Just as it says, I've got a golden CAE whos come down with Dropsy....I'll explain my situation a little better...
A litter over a week ago I left for a little trip down to visit my Aunt and Uncle, arriving back on Monday(the 13th) around noon. I'd left my three tanks in the hands of my mom who doesn't quite get the whole fish thing, but seeing as I was gone for less then a week leaving her just to sprinkle a little food in there twice a day wasn't such a big deal. So anyway, everything looked just fine upon arriving home. All fish were alive, happy, and active. I'd preformed a WC on all three tanks the day before I left(Tuesday, the 7th)so I had the rest of the day to rest and do WCs again the next day.
So come the next day(the 14th)I went about my usual routine of feeding everyone, then heading out to take care of the horse, then coming back inside. Looking into my tank I noticed my CAE was a little fatter then usual....he tends to be a little fat most of the time, especially after a feeding, but this was more then normal though not really by too much. I thought maybe he just got a little too much too eat....or maybe he was a she. There was no abnormal behavior at all, still very active, pooping, and everything. So I let him be.
However checking up on the tank a little while later, as I do frequently, I saw him suctioned to the side of the tank and the scales on his right half sticking out. I removed him from the main tank immediately. Currently he is residing in a container(afraid I have no way of obtaining/no place to set up a QT)with twice daily WCs, using water from my 50 gallon to refill. He is being fed exclusively shelled peas and is nibbling on them, producing quite a bit of waste actually. His breathing is normal and hes as active as he can be in the container. I've been treating him with epsom salts for the past two days and his condition as drastically improved, the bloating has gone almost completely down and his scales have receded some. However...
-On his right side the scales are still raised more and dots of red in various sizes(though all are fairly small)have appeared there. Other then a couple rows of scales sticking out just a slight bit, his left side looks just fine. Could he perhaps be bleeding? I remember seeing this on a horrible case of dropsy I had in a female
Guppy, but they were more like blotches then dots. Anyway, does this mean its too late, even now?
-I'm confused about the cause of this. Nothing in the tank has been changed/taken away/added for a good month now. Levels were immediately tested and all came out normal(NitrItes and Ammonia at 0 with NitrAtes around 10)my water is a little hard, but I've never experienced a pH fluctuation in any of my tanks. A WC was done immediately after removal of the sick fish....but it wasn't any dirtier then usual and, like I said, last one had been preformed exactly a week earlier. All my mom did while I was gone was sprinkle a little food twice per day as I'd instructed. So what happened? Is this just some freak random disease....?
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