Contagious?

[smsturner]

I recently had a favorite female pineapple swordtail die from Dropsy. She stayed in the 29 gallon until 2 days before she died and by the time we figured out what it was, it was too late to cure her!
We are sure that's what she had..she had the pinecone stomach and lack of energy, no appetite and stayed on the bottom of the tank.
I found websites that said several different things. Is whatever caused it contagious or not? Or is it hard to tell?

 

[aquarius]

from what i know dropsy is highly contagious

 

[guppygirl]

I thought it was non-contagious, but bad water conditions and poor diet were main causes,... therefore making it seem contagious??? Or is it bacterial? I guess that you would try feeding medicated food (like Jungle's pepso food).