Any way to stop this?

[MissD]

Hello all,

I think I am pretty much doomed here, but it's worth a shot. I've not long had a guppy tank set up. It's been running about 6 weeks and had fish in it for about 4. I've got 2 bronze cories and some guppies in there, all of which came from a proper fish shop.

Now, while in WalMart I saw some really fancy male guppies and brought a couple of them home. Mistake. Days later I lost one to dropsy, and it looks like it's now in my water. I'm losing a guppy to dropsy virtually every day, with the exception of yesterday when I lost two, and this morning where I have had to euthanise another because she was just too far gone. I'm keeping up with regular water changes and there is always aquarium salt in the water, the temperature is 78º, and the water is filtered. Aside from the obvious, I can't see any problems.

What I'm wondering is if there is any way to stop this from wiping out my whole tank? It's getting too much now coming in to find bodies all the time. No new fish have been added since the initial outbreak, and both of my cories and the one surviving fry I have all appear to be fine. Is there anything at all I can do? Is there a pretty strong chance everyone's going to get it now, or could it be less healthy fish that will be more prone to getting infected? Aside from my 15 betta boys, I'm new to the fish scene myself, and any help would be greatly appreciated.

I just don't know what to do - I don't want to lose any more of my fish Please help.

 

[BettaMomma]

Hi there -
First of all, I'm sorry for your losses

Okay, so - dropsy in and of itself is not contagious. The cause of the dropsy is usually spreads from fish to fish, making it seem like it's contagious. Usually that's some sort of internal infection going on that everyone shares, then dropsy appears.

Are you 100% positive that it's dropsy? I'm assuming that you're seeing the swollen belly and pineconing? Right?

At this stage, If I were you, here's what I would do sort of as a last ditch effort precaution for your remaining fish:
I would treat them with both Maracyn Two and Maracide at the same time. This will cover the possibility of parasitic infection AND bacterial infection. Maracide will take care of the parasites, and Maracyn Two for internal infection.

OR... you could kill 2 birds with one medication - try tetracycline. Tetracycline is the granddaddy of all fish meds, in my opinion, and it works wonders. I'm not 100% positive, though, that the tetra would catch everything that might be ailing your fish like the combination of the other 2 would.

Make sure to keep the water pretty clean with frequent water changes and DON'T use salt. That will work adversely in a case like this because it will hold fluids in the fish's body, adding the the swelling problem.

 

[MissD]

It is definitely dropsy, yeah. Their bellies get really swollen and there is significant pineconing on their stomachs and backs. I'm also noticing that not long before I notice the pineconing - say, the morning or evening before, their tails look shredded. Almost like someone's gone along with scissors. They're still all there, but look like streamers instead of a tail. Whether or not this is associated, I don't know. As I said, I'm new to anything other than bettas.

Are the medicines mentioned available at a fish shop, or would I have to get them from somewhere special? I've never used either before.

And thank you for your reply

 

[WILDER]

Once scales are pineconing that's the last stage of dropsy and there is no cure as it's organ failure, the frayed fins are a second infection, if the other are not showing the pinecone effect maybe you could try shelled peas and a antibiotic treatment.

 

[MissD]

Would a significant (say 80-90%) water change help any, if I then just followed up with my normal smaller ones, or is it really not going to make any difference?

 

[WILDER]

Not if the are showing the pineconing effect.

 

[MissD]

Thanks...looks like I'm off to find some peas and antibiotics.

This sucks. I hate losing my babies.

 

[WILDER]

Sorry i no it's awful, try maracyn 2 as tetracycline will wipe your bacteria colony out in your tank, good luck.

 

[BettaMomma]

Darn, sorry to hear that it really really is dropsy. That sucks.

You can get these meds at any fish store, and also any chain pet store - like PetSmart, PetCo, etc. I keep forgetting about the tetracycline killing off beneficial bacteria in everyone's tanks - I just keep bettas so it doesn't matter to me when I use it versus M2.

Give the M2 a shot.
It's cured some pretty nasty stuff for my fish, if you have caught it early enough it just might save the ones that are unaffected thus far!
Good luck!!

 

[Joby]

You say you have bronze cories in there so please don't use salt it will hurt them

sorry to hear about your dropsy victims, can't really add anymore help than already has been given but I feel for you as I've had some problems with it lately

Good luck

 

[MissD]

Thank you all for your help. Today's my day off so I'm going to the fish shop to get meds. This is crazy now. All I have left aside from my cories is a pregnant female, one male, and whatever the fry is...it's too young to tell just yet. They aren't showing any signs of anything nasty, so I'm just going to have to hope, but judging by all the deaths I've had, my gut feeling is that I may be too late. This sucks