# "Raised" scales



## Zoe (Feb 26, 2006)

I have 4 scarlet badis by themselves (with some ghost shrimp) in an 8 gallon planted tank. Plenty of caves, plants, etc. Steady 79F temperature...
They eat bloodworms, brine shrimp and other frozen foods.

One of the two females - the larger of the two, seems to look "fuzzy" - it's not fungus, it just looks as through her scales are raised so she doesn't look sleek like the others. She is eating and swimming fine... I've noticed she has a tendancy to stay near the top but they may just be gluttony.

Any ideas?


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## Vermifugert (Jun 15, 2006)

Zoe said:


> I have 4 scarlet badis by themselves (with some ghost shrimp) in an 8 gallon planted tank. Plenty of caves, plants, etc. Steady 79F temperature...
> They eat bloodworms, brine shrimp and other frozen foods.
> 
> One of the two females - the larger of the two, seems to look "fuzzy" - it's not fungus, it just looks as through her scales are raised so she doesn't look sleek like the others. She is eating and swimming fine... I've noticed she has a tendancy to stay near the top but they may just be gluttony.
> ...


Maybe Dropsy? 

*Diagnosis*, One of these situations may be the culprit: 
Accute Dropsy: Sudden swelling: A bacterial infection will cause internal bleeding. 
Chronic Dropsy: Slow swelling: Growing tumors, or even parasites, in the fish may cause it to swell. 
Chronic Dropsy: Slow swelling: Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Highly contageous! 
Other unknown causes, such as a virus, or permanent damage to the fish's internal organs. Damage to kidneys can occur due to over-use of medication or use of too strong of medication


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## Zoe (Feb 26, 2006)

Hmm maybe... thanks, i'll definitely look into that possibility.


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## Dr_House (Aug 15, 2006)

That's what it sounded like to me, too. I've never seen this disease in any of my fish but my bettas, but that's exactly what their symptoms are. Their scales stick out, they appear bloated, and stay near the top of the aquarium.


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## Vermifugert (Jun 15, 2006)

Dr_House said:


> That's what it sounded like to me, too. I've never seen this disease in any of my fish but my bettas, but that's exactly what their symptoms are. Their scales stick out, they appear bloated, and stay near the top of the aquarium.


I know it's all a learning process. one of my fish has clamped fins. i just noticed it i hope it's not too late to treat.


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

pregnant? with dropsy (speaking from experience) its not just raised scales its a real noticeable bloat, almost like if not like a fancy goldfish. could be parasites or pregnacy. a pic would sure help. also dropsy is usually indicative of poor water, so water params would help also. it wouldnt hurt to throw in some aquarium salt. That will help out regardless.

zig


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## Lupin (Aug 1, 2006)

It is dropsy. Protrusion of scales is a sign that treating dropsy is nearly impossible.


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

Blue said:


> It is dropsy. Protrusion of scales is a sign that treating dropsy is nearly impossible.


Honestly, how can you be sure without seeing a pic? lol. there are lots of different things that could be going on besides dropsy. And I have successfully treated half a dozen fish with dropsy, so unless your speaking of experience, dont believe everything you read.


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## Lupin (Aug 1, 2006)

Girth, I have experienced several cases of dropsy last month. The protrusion of scales is the stage where I find it impossible to treat. Another forum has confirmed this.
I'm posting by experience, not the usual spamming.


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## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

Yeah, my albino rainbow shark had it the other day aswell and I had to get my boyfriend to put it out of its misery  no cure im afraid!


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

The new Aquarium fish Magazine has a article on it in their October edition. (You get them early if you have a subscription) Ill read through it tonight and let you know what I get out of it.


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

Either way, it sounds like bacterial, which needs a erythromycin course. Thats what I used to clear my fish. I halfed the dose that was recommended though in the beginning to keep stress down on the affected fish, gradually upping the dose to full dosage by day 5. run a 10 day course and hopefully that gets rid of whatever it is ailing your fish.

zig.


