well, leila has been battling dropsy for nearly 3 weeks now. to be honest i dont see much in the way of pineconing now, maybe just a little behind the gill plates. i have been using interpet internal bacteria for two weeks and it seemed to have halted it but you can see shes not normal even though theres no pine coning.. last week she started getting popeye and its only just noticeable.
her fins are all erect, but im pretty sure she is blind now,probably from the pressure of the fluid in her head. she doesnt come to the front when people pass and only knows its feeding time when she can smell it in the water and tries to grub around for it. she doesnt swim too well because of this and spends her time on the bottom and when she does swim around she is bumping in to stuff.
so im stuck as to whether or not i should end her suffering or be a coward and let nature take its course.

Oh, that's a toughie. I'm a coward too, when it comes to that. I have done both, and either way, it's hard. No matter what you do, you're going to see your fish suffer somewhat.

When my fish is sick beyond hope, the biggest thing I feel, besides worry and sadness, is extreme helplessness. I felt better euthanizing my last goldfish, Sammy, because where all my efforts of medicating him failed, at least I did something that would guarantee to help him. Even if the help was just ending a day or two or a few hours of further suffering. The choice is completely personal, though.

I'm so sorry about Leila, Sandy.

Tough position.

If there was dropsy, there has to be some impairment in kidney function. I think swelling around the eyeballs could also be a symptom of fluid buildup.

What antibiotics does interpet have in it?
Do you think another round would help?

thanks for the replies.
twice i have gone to get her out but i keep holding back. theres a part of me that thinks what if she can get through this ? and then i think no its cruel and she could be suffering. i have already done two weeks of medication each one lasts a week consisting of adding on day one then again on day 4 then water change on day 7. i dont know whats in it but its clear and smells like antibiotics that i gave my guinea pig when he was ill.
i have been watching her for a few hours and all she does is sit on the gravel, and only moves when the panda nudges her, and then its straight in to the glass or plants, and because its dark for her she swims all over the place and does somersaults. i can hand feed her ok so she isnt starving. i will try and get a photo.

this first picture is before the dropsy got her
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/phi...sh/P9190043.jpg
these two are after.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/phi...sh/PA230164.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/phi...sh/PA230163.jpg

im hoping these have worked and are clear. as you can see the dropsy has all but gone but her eyes are still slightly poking out. i dont know what to do.
anyone got any ideas. should i try the treatment again or leave her to fight on her own, or euthenize her because shes now blind?

Sandy--

Poor fish! I kow what you're going thru though. I had an oranda that had a tumor in his side and acted happy, but was definetly suffering.
This is a tough call and only you will be able to make that decision. On one hand, a fish in this condition could be infecting your other fish, or COULD infect them. On the other hand, a fish can do well with no eyesight once they get use to it. If I were you, I'd think about her quality of life at this point. Being on antibiotics for such a long time isn't all that fun I'm sure, and if it's not improving, and you've exhausted all other options, then maybe it's time to see her go. A good thing to think about is that fish don't feel pain and discomfort in the same way we do, so she *could* be bothered by the dropsy, she's just not showing it. Either way, whatever your decide to do, I got your back. I know how frustrating it is having a sick fish that you're not too sure about. Good luck to you...

Erika

that is a toughie.

if her fins are erect and she is still reactive to food, shes not suffering quite as much as you might think. maybe another round of meds in her own little tank will help knock the rest of her infection out. maybe not. if youve brought her along this far, she might just be close to being healed/cured.

maybe she needs her own little tank. you know, to get use to being blind just in case her vision isnt restored after the swelling goes down. maybe a bit more time is all thats needed here.

in my opinion, if she still forages for food when she smells it, shes doing pretty good.

good luck sandy........

