Fish in quarantine with random dropsy

[sewingalot]

I bought about a dozen nano fish a few months ago (shipped) and put them in a fully cycled twenty gallon tank by themselves. I noticed one had dropsy right out of the bag and moved it to a seperate tank where it seemed to improve and recently died. Now, I am pulling out a fish every couple days due to dropsy. I am changing the water regularly, and until they get dropsy, they look perfectly healthy, except a little skinny at times and eat fine. Any suggestions on what it could be?

[Avi]

That's very hard to say. Dropsy is really a symptom and not a disease per se, and is generally caused by damage to the liver of the fish to the extent that much is known about it. It's accepted as being non-contagious and sadly almost invariably, eventually fatal. The cause of the problem, unfortunately, is very difficult to pinpoint. But, certainly it isn't anything that you've done or not done regarding such newly acquired fish. More than likely, it has something to do with regard to the way the fish were caught or transported.

[lauraleellbp]

It's really hard to say, because dropsy is actually a description of symptoms rather than an actual "disease."

Dropsy (generally characterized by swelling, lethargy, pinecone scales) results from the shutdown of a fish's renal system. This could happen from kidney failure, heart/circulatory system failure, internal infections...

Water changes are always recommended simply because clean water is the best way for any fish to fight off whatever may be ailing it.

In your case, with as many fish dropping one afer the other, it sounds like you've got some sort of contagious infection going on. I'd treat with Melafix and Pimafix, personally.

There's also the possibility that the water parameters you're keeping them in now are dramatically different from the ones they were raised in. This can sometimes cause organ failure/ deposits to form inside the organs, which could also cause dropsy. You might double-check with the supplier, if possible.

EDIT- also ninja'd by Avi lol

[EdwardN]

Take a look at this page:http://www.nippyfish.net/dropsy.html

From what you stated, you are dealing with an infectious agent....

And good luck!

[sewingalot]

Thanks for the help guys. The link you provided is excellent, thanks EdwardN. I am treating with Erythromycin at the moment after trying just about every medicine on the other fish that have succumbed to it. I am down to less than half the fish now. I had dropsy once before, and the fish didn't make it. I am debating about just putting the fish out of misery once they get the dropsy. One thing I did notice with the Erythromycin is the dropsy is better today for the first time. The fish almost has a normal size. Unfortunately, I now discovered the fish has a bright red stomach. I don't know if this is sign of the original infection, or if the medicine is doing this.

I think you have a point, Avi. It was probably the transport or capture that could have brought on the symptoms. I am going to take Lauraleellbp and contact the seller to find out the water parameters before. These fish are supposed to like akaline waters, which I have but who knows how they were kept before?

[mistergreen]

It's definitely an infection. Go for Maracyn II as well. That should treat the infections you're seeing.

[sewingalot]

I'll have to go to the store tomorrow for it. Thanks, mistergreen.

[sewingalot]

Okay, update on the fish that was the latest victim:

The local petshop was out of Maracyn II and suggested using Jungle Parasite Clear. He was obviously suffering, so I tried it. All the HC and UG melted after adding the medicine. (I didn't have a tank up that was cycled other than this one.) However, the CPD in question is now back to a normal-smallish size, but not until he went through a stage of red belly and is currently sunken looking.

I went back to the store I ordered these from and he eluded to the fact they were wild caught. I thought this was outlawed? He didn't have anything to offer except to be really rude and to loose my future business. He actually said I was poisioning the fish trying to get a refund! What the - so now I have a batch from a fellow member, a batch from a local petshop that are sick and I can't interbreed due to the illness.

[lauraleellbp]

That's too bad. I had a very similar issue with an online dealer once, too- they also lost my business.

I think it's a really good thing you're keeping these fish in QT away from your others, though. Whatever this is sounds pretty nasty.

(Did you mention anywhere what species of fish you're working with?)

[rmc]

Just curious...... have you been feeding brineshrimp?

[lauraleellbp]

Brine shrimp? What've you heard, Mark?

[rmc]

I was just reflecting back about 8-9 years ago when I fed a lot of brineshrimp as a treat. At the time I had 150-200 tanks going and a few days after I fed bs I had fish with dropsy (looking like a pinecone). It was only a few fish at a time but it was a consistent pattern that occured everytime I fed bs or bs flakes.

After I did some research I found that fish can have trouble digesting the exoskeleton and it can plug the fish up. I find it happens more to small fish and fish that eat primarily vegetation such as apistos and mbuna cichlids.

I had thousands of fish and my loses each time were normally only 4-6 fish. But I could go months without any symptoms and two days after feeding bs it would appear again.

I never have any problems feeding freshly hatched bbs and if I want to give my fish a treat I use frozen plankton.

[mistergreen]

That's too bad. Jungle clear is not a gram negative antibiotic that would treat the internal/blood infection the fish was suffering with.

[Karackle]

Hmm....i don't have a lot of experience with dropsy, but have you tried treating for internal instead of external parasites? I believe they make some foods with meds in them that could help for that, i've also found garlic to be quite effective. A good way to tell if you have internal parasites is looking at the poop, does it look normal or is it sort of stringy and white? and / or are the fish quite thin even though they're eating? I usually press some garlic, mix it in with some food, let it sit ofr a few minutes to let the food soak up the garlic juice and then feed them the whole shebang. They'll sometimes pick at the pieces of garlic, though sometimes i find i need to siphon out some of the chunks.

[Church]

^ +1 on the garlic. Nature's everything-cure! We feed garlic pills hidden inside of Greenies pill pockets to our cats, for worm and flea control, and to help their skin/coats. It totally works, and we don't have to buy expensive pharmaceutical products for them.

Also, it keeps the vampires away.