Red Eye Pregnant or Dropsy

Question
Hi Karen,
I have kept a 40g tank for 6 months with no casualties, it is stocked with 8 Red eye tetras, 6 Sarpeas, 6 black widows and 6 Zebra Danios with a SAE and CAE and a Borneo Sucker. previously I had 3 red eyes 3 serpeas and a CAE in a 4 gal, for about a year, I upgraded to 40g Jan 08 and trans ferred the fish to the 40G, all when well..
Since then I have just got rid of an Algae Bloom( Double dose Excel)and a month ago and I planted some Gypts Higro and Baby tears, the fish love it, i have noticed that 1 particular tetra has rounded up and have a few questions.
Maintenance: water changes once a week,with conditioner , KH up, and crystals for Gh, excel and florish as recommended for plants.
Last weeks readings (KH=120, GH=60,PH=7, Nitrate =0, nitrite=0.

Q1.Could you confirm if my Red Eye tetra has Dropsy or Is pregnant?
The red eye Tetra is still behaving normally and happily schools with the others, no sign of loss of apatite, likes patrolling at base of plants..even has a nibble at them.

Q2.If pregnant can I use a 4G tank for breeding, or can I use a breeding basket in the existing tank, what else should I do?

Q3 I still have some brown algae how can I get rid of that? the SAE and CAE only have green, I thought the Borneo sucker would , however he spends most of his time hiding behind plants.


Unfortunately I cannot send you the pictures on this site, I can attatch to an email address..  

Answer
Hi Greg,
As long as the tetra doesn't behave sick which from what you described, I don't think she is. Most likely she has swelled with eggs. Either she will lay these eventually or re-absorb them.

These fish will not use a breeding basket and they typically only spawn on fine-leaved plants when the light is diffused and the dh of the tank is between 0-4 and as soon as these fish spawn, they must be removed...Otherwise they will eat their own eggs.

Dropsy usually has more severe symptoms. Like loss of appetite, hiding and distancing from others. And the scales raised from the sides of the fish.

Most likely your tetra has just come into spawning condition.

This is a really helpful simple article on breeding tetras-
http://www.flippersandfins.net/tetrabreedingarticle2.htm

Brown algae problems typically stem from too many nutrients and too high a nitrate level. Try doing extra water changes and removing as much of the algae as you can. Determine if you should be doing more frequent water changes as part of your regular maintenance schedule. Too low of light levels have also be reported to be responsible for brown algae. Increasing the lighting or adding extra fast growing plants can help outcompete the algae.

They say Otocinclus eat brown algae. But You'd typically need a large group to have an effect. And I wonder if your tank is already filled with too many algae eaters as it is.

Best of luck and I hope this helps!
Karen~