to the stuff.

Any words of advice would be appreciated. Should I dose the tank tomorrow with the last day of treatment or skip this to see if Rene recovers? I’ve found it difficult to find information online on this specific problem. These fish get a bloated abdomen when they are experiencing kidney failure but I’m hoping it’s not that bad and why the bubble blisters?!?

I have posted a photo of Rene, one blister shows as a light grey blur. I’ll add better photos.