:crp just went to feed them and the only way she could find me was by the other fish bamboo pushing her up, im not joking that fish pushed her up to the surface and i could get some bloodworm in to her, but she was just floating in the current not making any attempt to right herself when she was flung around.
i havent got a second tank, so what i will do is switch off the power filter and just use the box filter and see how she does over night. i so want this fish to get better but i dont want her to suffer.
so im going to restart the meds on tuesday and do another week and see if that helps . thanks guys for the help. much appreciated. fingers crossed im doing the right thing.

god luck sandy, were pullin for you and leila!

thanks again everyone.
just a quick update, had a good look at her from above and the popeye has gone , which is a relief. so what i thought i might do tomorrow is a good water change and only half fill the tank and then she doesnt have to struggle too much to get to the top. does that sound ok?
her tail fin is starting to split and become red streaked so i will divide the tank so that shes on her own and see if this helps.

good luck!! hope you can help her.

Loz x

EDIT: have you tried that vet yet?

not yet loz. will try to find out what they treat later in the week when my voice isnt so croaky.

I wish you can get some medicated foods this would help her to eat better. Maybe the Vet does have some medicated food for her?

thats a good idea koko, will give it a try. shes hardly eating now. but something is better than nothing.

despite everything, i have had to end leilas life. to say i feel bad doesnt come close. i have never had to kill a pet fish before and can truly sympathise with people who have had to do it as i am beating myself up as to whether or not ive done the right thing.
at the end she wasnt feeding and was breathing heavily. she was floating around with her head up in a vertical position.
thanks to those who have offered kind words and encouragement.

I'm sorry Sandy, don't beat yourself up over this though, you did what you could, and Leila isn't suffering now. Cheer up!

thanks errrika1979 im just maudling just now. will take a couple of days to get over.

Hi Sandy,
I've just been reading through and I so feel for you
I can remember when we were away Tom saying your fish Leila and Bamboo weren't well, so you've really gone through alot, and that's hard, especially if your not feeling so good yourself either
You at least did everything you possibly could for Leila though and gave her every chance to recover.
I hope you soon feel better

thanks kim, feel a bit better now. i feel i did the right thing in the end, but she did all the work.
bamboo is bursting with health, so tomorrow im going to do a big water change and i can put finn the shubunkin in with him and see how they get on in a couple of weeks.

Sandy i am so so sorry,

sorry sandy.

you did your best and thats what counts. just keep her in your thoughts as the happy little wiggler she was.............

She's probably much happier to be not suffering. I am sorry to hear of your loss.

thanks toothy and ak comets.

i have buried her in the garden and will plant some snowdrops with her soon. i have done a 50% water change and put finn my shubunkin in with the panda. they are both swimming well. will try to get a photo of finn and bamboo but its very hard.

You've been through a tough time Sandy, so disappointing when Leila had come so far. My guess is she did sustain irrepairable organ damage so I agree you did the right thing.

I was wondering the same thing about Spotty Jnr but he didn't last that long, I think I'm a coward too.

thanks fishmerised. and to think this all came about because of ich, i cant believe it. to everyone who has lost fish recently.

Spotty Jnr started with ich too. I never used to worry about a couple of ich spots (it's in the tanks and occasionally I see a few spots) but now I'm gonna be extra vigilant.

I guess ich just takes advantage of a stressed or unwell fish, it's a warning sign.

I'm also a coward when euthinizing my fish, especially when you get attached to them. I've placed a couple of fish into the freezer but they were feeders and i've only had them for days, the prob was they were in really bad shape that i'd rather not see them floating dead. But to pop into the freezer one of my precious babies? No way

Sandy I am sorry to hear about your fish. It is never easy making the "tough" decisions. I am sure you did what was best for her, not you and that is an act of love.
I hope you feel better soon.

yeah soz, i had to kill hutch my fish a few months ago as you may remember!! my other fish "starsky" is still alone but has doubled in size (more food) and has become much more friendly towards me! so if its n e concerlation its not all bad news

thanks mr fish i remember your story, very sad.
thanks laurie p. im feeling better today, dont feel too guilty now, as i was acting for her benefit.
mailboxck, thanks for taking the trouble to reply. its really hard to decide on the method of how you are going to euthenize your fish and everyones choice is different. whichever way is chosen its a really hard choice to make. hope you never have to make the choice for any of your babies.
yes fishmerised, keep a close eye on your fish and watch out for any secondary infections.
thank you all for taking the time to reply, being here has made me feel part of a close family, who pull together when times are tough.