# Dropsy



## phlyergirl (Nov 6, 2011)

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think I've actually cured a 6 week old goldfish fry of dropsy. 

Here he was the day I pulled him out of the tank. He was super swollen, pineconed, swimming upside down, and he had long stringy poops. I was sure he was a goner, but I had to try... he is the biggest of the fry (by far! he dwarfs some of them) and he's kind of special to me. 









So I put him in a bowl with just a tiny pinch of epsom salt and began feeding crushed up Metro-Med pellets. If you haven't heard of Metro-Meds, it is definitely something that should be in your fish first aid kit, the stuff is amazing. It has three different antibiotics in it, and apparently unlike other medicated foods it apparently tastes great because the fish gobble it up.
http://www.goldfishconnection.com/shop/details.php?productId=9&catId=1

I had some on hand, luckily.

So the next day he lost all his color and was less swollen but still pineconed, and developed an angry red patch at the base of his tail.








The next day the swelling went down (probably the epsom). Because he was in a small bowl I was giving him two 100% water changes per day.

Now here he is on day 4 of treatment. 









The redness is gone, swelling is down, scales are down, and his activity is back to normal. (Excuse the mess, that's his breakfast) I removed the epsom last night because his swelling was almost gone, but I"ll keep him on the medicated food for 14 days, then move him to their Jump Start product which has probiotics to help build back up the healthy gut bacteria.


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

It definitely is. I've never seen anyone actually cure it. Nicely done.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

AWESOME!! You've accomplished no mean feat.


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## phlyergirl (Nov 6, 2011)

I don't think he's completely out of the woods yet. His appetite still isn't what it should be. Seriously, go order some metro meds! (I'm not affiliated, just a happy customer)


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

main ingredient in metromeds is metronidazole....an outstanding med for a number of things..and is best when you can get your fish to ingest it...


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## phlyergirl (Nov 6, 2011)

Yep, I used before it on a fish that I thought was just constipated, so I did all the usual stuff, but she just got worse and worse, bloated on one side, headstanding, lethargic.... seemed like a swim bladder infection. The metromeds fixed her up and she's healthy as can be today.


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## phlyergirl (Nov 6, 2011)

Happy to report the little guy still looks great, and his appetite has returned. He's now eating like a goldfish.


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

Glad to hear he's doing better


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Remember, dropsy is a symptom, not an illness. Better to say you recovered a fish with dropsy than to say you cured it of dropsy. It's caused by fluid retention.

The twice daily 100% water change is the critical factor. I recovered a Siamese Algae Eater with dropsy by quarantining him in a tank with pristine water. This fish had other issues (prolapsed colon) but did manage to live another 3 months with no further dropsy symptoms. He ultimately died of the prolapsed colon, as it eventually came off and this fish simply couldn't digest its food.

Just goes to show, though, that dropsy is not an automatic death sentence.


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