We noticed this evening Flash looks like he has dropsy. He's quite swollen and his scales are starting to poke out a bit.
We are setting up the QT tank now (5 gal).
House is about 80 degrees, so the tank is about 80 as well.

Once we move him to QT, what should we be doing for him in the QT tank?

And what do we do to the main 65 gal tank (5 other small goldies and a clown pleco in it)?

I'd just keep an eye on your other fish for now - they may not have anything but keep a check on appetite, poop etc and post back if you see any problems.

As for your fish with dropsy (if you're in the States) you can:

- try to get some medicated food (Metromeds from goldfishconnection.com is excellent) and start feeding asap
- See if you can get Maracyn I and II and medicate (both at same time)
- add 1/8 teaspoon per 5 gallons of epsom salt
- and try to keep the tank warm - 80+ degrees is excellent

Dropsy's a tough one and while often fatal, many have cured their fish so there's every chance you've caught it early enough. Post back if you're not in the States and we can look at other meds available.

Hope this helps

We had some medicated food on hand, but not metromeds
I picked up the maracyn today and we dosed the QT tank with Flash in it
Also put in some epsom salt

How is flash doing now? I'm hoping that the meds and epsom salt will result in a positive outcome. Please keep us posted

still swimming around, pooping and eating - so all good signs so far. He doesn't look too much fatter that I can tell.

What should we expect to see as we go through treatment?
And we have one fat goldie in a 5 gal tank... can we do a water change at all?

Yes, you can and should do waterchanges because the first thing that makes them ill is imperfect water - even if you have to add the meds back to the amount of water you remove If the meds are working, then you should see a reduction in symptoms ie. swelling, poop looks healthy and there's an increase in activity.

What are you seeing as of today?

no poop issues we've seen yet and he's still about as active as normal and still eating.
Water does need to be changed, parms are getting bad, so off to do that now and add in fresh meds.

How are things going?

He still looks the same to us
Still swimming
still eating
still fat

Something should be happening by now. Are you still treating? How is the water quality?

Please post back soon

change his water again today and have been treating according to directions.
He had been looking a bit thinner in the morning, but still really fat at night.
Tonight he's looking a bit thinner again. We'll see what he looks like in the morning.

Might be a good idea to update all his info for us too.

With dropsy it can often be quite a while before you notice any real improvement. HOwever he should stabilze and not deteriorate anymore.

he's much thinner for the last day or so.
Changed his water again today and put in more meds.
He was sitting around on the bottom before I got home from work, but he's been swimming around since I got home.

It's a 5 gallon tank, so we've been changing his water daily or almost daily and then putting new meds back in.

He's still eating like a pig and his poop is starting to look like normal again. Think he's on the road to health again

At what point would we be able to put him back in the big tank?

Glad to hear that he's showing signs of improvement. How long have you been dosing the meds now?I would at least finish out the course of those.What kind of medicated food are you feeding him,and how much food/what kind,does he normally eat? Ususally with medicated food,they tell you to feed for 14 days.

started meds 2 weeks ago on monday
medicated food a day longer as we moved him to the tank and started feeding medicated food and then had to get the meds
medicated food - Anti bacteria medicated fish food from jungle

he eats 2x a day - normal amt of food
We have 4 more days worth of meds which we figured we finish out at least, but wasn't sure if we'd need to go longer

I personaly would leave him on his own for a few more weeks.Only because sometimes even though the fish is behaving/looking better,his immune system is still low,and it only takes the slightest thing to get him started right back up.Just really keep a good watch on the water params.It's the difference between a sick fish and a healthy fish for sure.You're doing good,hun!

With dropsy it can take a while. How is the little guy now?

He's hanging in there. Meds are done, but still feeding a medicated food and he's still by himself. But he looks much better

Now that is good news!

He seems to be getting fat again...
Do I pick up another box of each of the meds again and we start treating him again?
He's still swimming and eating. We change about 2/3 of his water daily (and added the days meds after when he was still being treated). He's pooping now... back to white again.