My white skirt tetra developed dropsy, i moved him into a bucket with maracyn 2..he wont eat he's really bloated, his scales r sticking out and his eyes too, will post params and stuff later i dont have time right now cuz im at school and bell is about to ring...oh yea and he's flashing too....something seems to b spreading around my tanks again i think the flukes r back...guess i'll have to treat again

ok...the tank he normally lives in is 20 gallons with 5 other fish, it has been set up for 2 or 3 weeks...maybe a bit longer actually..but its all cycled. Filters are an aquaclear 30 and an elite stingray 5. This fish had been swimming a bit slow and near the surface for about 1 day and then he started flashing and i saw that he looked bloated, then when he swam to the top i looked from underneath and saw that both his scales and eyes r sticking out. now he's in a 2 gallon bucket although i filled it with less than a gallon and added marcyn 2. I tried feeding him jungle antibacterial food although i guess its meant for goldfish and koi but i crushed it for him..he hasnt eaten any yet. Can i also treat for parasites with praztastic along with the maracyn 2?

Shamu so sorry to hear of your troubles. I am not sure about using both meds simultaneously...hopefully someone will come along soon with more help. You can add epsom salts to the water though; it will help relieve the swelling in the dropsied fish. The dose is 1/8 teaspoon per 10 gallons, so for that bucket it would only take a few grains. Dissolve it in tankwater before adding to the tank. How is he doing today? Are any of the other fish affected?

thanks for the help but he passed away yesterday no other fish r affected...just flukes seem to b spreading again

Oh poor thing, I am sorry to hear that! I hope it gets cleared up quickly with no other illlnesses.

Don't be too quick to medicate Shamu. Obvousily if you know they all have flukes, go for it. But from keeping my tetra tank for about 5 years now I've noticed that often when a fish weakens and dies (I'm very sorry to hear he didn't make it, btw ) it will exhibit symptoms of disease, but no other fish in the tank will get ill. I recently had a neon which developed white spots that looked like ich. I was really upset because I thought I'd have to dose my tank, but the fish died, and that was the end of it. My advice would be to keep a close eye for other fish with symptoms, and if they show them then go for the medication.

most of my fish r doing ok i guess but there r a few tanks where im 99% sure the flukes r back so im going to treat them again