dropsy???

lioness501

i noticed a couple of days ago that my female Guppy(had fry 2 weeks ago) suddenly started hangin out on the surface and wasnt herself. i left her for the day, still eating. now she has doubled in size and no not preggie. she had a huge red spot where her once dark gravid spot is. its like blood and looks like its splittin her open by her poop hole?also she has darkened in colour and no longer eating. i have treated tank today with anti_internal bacteria stuff, cant remember name( not with me) hopin this will help her out. i dont know a lot about dropsy but she seems to have the symptoms? am i right? i really dont wanna lose her as ive had her since she was a baby and the only suvccessful mummy yet, please help me save her......................alex (heart broken) :(:(:(:(:(

FDStation152

Well I haven't read up on the subject recently but as I recall dropsy is almost always fatal and is generally caused by some sort of internal infection/organ failure (kidneys I believe). I've found its better to attempt to solve the underlying problem (most likely water cleanliness) than to cure the dropsy itself.

Now despite all that and the fact that almost every source says dropsy is nearly incurable due to the severe organ damage it causes I have managed to save a fish with dropsy before. It was a male betta and I cured him with a combination of aquarium salt, anti-bacterial medication (which caused havoc with the biological filtration), and massive (60%+) daily water changes. He got better eventually and perhaps the same would work for you.

Since you seem to keep guppies (sorry brand new to the site) you'll probably be hearing from me quite a bit. I don't keep them anymore but I bred and raised them for quite a while and have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about. :)

lioness501

thanks for the reply. i have treated the tank today so wen should i do a water change? i have testeed the water and all is normal, none of the others r showing signs of illness. even if told to b fatal with a slim chance of survival, im willing to do anythin id b most upset if i just left her to die. im not 1--% sure its wat she has but it looks like shes gonna explode???

FDStation152

If possible I suggest moving her to a tank by herself first off. That way if it is some disease other than dropsy there is far less chance of it spreading to the other fish. The clearest way to tell if it is dropsy would be to look at her scales. Are the sticking out so she somewhat resembles a pinecone?

Also what kind of medication are you using? I've always had the best success with medications that contain malachite green, formalin, or a combination of the two. Basic aquarium salt is also great but my main fish tank can't have any of that. You're guppies however will do just fine with a moderate dose and should actually always have some in the water.

lioness501

thing is i dont just have guppies in my tank and im not sure the others willt olerate salt, so that i=dea is out the window. her scales r not stickin out but she is huuuge compared to wat she was 2 days ago?? its the big red spot on her back end thats scarin me!,

Melissa

The best thing to do it move the fish to a temperary hosptial tank. And treat her in that. Also maybe to water changes, and keep an eye on your other fish.

FDStation152

if her scales aren't sticking out you can almost entirely rule out dropsy. Probably some form of intestinal blockage or internal parasite. Malachite green and formalin may help with the parasites if that is what it is. I'm not too sure however. What else is in the tank with them? I've kept quite a variety of fish (from guppies to rainbowfish to killies to Discus) and have a pretty good idea of which varieties can take a low amount of aquarium salt.

lioness501

ok so got home this mornin to check my baby girl, shes now at the bottom of the tank. i thought she was dead but no shes still breathin??? im so sad, anyone else know wat this could b??????

lioness501

now her scales r sticking out and on her back end it looks like her insides r coming outside like shes gonna burst, not active at all

Lupin

It seems your Guppy may not last long at this time unfortunately. What other fish do you have? This is worth answering as most fish will be able to tolerate salt for awhile. I don't think the chances of your Guppy recovering is high enough considering the situation you have described seems like the treatment is no longer possible.