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## Zoe (Feb 26, 2006)

Thanks for the help, but I think she died a couple days ago. I haven't found the body but with 8 ghost shrimp in there, they probably made short work of the ol' girl.


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

For future reference. I read the article last night and it didn't say much more than I have read on most websites.

Dropsey is not contagious. BUT typically it is a sign of somthing not right in the tank. Make sure your water conditions are up to par or it may seem like you will have a epidemic because all the fish are in the same environment. Because different species have different needs usually when one fish gets it you will notice other fish of the same species will also come down with it. No one is sure what causes Dropsy but it is known that the pineconelike result is exactly that a "result" of somthing else going on. Sometimes nutrition can also play a role in the issue. Make sure you offer a variety of foods for all your fish to help fend off future similar deaths. A third thing that can cause this is pathogens. The only way to figure out which ones would be to wait for the death of the fish then diesect the fish and check out various areas under a microscope. Not somthing most of us have the ability to do. Even then the majority of these pathogens are not contagious. 

So once again it leads to the best way to keep your fish from getting Dropsey is by water changes, proper food, and a good overall environment.


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## Zoe (Feb 26, 2006)

Yes I read those things also, but the water conditions are spot on, the water is pristine, they do enjoy bloodworms but they also eat other frozen foods. None of the others are looking at all under the weather, hopefully it will stay that way.


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## MDsaints (Jul 17, 2006)

that struck out pretty bad in my tank once... i tried a lot of things but it didnt work... and you know what kinda happens to sick fish.... but i hope yours comes out a lot better than mine did... i didnt know what i was really doing


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

not to beat a dead horse, but maybe have your lfs check your water as well, maybe your test kit is reading a bit off. Not saying it is, but wouldnt hurt to be 100% sure so no more of those little guys follows suit. I am not saying your water is poor by any means so please dont take this the wrong way, all I am saying  is get Big Als to double check it as well. I do it all the time, just in case I am getting a false reading. sry to hear bout your loss though :rip: 

Zig.


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## Zoe (Feb 26, 2006)

Thank you Girth 

My testing kit is brand-spanking new, and shows the same results as my last kit, so I'm pretty certain it's OK but it's not a bad idea to have BA or PSmart test it, too. Can't be too certain.

The bummer is that BA Innes doesn't have them anymore! But I inquired on Ovas.ca and found a few people with them... I wish I had a bigger tank for them, now, so I could have more. 

Zoe


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## Vermifugert (Jun 15, 2006)

girth vader said:


> not to beat a dead horse, but maybe have your lfs check your water as well, maybe your test kit is reading a bit off. Not saying it is, but wouldnt hurt to be 100% sure so no more of those little guys follows suit. I am not saying your water is poor by any means so please dont take this the wrong way, all I am saying  is get Big Als to double check it as well. I do it all the time, just in case I am getting a false reading. sry to hear bout your loss though :rip:
> 
> Zig.


*Vermifuge takes another whack at the horse*

This is one of the reasons I refuse to use test strips. 

I use the same API testing kits test kits my LFS uses. It’s n API ammonia test kit consists of a two bottle system. It has been incredibly accurate. The test strips never show small variations. It’s easy to see if there is high ammonia but it’s hard to see low levels. I think the same could be said for other test strips. 

However I have even found flaws in API products. I purchased an API Freshwater master test kit and its ammonia test consisted of a single bottle. I don’t know what was wrong but it was showing readings that were off the chart. I updrageded to the new ammonia test I mentioned above.


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

Zoe said:


> Thank you Girth
> 
> My testing kit is brand-spanking new, and shows the same results as my last kit, so I'm pretty certain it's OK but it's not a bad idea to have BA or PSmart test it, too. Can't be too certain.
> 
> ...


The BA here in Hamilton has a tank full of them. Im not a shipping expert, but I could ship you some using bag buddies and have them bag em at the store. just a thought......

zig.


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