Ok, so my fish had dropsy for some time, so they were on medicated food (medigold) and I used Maracyn 2, and now I am treating for parasites because they are flashing. I JUST took my fantail off the medigold, and now her eyes are swelling again, and the comets eyes are not going down at all, neither is their pineconeness. I'm quite worried. Do you think the constant popeye and dropsy could be cause by a parasite? If so, would killing the parasite relieve the dropsy and pop eye? Help please! lol

Ammonia Level 1.0ppm
Nitrite Level? 2.0ppm
Nitrate level? 5ppm
Ph Level? 7.2
Ph Level out of the Tap? 7.2
Tank size(How many Gals) and How long has it been running? 25 gal, 10 gal, 10 gal
What kind of Filtration? penguin bio wheels- x12-x20 filtration on each
How often do you change the water and how much? 50% once a week
What kind of Water additives or conditioners? prime, .3% salt
Any Medications add to the tank? nope, just salt
How many fish in the tank and there size? 25- 2 comets (3 inch and 3.5 inch), 10- fantail 1.5inch, 10- oranda 1.5 inch
Add any new fish to the tank? Nope.
What do you feed your fish? Hikari gold pellets, omega one pellets, gel food, bloodworms, peas
Any unusual findings on the fish? Such as
"grains of salt", bloody streaks, frayed fins, fungus? Just pop eye and pineconing, but I'm treating for all of it, and its getting worse...
Any unusual behavior? Like staying
at the bottom, not eating, ect..? Well, the fantail stays at the bottom sleeping a lot, but after eating she is very active. the comets are kinda moping around the tank
If you can what is the chloramines Level
from the Tap? no idea


So, any ideas? Should I continue giving all the fish medigold? I mean, the fantail wont eat it, either will the comets. Oh well, thanks in advance for the help!

Hi there Phreno - I hate to say it but the fact that you're showing ammonia and high nitrites will put more stress on an already ill fish. Then adding a lot of medications not only adds to the burden but are usually ineffective unless your water is perfect. Perfect water will help your fish build their immunity to fight most ailments which they need if the medication is to be effective.

If it were me? I'd get my water perfect before using any medication as the 2 combined is way too harsh.

I've a feeling this may why you've seen no improvement. Hopefully by improving their environment - you should see some positive results. I hope so

Sorry I couldn't be of more help

I agree with Jen. I think you have to work on your water quality to see an improvement in your fish.

The one thing I notice though, is that you are using Prime as a water conditioner. Prime will show a false positive for ammonia with some ammonia tests. Here is the Seachem FAQ webpage which answers questions about Prime and ammonia tests:
http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Prime_faq.html

I don't believe Prime affects nitrite readings, though, so the fact that you have a nitrite reading shows that your tank is not fully cycled. Even though Maracyn 2 claims to not affect the cycle of a tank, others have found their cycle compromised after using Maracyn 2.

You will have to treat your tank like a new tank and watch your water levels very carefully. I would do another big water change and continue to do them to keep your nitrite level down.

Also, I think I would start to eliminate the salt from the tank. Salt isn't the best thing to use for pineconing. I would eliminate the salt from the tank totally, then I would use epsom salts. I will get the correct dosage and post it back here

Please feel free to ask questions and keep us posted.

And I thought I'd add something too....


How do you know the fish has parasites? Flashing can be the cause of poor water conditions as well, and with 2.0 nitrites, they might be struggling because of the water they live in. Popeye can come about with nitrites too, and I think that this may be the root of your troubles my friend!

If I were you, I think I'd treat them with Maracyn 1 combined with Maracyn 2 (epsom salts too if you want), and do daily water changes before adding the meds daily. Then when it's all done (the meds) continue to do daily changes until those tanks are cycled!!! Seeding them with filter matter or goo will cycle them quicker too, and put much less stress on those fish.

Here is the dosage for epsom salt and a description of why it is used (very kindly provided by Emma ) . BTW, epsom salt is available in pharmacies.

The dosage is an eighth of a teaspoon per five gallons.

And yes - ordinary salt is absolutely the worst thing to use in cases of dropsy. Basically, the pinecone effect is caused by the fish's kidneys weakening and being unable to expel excess fluid which then builds up in the tissues and bloats the fish. Epsom salts help draw the fluid out into the gut (so it is expelled in the wastes) and therefore lighten the load on the kidneys, giving the fish a better chance to recover. But regular salts draw fluid into the body so the already weakened kidneys have to work even harder and usually can't take the stress. I did have a chemist explain this once and it's something to do with the two salts being in different places on the periodic table of elements - one is chloride based and the other belongs in the metals group, I think - and therefore they have very different properties and act in totally different ways. Strictly speaking, epsom salts are not a true salt; the name is misleading.

Oh, I've been using epsom salts for a while now. Had no effect.


I talked to toothless, he said it could be parasites. Thats why the salt is at .3%.



I did a 60% water change a day ago, and I think it's enough but I'll be testing again soon.


Yes, the tank was indeed cycled before adding the maracyn 2. Ack. But, my fantail's tank is cycled.

I'll keep doing water changes to keep the water quality nicer. You really think thats it?

Well, I'm pretty sure the tank is cycling well. Here are the params from today:

ammonia: 0ppm
nitrite: 5 ppm
nitrate: 50 ppm


I'm gonna do a water change tomorrow, so...

You should do a water change as soon as you can to get that nitrite level down. I would do a good sized one, too, since even removing 50% of the water will still leave you with a nitrite reading over 2.

The tank is salted to .3%, so I don't think that its too big of a problem, but I will be doing a 50% water change in about an hour.

They're looking a lot better recently. Tomorrow is day 21 of medigold! Should I stop after tomorrow or keep feeding untill the tank is cycled?

Yes, salt will help the fish cope with nitrites, but I think it is best to just get the nitrite level down, just my opinion

As for continuing feeding medi-gold, I would say another week, but probably at that point you shouldn't keep feeding for too extended a period of time.

Glad to hear your fish are doing better

I just did a 75% water change with salt added to the water again. They're looking fine, not swollen nearly as much anymore, but their eyes are still pretty bad.

I'm hoping that soon the tank will complete the cycling. I reeeally want to get them off medigold and onto some color-inhancing food. This whole thing has made them loose half their orange.


But I've noticed that they eat like PIGS! I put 15 pellets in, and 30 minutes later they're gone completely! lol

Good going I am glad you fish are doing better. Please keep us posted.