Gourami is not doing so good & bushynose pleco died! help wanted!

[Naughts]

Agreed - salt doesn't cure dropsy but it can sometimes appear to ease the symptoms. When fish become sick they lose their ability to regulate their absorbsion of water through the process of osmosis and as a rest they swell up - the classic symptoms of dropsy, but also possible a possible symptom of many other disorders. In saltwater fish it is the other way round and rather than swelling, they shrivel due to the salinity of the water. So, for that same reason, if you add salt to fresh water, the tendency to swell is reduced but this doesn't mean that the salt has actually cured the underlying problem.

Epsom (magnesium chloride) salt can reduce fluid retention. This is different to Aquarium salt (sodium chloride). Any result would be temporary as the vast majority of fish with dropsy have irreversible organ failure. The process of epsom salt baths is stressful for the sick fish because they have to be caught and moved.

 

[coriesinhawaii]

Epsom (magnesium chloride) salt can reduce fluid retention. This is different to Aquarium salt (sodium chloride). Any result would be temporary as the vast majority of fish with dropsy have irreversible organ failure. The process of epsom salt baths is stressful for the sick fish because they have to be caught and moved.

Sodium chloride has just as much osmotic effect as magnesium chloride. That’s why when you get IV saline in a hospital it is a 0.9% solution—because this is the concentration that does not pull or push fluid in or out of the bloodstream. Epsom salt does have the added benefit of producing a subtle muscle relaxing effect though (on people not fish ).