Problem In My Community Tank

[scouse_andy]

I have just noticed a danio in my community tank with a very odd appearance.

The tank is 240 litre planted community, details in my signature.

I do a regular 20% weekly water change and the tank has been set up for over six months.

I do weekly tests on water quality and ammonia and nitrite have been at zero for at least the last month. Nitrates have never been over 30 ppm.

I have added no new livestock or plants to the tank for at least a month.

I had a few fish deaths a couple of months ago after seeing flicking. I treated with a single dose of internal parasites medicine and a four week course of Flubenol to treat for suspected gill flukes.

I check my tank carefully daily and there was nothing odd yesterday, this evening when I came to look I saw a zebra danio at the top just drifting but with a very swollen belly. This is a tank bred fish from my set-up and is about 6 months old.

On one side, he was also very red with pineconed scales:

Having had a very quick look on here as I was uploading pictures, this would appear to be a classic case of dropsy. Could anybody confirm or give an alternative diagnosis.

I am off to read up more on dropsy.

I have the danio in a quarantine tank at the moment but fear he won't make it.

What is the best course of action? Is it likely that the rest of my community tank may have caught this too?

Please help if you can.

Thanks, Andy.

 

[WILDER]

Sadly the fish is in a bad way and I would end its misery as on top of the dropsy he has also got septicema blood poisoning, very hard to cure once it has progressed.
Once scales stick out with dropsy organ failure hard to cure.
With also having the septicemia I would treat the whole tank with a bacterial med, as septicemia the bacteria from the fish can enter the tank.
Good luck.

 

[scouse_andy]

He died in the night.

I have treated the main tank with interpet number 9 and will keep a close eye on things.

All behaviour appears to be normal and no fish look bloated.

Is there anything in particular that I should be looking out for?

what is likely to have caused this given that I know the water stats have been good for at least a few weeks.

Is there likely to be any link between this and the flicking problems I saw a couple of months back when I treated for gill flukes and internal bacteria?

Thanks for all your help.

 

[WILDER]

Flukes do cause bactrerial infections as in there hooks they carry a nasty bacteria that enters the fish when they pierce the skin, so yes it could of been the flukes.
Sorry for your loss.
R.I.P.