Epsom Salt For Dropsy In Tank With Bn Pleco

[attibones]

Well my twenty gallon which currently features seven platies and five guppies as well as three albino BN plecos is the stage for a breeding project in order to supply my puffers with live foods. However, a female guppy is beginning to pine cone. I got her and the rest of the live bearers last week from PetsMart. I was careful about picking fish from tanks with no dead fish, checked all the fish for illness or injury, and then tossed them in the tank after about an hour acclimation.

This guppy is slightly pregnant. The guppy is swimming fine, but perhaps is a little less active than the other fish. She was not showing any symptoms yesterday and ate well. I fed bloodworms yesterday.

Because no one else is showing any adverse signs, and my test results should be normal (30% water change yesterday, brother helped and stirred up a bunch of substrate), I'm hoping it is an isolated incident and the fish was sick when I bought her. I'm running tests right now to check on the stats to be sure, but this is a cycled tank with a Fluval 30 and an Aqueon 40. Tank temp is about 78 degrees.

I have heard that people treat dropsy with Epsom salt. Is this a good idea? Should I bump up the temp? How much Epsom salt should I use? Will it injure my plecos, shrimp or nerite snails? I've got four nerites and a handful of ghost shrimp. Any advice would be appreciated.

Side note: I know the tank is pretty stocked, but I stay on top of my water change routine, 30-50% every Friday, and I only feed three or four days of the week. I did however restock the tank pretty suddenly. I should have spread out the additions more.

 

[attibones]

I've also got just enough tetracycline for two days. I know that dropsy is usually fatal, but should I be worrying about my other fish?

 

[WILDER]

Once scales start to stick out it the last stage of dropsy.
All you can do is epsom salt baths to help draw the fluids out. I think for a bath is one tablespoon to gallon of water, but I would check.
You could use tetracycline but it you do decide to use the medication it would be best to use in isolation.

Dropsy

 

 

Symptoms:

This disease is very common among African Cichlids, and is commonly called "Malawi Bloat," even though it affects fish from Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria. Dropsy is also very common within the Carp family and amongAnabantids. It is characterized by swelling of the body and especially abdomen, which causes the scales to stand out with a pine cone appearance. Eyes may protrude or cave in. Reddening at the vent and/or base of fins may be observable as well as body ulcers and long pale feces. In advanced cases, skin discoloration and scale loss may also occur. Sick fish will not show any desire for food. They will often hang near the bottom, resting on the gravel, or at the top, gasping for air. In the latter stages of this disease, the fish may lose its equilibrium and hence ability to swim properly.
 


 

Cause: 

Three main causes for Dropsy have been identified. The over use of salt (NaCl), prolonged exposure to poor water conditions, and improper diet, which lead to a parasitic infection. Other causes include poisoning, internal injuries and cancerous tumors. The swelling is not the disease itself, but rather a symptom, which is caused by a build-up of fluids in the body cavity due to internal organ failure.
 


 

Treatment: 

Treatment of this disease is difficult, as by the time it is recognized, permanent damage to the internal organs of the fish will have occurred. Immediate treatment must be performed if there is to be any chance for survival. Metronidazole (Flagyl) and or Clout are the best medications for treatment of Dropsy. Notwithstanding, not much is known for certain about the etiology of this disease and some experienced aquarists use antibiotics to fight Dropsy. For oxytetracycline, baths of 20-100 mg/litre for five days is suggested. For tetracycline hydrochloride, treat with baths of 40-100 mg/litre for five days. And for minocycline hydrochloride a dilution of 250mg/10 gallons of water is recommended. On day 2 change all the water and add the medicine again at the same dose for another 2 days. Increase aeration during treatment. Do not use minocycline a third time in a row. Caution: tetracyclines are photo sensitive so turn the tank lights off during treatment and cover the whole tank with a blanket. If the fish is still eating, you can soak the food in a concentrated solution of the antibiotic before feeding.
 


 

For more information: 

You can read more about this disease, treatment, and how to prevent it in the future by reading our article:Malawi Bloat

 

[the_lock_man]

Agreed, isolate the fish to use the epsom salts.

 

[attibones]

Thanks guys. I'll start her with fifteen minute baths today and see if that at least makes her more comfortable. I appreciate the answers.

 

[WILDER]

Hows the fish doing?