Treatment for Dropsy?

[Sky Diamond]

Hi everyone,

Just looking for some help with dropsy.

I bred some Platies almost five months ago now. One has already died from this disease a few months ago, and died quickly. Now another one has came down with the same disease.

In the beginning, it was another fish that was quiet and then suddenly the other fish was fine and he was quiet instead. which made me think maybe they were on guard of the ornament, as they are both males. He was quiet staying around some of the decor as I said and then one day I noticed he wasn't eating and a bit off balance.

I hate putting fish to sleep so I thought like the first fish that died, he would die quickly too, but that was about three weeks ago now. . . A few days ago he seemed better, getting around, looking for food but still lying around a lot and he looked a little fat - not overly just like he needed to poop. I really did think he was getting better but then yesterday I looked and he had swollen up more.

I just moved my other babies along with a Coolie Loach, into another tank with their mother, a small Angel Fish, Guppies, a small Corydoras and a female fighter. Now I'm wondering what to do with this fish. He's blown up even more to yesterday. He's about the size of a small nut in the stomach and only a 1cm long.

I don't want to put him to sleep as he's still really fighting and swimming okay, but if there's no cure, I most as well. I'm guessing that I will have to treat my other fish too?

I will admit, the tank with this baby in it isn't the cleanest, as I was using rain water, summer came and dried the tank up. I've bought some water and cleaned out the tank that now hold the other babies.

Hope that all makes sense I'm shocking at explaining but any help would be great!

Thanks.

 

[lauraf]

Dropsy is often a result of poor water conditions. There is no real cure. The best you can do is get the water parameters perfect and you can try feeding the fish a canned pea - reportedly this helps sometimes.

 

[Kiara1125]

I've treated Bettas that had dropsy. You can't always treat it, but daphnia and blanched peas help. You want to try and purge their system. There are multiple causes for dropsy, one of them being kidney failure. Unfortunately, you can't help a fish if this is the cause. I suggest the feeding in small increments a few times a day to see if they will eat. Remove any left over food. I would try to raise the temperature to around 82-84F you must be careful because dropsy is very contagious. Check the other fish for signs of it. I think you said that you isolated the sick fish, but if not then do that. I wish you the best of luck and please post updates on how your fish are doing.

 

[Sky Diamond]

Thank you. What other signs are there? So far my other fish seem fine. Swimming happily and eating. I moved the other babies in with my other fish and just felt the sick one in the tank they were in. He's still looking to eat. The temp is about 26 to 27C.

 

[Kiara1125]

Swelling of the abdomen and laying at the bottom of the tank/sinking. Also, the scales will stick out and the fish will look like a pine cone, but this is usually a sign that the fish is close to death.

 

[Sky Diamond]

Alright, thank you for the help.

 

[Kiara1125]

You're welcome.

 

[PetCrazyy919]

I'd treat it with Maracyn II. However, I'm sorry to say that dropsy is very hard to cure and often fatal.