Dealing with dropsy

[goldfish4ever]

My big old oranda developed a case of dropsy last week. First it started with him being lazy and sitting around alot more then usual, but he still ate fine, excreted fine, and would do a bit of forageing. Saturday, I woke up to find him with a rather swollen belly, and the start of pineconing scales. Hes on medication now in a quaranteen tub with the water temps raised up to 32, but its thursday now, and he still doesnt look any better. He was swimming around like his old self there monday and tuesday. Thought he might be on the road to recovery. Now he sits at the bottom of the tub lifeless. How long can I expect him to live, or is there still that possibility of a recovery??

[mseguin]

Dropsy tends to be pretty hard to recover from, only thing you can do (that I know of) is give him very clean water, and maybe add some Melafix.

[squeeker]

I'm currently battling Dropsy myself, with a largy ryukin.  Let me tell you, it's a long road to recovery.

First off, good idea in getting the temps up.  Just be sure to increase aeration to deal with the lower oxygen levels in warmer water.

Now, be sure to keep the water params PERFECT.  Daily 80% changes if you have to.

Next, you have to hit dropsy with some strong meds.  Sorry, MSeguin, but melafix isn't going to cut it.  Don't use salt, as it will only increase the bloating.  Most people either have luck with Erythromycin medications (EM Tablets or Maracyn-2) or Triple-Sulfa.  Both can be purchased in LPS's in Ottawa.  In my case, I used EM for 6 days, saw no improvements, and switched to Triple-Sulfa.  You can safely double-dose the Triple-sulfa if needed.

Finally, you need to get some medicated foods into your fishie.  This is really important as Dropsy itself is not a disease, it is a side effect of an internal bacterial infection.  You can either order metro-meds from //www.goldfishconnection.com, or make your own.  To make your own, you need to purchase Metro+, made by aquarium solutions and marketed by Hikari.  I know that SuperPet in Kanata carries this product, but don't know if any other stores do.  If you get a hold of it, let me know and I'll give you the medicated food recipe.  It's real easy to make.  When feeding medicated food, feed ONLY the medicated food for 3 weeks.

My fish with dropsy has been in the hospital tank for over a month, and just now the swelling has started to go down.  Unfortunately, dropsy is usually fatal, and if not fatal, chronic.  You must realize that your fish might have to live at higher temperatures for the rest of its life.  

For more info on goldfish, you should check out //www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/index.php.  It's a really great site for goldfish fanatics!  You can read my thread in the Diagnosis and discussion forum, titled "Oh, Not Mrs. Chubbs..."

Good luck![/url]

[squeeker]

I'm currently battling Dropsy myself, with a largy ryukin.  Let me tell you, it's a long road to recovery.

First off, good idea in getting the temps up.  Just be sure to increase aeration to deal with the lower oxygen levels in warmer water.

Now, be sure to keep the water params PERFECT.  Daily 80% changes if you have to.

Next, you have to hit dropsy with some strong meds.  Sorry, MSeguin, but melafix isn't going to cut it.  Don't use salt, as it will only increase the bloating.  Most people either have luck with Erythromycin medications (EM Tablets or Maracyn-2) or Triple-Sulfa.  Both can be purchased in LPS's in Ottawa.  In my case, I used EM for 6 days, saw no improvements, and switched to Triple-Sulfa.  You can safely double-dose the Triple-sulfa if needed.

Finally, you need to get some medicated foods into your fishie.  This is really important as Dropsy itself is not a disease, it is a side effect of an internal bacterial infection.  You can either order metro-meds from //www.goldfishconnection.com, or make your own.  To make your own, you need to purchase Metro+, made by aquarium solutions and marketed by Hikari.  I know that SuperPet in Kanata carries this product, but don't know if any other stores do.  If you get a hold of it, let me know and I'll give you the medicated food recipe.  It's real easy to make.  When feeding medicated food, feed ONLY the medicated food for 3 weeks.

My fish with dropsy has been in the hospital tank for over a month, and just now the swelling has started to go down.  Unfortunately, dropsy is usually fatal, and if not fatal, chronic.  You must realize that your fish might have to live at higher temperatures for the rest of its life.  

For more info on goldfish, you should check out //www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/index.php.  It's a really great site for goldfish fanatics!  You can read my thread in the Diagnosis and discussion forum, titled "Oh, Not Mrs. Chubbs..."

Good luck![/url]

[Julie]

I had a betta which I kept with my Discus for approx. a  year.
We thought he had a large stomach due to overeating until someone more knowledgable pointed out he had dropsy....
The betta lived at least 2 months with dropsy and I assume the reason was the high temp of 84-86 in the tank.  

Julie

[squeeker]

How is your fish doing?

[goldfish4ever]

Hes actually without sign of infection for days now. His belly is back to its old self, yesterday was his last day of meds, and I dropped the temps a degree today. Lookin good!!

[squeeker]

That was quick!  Sounds like it was just bloat, and not an infection.

[goldfish4ever]

I figured the same thing, however, I was well into treating it before I posted here, so it very well could have been an infection. However, if it was just bloat (and the fact that he was excreting cat hair in his feces) it was the most serious case Ive ever seen. Ive never heard of bloat causing pine coneing scales.