[*]Test Results for the Following:
Ammonia Level? 0
Nitrite Level? 0
Nitrate level? Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)? 15/7.1
Ph Level (KH/GH) out of the Tap?
Brand of test-kit used? (strips or drops?) AQUARIUM PHARM
[*]Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running? 95 gal/2yrs/
[*]What is the name and size of the filter/s? 2 aquaclear 110/ 6 airstones
[*]How often do you change the water and how much? 1x/wk/65% change


[*]How many fish in the tank and their size? 5 fish/2 lg comets/1 small shubunkin, fantail and ryunkin
[*]What kind of water additives or conditioners? prime
[*]Any medications added to the tank? furon 2/salt
[*]Add any new fish to the tank? no
[*]What do you feed your fish? all sorts of food, peas, reg gold fish food/krill/shrimp tubifex etc
[*]Any unusual findings on the fish such as
"grains of salt", no
bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? no
[*]Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating,ect..? lethargic


Lg comet has dropsy. Pineconed shape. Eating fine, a bit lethargic/stays at bottom sometimes. Just put a heater in tank, was w/out one for a while. I have treated the tank w/furon 2-full dose/salt in tank. Dropsy has not improved. Do not have time/room for hospital tank. All other fish are just fine. What else can I do?? Flashlightfrank

Your fish needs to be quarantined in a hospital tank. Even if it's just a plastic Rubbermaid tub.

Use EPSOM salts (NOT regular aquarium salts) up to .3% (1 TSP per gallon for 1%, gradually step it up to .3%).

Get ahold of some Maracyn-2 and dose as directed.

A moderator can help you through this, and will be along shortly.

Thoughtsofjoy: I thought dropsy is not contagious? No new fish have been added to the tank at all, all my levels are straight. Would a plastic bucket do? It's not alot of gallons, maybe 5 if that. What does epson salt do? Can't I just dose the tank w/the marycyn-2 where the other fish are too? My work hours are long and I have a newborn, time/space and room is not what I have. Flashlightfrank

Dropsy is a symptom of a problem.. bacterial and such..thats why it is Important to Q until further investigation and treating healthy fish along with a sick fish is not a good idea ..if finding another tank is a prob you can use a rubbermaid tub as well along with a filter and airstone I noticed you are one busy person ..why do these things present them selves at the worst time.. I heear your stress!!! but trying to treat in a 95 is HUGE and costly and could be more time consuming than you think ..unless it is an absolute must .our goldfish peeps will guide you the best they can with what you got ..good luck my fingers are crossed for you

Is he pineconed or the scales just not flush? If it is the beginning stage of dropsy, then get metromeds from GFC. They work extremely well against early stage dropsy.

Frank, the reason you should separate the fish is not because they are contagious, but that it has special water needs. Also, you don't want to subject your healthy fish to unnecessary medication, because then they can build up an immunity.

Epsom salts draw fluids out from the body (on humans and on fish). Dropsied fish can be aided by getting rid of excess fluid.

I totally understand your stress, and fish problems are never fun. But if you really care about the fish, you'll need to give it some TLC. A 5 gallon bucket would work but is not ideal. Your large comet would not be able to swim, as goldfish prefer to swim laterally instead of vertically. A big plastic tub can be found at hardware stores, general stores like Target or Fred Meyer/Kroger and are inexpensive. But you also need an airstone and a filter without carbon (if you don't have a filter, medication will get tricky because you'll need to do daily 100% water changes-- thus you'll end up using way more medication than necessary).

The smaller the container (10 gallons is best, anything below that is inadequate), the easier it will be to dose the medication.



I agree with JOH. Can you get a picture of your dropsied fish so we can see how much the disease has progressed? Internal meds (like MetroMeds) will help a lot, even if your fish is past the early stages. Another reason for quarantine is that you don't want your other fish to eat the medicated food.

Good luck!

To everyone that has responded so far, thank you so much. It is all very helpful. The comet I would say appears pineconned. She is acting pretty normal, occasionally she will be at the bottom. I love my fish, but time constraints/space does not allow me the options that you all mentioned. I will attempt to get more meds and then see what happens. I would like to know what causes dropsey. As I stated earlier, vaccum my tank once/wk/filter maintenance every other wk, 65% water change 1x/wk and no new fish have been added in 2 yrs, plus I have 6 14inch airstones, so the fish are treated pretty ###### good. I know this is not the most ideal situation, but I can only do so much w/my work schedule, plus my baby takes precedence right now. I have no idea why a fish who has been so strong would get this, under the conditions I keep my fish in???? Flashlightfrank

Dropsy

Just wanted to again thank everyone for their reply and help. My comet, MEG, died late sunday night from the dropsy. It was emotional, since I have had her for over 7 yrs , when I bought her for 50 cents as a feeder fish. At that time she was a mere 2 inches long. When she passed this weekend she was close to a foot long and was white/silver. My favorite fish of the bunch. It was horrible to see her get worse and worse, but thankfully it did not go on for much longer. Her 'mate' is another comet in my tank, who is just as big as she was, and seems lonely. At least I can say I had a fish for over 7 yrs, that's pretty long. Flashlightfrank [size="3"][/size]

so sorry to hear she passed away!

Very sorry to hear about your loss. I'm sure Meg lived a wonderful long life with you.