Keep the tank scrupulously clean, and perform weekly partial water changes. Provide a variety of fresh, high-quality food. Often this is enough to resolve the infection in cases that are not advanced. Keep the fish under observation for several weeks after symptoms disappear.
If large amounts of fluid accumulate in the abdominal cavity, this is referred to as ascites or abdominal dropsy. In most cases, cirrhosis of the liver is the cause. If ascites occurs, the life expectancy over a period of five years is about 50%.
Treatment of dropsy must be geared toward correcting the underlying problem and providing supportive care to the sick fish. Here is a list of treatments that may help: Salt: A bit of salt in the tank water can aid in the osmotic balance of the fish by making the water salinity closer to the fish's blood salinity.
Improperly feeding or overfeeding fish can be harmful also due to the possibility of bloat, a condition that will likely lead to the death of a fish. Also known as dropsy, bloat is caused by bacterial, viral, protozoal, or parasitical infections.
It is important to move the infected fish to another tank to separate them from the healthy fish. Meanwhile, perform a water change on the original tank and monitor the fish closely for the appearance of symptoms.
By the time a disorder reaches the point of causing dropsy, it can often be fatal and at the very least the fish is very ill and requires immediate quarantine and treatment.
Dropsy generally refers to any infection of the swim bladder or internal swelling resulting in loss of proper buoyancy and swim control in these fish.
If the bloat is caused by overfeeding, feeding smaller meals more frequently can help, as can switching to a more appropriate diet. Parasitic and bacterial infections may require medication, which can be administered directly to the fish or added to the water.
It is likely that some of those whose cause of death is recorded as dropsy were actually killed by the condition that caused the swelling, rather than the swelling itself. Some conditions which can cause the kind of swelling associated with dropsy are cardiac failure, lung problems and malnutrition.
This could be caused by a number of things, such as a swim bladder problem, constipation or an internal infection. ✔ Make sure that the water quality is pristine (test for ammonia and nitrite using King British 6 in 1 Water Test Strips), and the dissolved oxygen is high (by ensuring good aeration).
“Dropsy” is not an actual disease, but a physical manifestation of kidney failure in fish, where the fish's body balloons outward from excess water and its scales stick out like a pinecone. Dropsy is used to describe the outer signs of a condition, not a specific condition or disease.
Overview. KanaPlex™ is a blended kanamycin based medication that safely and effectively treats several fungal, and bacterial fish diseases (dropsy, popeye, fin/tail rot, septicemia). Because it is absorbed by fish it is useful in treating internal infections in those situations where food is refused.
Our OF Yellow Powder is effective against fin rot, gill rot, hemorrhagic septicemia, mild dropsy, skin lesions, bacterial infection of the digestive system and many other bacterial infections.
To give your fish an Epsom salt bath, pour half of the tank's water into a clean container. Add 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt for every 1 gallon of water. Have the fish swim in the solution for 15 to 30 minutes.
Poor water chemistry, including high ammonia and nitrites or the wrong pH for your specific fish can trigger dropsy.
Treatment for fish bloat
Treat your Discus with one 400mg tablet of Metronidazole per 40L and 15g of epsom salt per 20L. The epsom salt will help relax the muscles of your Discus, allowing them to flush out the undigested food. Stop the treatment once the fish recovers.
Untreated dropsy was, eventually, always fatal.
Dropsy can be identified from loose scales from the body of a fish. Dropsy fish are having trouble swimming, breathe, and has a bulging belly. Bad water conditions can trigger Dropsy symptom in Koi fish.
The one that we use and recommend is TetraMin Tropical Flakes. A good fresh food feed would be a shelled pea, provided at least twice in the day. A shelled pea is of the right consistency and nutrition to keep your fish healthy, especially when suffering from dropsy.
In a separate container, mix 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt with 1 gallon of tank water, and mix it until it's fully dissolved. Using a net, move them to the bath, and leave them there for about 15 minutes, and then return them to the aquarium. Do this 1-3 times a day.
Properly used aquarium salt can have a very positive effect on fish, and in some cases even save their lives. The same salt, used in excess, can kill half the aquarium stock in a short time. So again: it is worth being very careful about this measure.