Another problem guys, what a surprise.

My blue oranda Chubsey appears to have dropsy. Hes in a 55 gallon with 3 other fish. My QT tank currently has 2 other fish in it. My question is, can I put him in the QT with the 2 others in the salted tank or will they get it? I dont know what to do!

You don't want to put a fish with dropsy in a salted tank because it will make the fish swell more. You want to put it in a tank with epsom salts (1/8 teaspoon per 5 gal.) to draw the liquid out and increase the temperature to the mid 80's over 24 hours. You should set up a seperate container for your dropsied fish. I have read that it is not contageous and in the 3 I have treated, no other tank mates got it. Mine were all at different times far apart or in different tanks to begin with. I believe people recommend an antibiotic but I am not sure which one is the best. I am sure someone will help soon. Good Luck.

Whew, thanks for letting me know about the salt! I wonder how much epsom salts you'd use for about a gallon? I may be forced to contain him to a bucket since thats all I have extra at the moment.

Ive saved only one of my dropsied fish. The rest unfortunetely passed away.

Can you get a 5 gal. bucket or better yet, a rubbermade or sterilite container? It would be hard to reduce the epsom salt to less than 1/8 teas. per 5 gal. with any degree of accuracy. You need to be able to keep your bio-filter going with a filter and add a heater too so a container with a straight edge would work best. The antibiotic I used was Metromed from Goldfish Connection.

I have Medi-Gold from that site. Ill see what I can do about the tank. I do have a 7 gallon that I could take my snails out of for the time being. I dont have an extra heater unfortunetely but with it being so warm all the tanks are around 80 degrees anyways.

I have him in the bucket in a dark room right now. Ill update in the morning.

QT tank for sure! I don't think it's been proven to be contageous... but dropsy is brought on by other things. so if the fish was sick or stressed.. it's best to keep it separate.

Indeed if it's dropsy you should definitely raise the temp like kscoleman said. However raise temps in the water means that the oxygen is being used up faster. Therefor you also need to increase airation. More bubbles or turn up your bubbler.

Medi-gold is great. You should start that NOW and continue for 14 days like it says on the jar. YOu could also hit the tank with both maracyn and maracyn2 antibiotics.

Keep us posted Erin. I am sure by now that you know this disease is one that doesn't always have a positive outcome. I hope your fish pulls through.

You might want to read this thread about dropsy as it explains how to use those 2 anitbiotics properly. Koko has explained it well and has had success with treating the disease
http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=20493

Thanks Barb! I have both those meds so Ill see what I can do. Maybe Ill do some fish moving tomorrow. Put the two new fish in the 7 for a few days and put Chubs in the 10 so I can monitor the meds and he can have the bubbler.

Make sure you have some carbon to use between the 2 meds. It removes the leftovers in the tank. If you read on the 2nd page of that thread I linked you to... Koko explains that in details.

Keep us posted on your fish

Yep, I have plenty of carbon. Thanks again!

Sorry to hear about Chubsey I really hope he makes it as dropsy is nasty.I got my fingers and everything crossed he pulls through.

Thank you Blue.

Ive lost a few fish to this disease and was only able to save one but he later got it again and passed away.

Chubs is still alive today, breathing a little harder though. Its hard to tell as he has always sat on his back since I got him. Im about to move fish around to free up the 10 gallon. Ill update again soon.

C'mon Chub's man! Pull through little buddy. Im sorry you having such a tough time with your fish latley hun, There is nothing I can add to help you get him through this..As I have not a clue about Diease etc..

I'll be rooting for him though!

Poor Chubsey,erin! I'm really rooting for him!

Thanks you guys. Well more bad news. My new calico oranda that I just got Tuesday has it too. They were in two seperate tanks and everything. Now theyre in the 10 together. I have epsom salt in and the Maracyn 2.

aw Erin my heart goes out to you .Mon Chubsey and friend you guys get well quick you can do it.

Thanks Blue.

The poor calico(Pudgey Pie) is so swollen up! He looks like a pearlscale almost now. He is still swimming around at least.

So do I do the Maracyn 2 for 5 days, do a water change, add carbon for 24 hours then start with the Maracyn 1? How about the epsom salt?

