Whats Up With My Lampeye

Hi everyone i woke up this morning and found my lampeye at the top looking like this and also another one has similar red mark on him but not bloated.

Any ideas what this is  parasite or bacterial as i am not sure how to treat him.

How is the fish behaving? Is it still active & eating, or does it seem unwell?
I don;t know the species well either, but just trying to gather information.

I asked because a water change and feeding live or frozen food can cause the fish to start breeding.

Is the swelling just on one side, or all under the fish? It isn't easy to tell from your photo.

Where in the tank is the fish swimming? Is is near the surface, or hiding in plants or resting on the substrate?

This is the only seriouslyfish entry I can find for a lampeye. Does it look right? How do your water parameters and tank setup compare to that described? If it is at the limits of what this fish likes, they could be slightly stressed and more vulnerable to infection.

Have you had a problem with parasites in your tank relatively recently, or was that someone else?

If you look at it from above, does it look pinecone like? Ie are the scales smooth or sticking out?

It is still possible that she is gravid and ready to spawn. Some fish stop eating immediately before spawning (as a mum, i totally understand not wanting to eat with a bellyfull of babies) and if she's not gasping, the extra oxygen near to surface may just make things a bit more comfortable.

It might be worth doing an extra water change. That could either trigger spawning and relieve the fish that way, or if it is an infection, impeccable water conditions will make it easier for the fish to fight it off.

Found her or him dead this morning.

Thanks for trying.

Sorry for your loss Rustle. Looking at your picture of the fish I suspect it could have been dropsy.

Sorry to hear of your loss.

Sorry to read about this and sorry that I haven't been able to reply before now. Reading back through the thread, though, I don't think a dose of medication (eg eSHa 2000) would have saved the lampeye, though - whatever it was seemed to have been very acute - so hope that is of some consolation, @Rustle.