# Any advice on a Bloated Platy?



## Leila1 (Jun 13, 2009)

I have a male platy that appears pregnant (yes, I know I said male). The strange thing i notice is that he is sooo bloated that his scales actually stand upright. Can anyone give me an idea what could be wrong?

i know something is wrong because he is not eating and staying to the bottom of thhe tank.


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## <3~Pleco~<3 (Jan 31, 2009)

Dropsy. If its a male, bloated, and scales popping out like a pinecone then he has dropsy. It is a hard thing to cure, especially at that stage. I've heard that you can try to get him to eat peas, but it doesn't always work. I've also read that you can try giving him a salt bath, but again, at that stage it is difficult to help. Sorry.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Edema, or dropsy, is an extreme swelling caused by a buildup of fluids in the body cavity. This is usually caused by very bad things, and it's generally considered uncurable. Sometimes you get lucky, but not usually.


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## Leila1 (Jun 13, 2009)

How does a fish get dropsy? After my weekly water change i add some rock salt especially for the mollies. Is this contagious? should i take him out the tank?


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## <3~Pleco~<3 (Jan 31, 2009)

I always thought that it wasn't contagious, but I have heard people on FF tell me that it is extremely contagious so.... im not quite sure which it is. So to be safe, I would remove him from the tank.

Fish get dropsy from poor water quality, too much nitrate in the water, could be bacterial, and there are probably others but those are the ones that I know of. Do a large water change on the tank and check your water levels.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

How contagious it is depends utterly upon what it's cause happens to be; dropsy is a symptom, not a disease, and therefore the communicability of the cause is the real question. However, it is usually best to remove any affected individuals at once in case it is something catching.


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## Leila1 (Jun 13, 2009)

thanks for your advice Pleco 3 and TOS


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