Oh no Erin - this is unbelievable, you poor thing

Do you know what I would do? I'd run both Maracyn's at once and add 1/8 tsp of epsom per 5 gallons and I don't suppose you have any metromeds on hand? Andrea and now Luvmuhfred have had great success with metronidazole based meds (ie food) for dropsy because it's a mighty powerful bacterial meds plus it also treats internal parasites which can also be the cause of dropsy...

Try to blast the tank with lost of air also - plenty of aeration is needed as the meds and higher temps will deplete the oxygen enormously.

My fingers and toes are crossed Erin

I dont have Metromeds but I have MediGold?? Im super bad at math, so how much epsom salt would you add to a 10 gallon tank? I added in what I thought so I hope I wasnt wrong. So you think I should do both Maracyns at the same time? Then when I do a waterchange, just add back what salt I took out? Also should I wait the 5 days before doing a waterchange?

Thanks, Jen!

Oh and should I add the Maracyn 1 right now since I already have the Maracyn 2 in there?

The poor calico is so huge. Im surprised he can breathe.

1/8 teas. epsom per 5 gal. and you need enough for 10 gal so 1/8 + 1/8 = 2/8 or 1/4 teas.

You can use both Maracyns at once but the water will get really cloudy. Seems most people on this site tend to use 1 at a time and filter in between to help reduce stress to the fish and keep the water better.

The biggest help is getting the temp up (I had mine up to 86 degrees) which will help kill the bacteria that can cause dropsy.

Metromeds says it is good for dropsy on the label. I fed a little 2 x a day to my fish with dropsy.

I would keep an eye on your ammonia and nitrites daily and do water changes if necessary adding back in the epsom salt and meds in proportion to what you take out. Make sure you match the water temp. and treat the tap water before addig it back in. If your parameters are ok, I'd wait 5 days and change the water, filter with carbon for 4-6 hours, remove the carbon, and start the second med.

Make sure you have an air stone in addition to your filter bec. you will have less oxygen at the higher temps.

Are they still eating? I'd try and get some medigold into them also....

Maracyn can be used together as they each treat different strains of bacteria so IMHO I would go with an aggressive approach and dose with both (just make sure you have loads of air running through the tank)

Last time I treated dropsy successfully I used both at once.

Im not using a heater as its already hot in here. The tank is at 80 degrees.

I havent fed them for a day but I dont think they'll eat.

And good I added the right amount of salt. WHEW!

Hows Chubsey and Pudgey in general.They better get well soon

Erin, this really is horrible. You know I'm treating Willow for some issues as well! Hmmmm, all came from the same place! Makes me want to scream. They are all beautiful fish but all so unhealthy!

I wish your babies well and I hope they recover. Good thoughts for you as well.

DArn Erin,that stinks. I'm with Jen though-for multiple fish to be showing signs of Dropsy,there's something really bad going on in the tank,and I'd definately go full force with the Meds.If you can get the fish to eat,that's a big plus,you want to let them eat as much medicated food as you can get into them ,in a two minute period.
And as mentioned-it's real important to keep it all well aerated.
When it rains,it seems to pour!
Good luck!

Erin i am so sorry you are having all these troubles lately. :-(

I have some metrodinazole on hand in tablet form, that could maybe made into gel food. If you think it would help I could send it to you overnight or something?

I'll be thinking of you and sending positive, healing thoughts to your fish.

The fish were actually kept in 2 different tanks, never came in contact with eachother. One was brand new(got a little less than a week ago and was still in QT when the illness came on) and the other Ive had for several months. I have them together in a 10 gallon right now with meds. The water looks super cloudy. I have a big airstone in there too.

I will try to feed them some MediGold tomorrow when I get up. Its too dark for me to see well in the tank right now as there is no light on it. I want to be able to fish it out if they dont eat it.

Jen, I dont even know how to make gel food! I was going to try eventually but I was hoping it wouldnt have to be for a situation like this. Very sweet of you to offer but I dont know if it would help anymore than the MediGold at this time.

vmlola, youre right! These 2 came from the same place you got Willow. Chubsey was OK besides the sitting upside down problem. Weird for him to become sick all of a sudden. This new one was here for 4 days before he was ill.

Thanks for all the good vibes guys. Ill keep you updated on their condition.

Good news! They both ate 2 pellets of MediGold this morning. How many times should I be feeding them?

Yay Go Chubsey,Go Pudgy you two keep getting better.
I'm so pleased they are improving its great news

They ate 2 more times today, so no problems there!! Hopefully they continue to improve. Still have a bumpy road ahead.

Yay that they are eating, that has to be a good sign! Maybe your fish have pseudo-dropsy, you know, like when people have all the symptoms of something but it isn't really that...

I am definitely pulling for both of them, and you, and I told my fish to send positive thoughts their way as well!

LOL! That would be great if they didnt have it but Im sure thats what it is. Too puffed up like porcupines for it to be anything else. Poor things.

That's great news Erin How many times a day are you feeding them? I think the correct amount is twice daily as much as they can consume in a couple of minutes. Me? I feed medicated food 3 times daily a little less each time so they can digest it more slowly

Keep us posted and you know I have my fingers crossed

Thanks Jen! Im feeding them 3 times a day, about 3-4 pellets each.

Excellent news too, the calico looks so much better! Chubsey never got as bad as he did. Scales only poking up a little bit now. Both are active and greedy eaters.

After the 5 days of meds, should I do a water change, add carbon for 24 hours and medicate again?

I sure would Especially if there's still signs of dropsy.... Sometimes it can take a couple of doses for the meds to do their job, the only problem is your water quality Maracyn will knock your cycle a bit but if you have strong filtration, it shouldn't do too much damage. How are your water parameters?

I'm so pleased they're doing better though

My filtration sucks to be honest. I have a crappy small filter that I took from my 7 gallon (although it says its for a 20 gallon tank). Im almost scared to test the params but suppose I should. I ordered a new filter and it should be here tomorrow. Ill just stuff the old foam blocks in it and hopefully things dont mess up too bad. I will let you know.

That's good news Erin - why not keep the old media in its current filter and run the new one alongside of it? That way you'll still have a cycled filter and the added bonus of extra filtration while your new one seeds? Just a thought

Glad to see that you're seeing some sort of improvement there Erin.Definately good signs.Continue on and get those darn fish back to normal.

I am so surprised theyre still alive. I thought for sure Id lose both by now! Their scales are laying flush with the body now and theyre even more active today than they were yesterday.

Jen, thats a good idea. The only thing is the tank is on my kitchen table so I would have to sit here and watch it all day with 2 filters on it as the hood only has a spot for one filter. I have cats. How long would it take to seed the other filter do you think?

I'm so pleased Chubsey and Pudgey are getting well.I'm sure they are well on the way now to eating you out of fish food

A couple of week although if you have cats that are curious about your fish then I'd go with your plan and stuff the new filter with used media It's not worth the risk

What great news that they're doing better

The cats never pay attention to the fish but I think keeping the top totally open on a spot they can get to definitely is risking it!! I got the filter and should get it running tomorrow after water change.

Just out of curiosity, Erin - right when the dropsy showed up, how long before that did you do their last water change?

Hmm.. Couldnt have been more than a few days because I do one once a week. I cant tell you for sure though. It was probably the same day I did one on the QT tank that I noticed it was I was changing the water in there everyday. You think that might have had something to do with it?

Well, some dropsy is actually temperature related, and if the dropsy goes away rather fast after adding epsom salt and a heater, it could be an indication that the fish is simply temperature sensitive. If the last water change was relatively close before the dropsy started, it might just have been that. I had one oranda that was like that - a little off with the temperature in a water change, or the water slightly cooler than usual in the Florida winter (haha, big laugh ) then he would get dropsy. I just stuck a heater in his tank permanently, and he never had dropsy again.
Not that this is whats going on with dropsy occurances, but it is an option as well to look at.

Hmm. Odd though that the 2 fish were in 2 seperate tanks. Im always careful when adding in new water so that its closely matched temp wise. Unfortunetely I didnt get off with just the salt. It didnt seem to get better until well into the Maracyn treatment. Ive had Chubsey for quite awhile but maybe that could be the case with the calico as I hadnt had him very long when it happened.

Are they doing better?

YES! They look completely normal now. I was debating on doing another round of Maracyn or not? Is it necessary if the fish are no longer showing any signs of illness or should I do it as a "just to be safe" thing?

I can only tell you what I would do and that's keep the water perfect and continue feeding medicated food for 14 more days. How long has it been now since the swelling has gone down?

The swelling has been down a good 4 maybe 5 days now. I have the carbon still running in the filter. I am still feeding medicated food too. I observe them several times a day for signs that its returning and so far so good.