Post by jocie1976 on Apr 22, 2015 0:31:20 GMT -5
Dealing With Dropsy
Dropsy typically shows up for no apparent reason, and despite the best of care, claims the life of its victim. The term “dropsy” refers to a condition characterized by abdominal swelling that causes the scales in the affected area to stand on end, giving the tropical fish a pineconelike appearance, particularly when viewed from above. Dropsy is not a specific disease but rather a symptom of a deteriorated health condition.
The visible swelling is the result of a tropical fish not being able to regulate the amount of fluid in a part of its body, typically the abdomen, and specifically, most often the visceral cavity that houses a number of organs such as the stomach, intestines, gall bladder and kidney. The failure to regulate fluids is a symptom — so there is usually some other disease involved that starts the process.
Causes:
Dropsy is the buildup of fluid inside the body cavity or tissues of a fish. As a symptom rather than a disease, it can indicate a number of underlying diseases, including bacterial infections, parasitic infections, or liver dysfunction.
The causes of dropsy are seemingly anything and everything. Although many people tend to think of tropical fish diseases as being caused by specific “bugs” (pathogens) that they then have to get rid of, sometimes the cause is less obvious. In many cases, environmental parameters are at fault. In new setups, water parameter issues, such as elevated ammonia or nitrite levels before the nitrogen cycle is complete, can be the problem, whereas in older setups it could be chronically low pH, due to lack of maintenance. Dropsy can also be brought on by the stress of aggressive tankmates and seems to affect older tropical fish more than younger ones of the same species (in the same living conditions).
At the same time, there are also theories that connect dropsy — or the abdominal swelling we typically ociate with dropsy — with actual disease-causing pathogens: internal bacterial infections, parasites, viruses and tumors. In these cases, it can be extremely difficult for a hobbyist to properly diagnose the problem by correctly identifying the causative pathogen, unless the fish in question is sacrificed and dissected. For the average hobbyist without experience in proper fish dissection, a microscope and a good tropical fish disease reference, it can be a rather fruitless exercise because many pathogens can be very difficult to find and identify.
The next issue is obviously what to do about a tropical fish with dropsy. First, dropsy is not contagious. However, if one fish does become affected, other fish in the same fish aquarium — particularly those of the same species — could also be at risk. In such cases, the fish become affected one by one, until there’s no more of that species left (or the causative issue gets resolved). By far, the best example of that phenomenon is when a group of known sensitive tropical fish, such as rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi), are kept in inappropriate conditions and develop dropsy one at a time until you are left with either one extra tough ram or none at all.
Symptoms:
Big fat belly, not pregnant
Huge Swelling of Body
rear end of fish drops
Bulging sides and stomach
Scales almost popping off
Scales may be forced outward
Eyes may possibly buldge
Treatment Methods:
The general consensus seems to imply that if caught in the earliest stages (especially if the underlying cause or causes can be identified), dropsy can be effectively treated with anti-bacterial medications and/or salt baths. So, how do you catch it in those early stages? In most cases, the fish in question will stop eating fish food, typically a day or two before the swelling starts. It may also hang back at feeding times, and generally stop ociating with other fish in the fish aquarium a day or two before that. So, there is often time — but you have to be a keen observer to see the changes in behavior. The very minute that you observe any change in the behavior of your tropical fish, consider what the cause might be.
If you suspect that one or more of your aquarium fish are suffering from dropsy, follow these steps to treat the condition:
Isolate the sick fish in a hospital tank. To make water changes easier, this tank should be kept bare except for a filter and heater, if necessary. The temperature of the hospital tank should be as close to that of the original tank as possible.
Create a salt bath by adding no more than 2.5 teaspoons of Epsom salt for every ten gallons of water in the hospital tank. The magnesium sulfate in the Epsom salts may help to draw the excess water out of the fish's body that caused it to swell.
Feed your fish antibacterial fish food. You can either purchase prepared antibacterial fish food or make your own by creating a 1% mixture of fish food and an antibiotic like chloromycetin or tetracycline.
Continue to feed your fish antibiotic fish food and monitor their progress for 7 to 10 days.
If no improvement is seen after several days of treatment, treat the aquarium water with Maracyn Two. This medication is effective against bacterial infections and is absorbed through the skin of fish.
If, after ten days of treatment, your fish shows no signs of improvement or if it becomes worse it may be that the cause of dropsy is not bacterial. If the antibiotics do not work and the salt bath is ineffective, there may be nothing else you can do for your fish.
To find out about other treatments for dropsy you can contact your local pet store and seek advice from the professionals there but dropsy is a notoriously difficult disease to cure and other treatments may be just as ineffective.
Prevention:
As is true of most tropical fish diseases, the best way to prevent dropsy is to maintain good water quality in your tank. Perform routine weekly water changes in your fish tank; changing out between the appropriate of your aquarium's water volume. It is also important to give your fish enough space in the aquarium - overcrowding can result in stress and illness. Avoid feeding your fish too much as well because uneaten fish food that sinks to the bottom of the tank will decompose and it may negatively affect water quality in the tank.
Unfortunately, dropsy is a condition which is often fatal in fish and it can be caused by many different things. The key to preventing dropsy is to keep your aquarium clean and as stress-free for your fish as possible. If your fish should happen to contract dropsy, take action as soon as possible to treat the disease. Even if you act quickly, however, there may be nothing you can do to save your fish. The best thing you can do is keep your tank clean in the hopes of preventing your fish from becoming sick at all.
If the main causes of dropsy are environmental, in theory it should be relatively easy to prevent. Properly research your intended tropical fish purchases to make sure that you can provide the appropriate environment or that the species in question will do well in your aquarium, given its current environmental conditions. Things to consider include the right water parameters (such as pH, temperature, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate), tankmate compatibility, diet requirements and other needs, such as cover and habitat. There are also some species that appear particularly sensitive to dropsy, such as the aforementioned rams, many small barbs (e.g., cherry barbs, Barbus titteya; checker barbs, B. oligolepis; gold barbs, B. schuberti), dwarf gouramis (Colisa lalia), mollies (Poecilia) and goldfish (Carius auratus). It is probably best to avoid these species until you have some experience maintaining the fish aquarium conditions they need in order to thrive.
Aside from buying the right species for your aquarium, carefully consider your maintenance schedule for the fish aquarium. Maintaining good environmental conditions requires regular water changes, filter maintenance and siphoning of the substrate. These are all important components of a pro-active disease prevention plan. Add to that a varied diet and compatible tankmates, and you should never have to deal with dropsy.
Sources:
www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/disease-prevention/dealing-with-dropsy.aspx
www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/224
(Google pictures used)
Dropsy typically shows up for no apparent reason, and despite the best of care, claims the life of its victim. The term “dropsy” refers to a condition characterized by abdominal swelling that causes the scales in the affected area to stand on end, giving the tropical fish a pineconelike appearance, particularly when viewed from above. Dropsy is not a specific disease but rather a symptom of a deteriorated health condition.
The visible swelling is the result of a tropical fish not being able to regulate the amount of fluid in a part of its body, typically the abdomen, and specifically, most often the visceral cavity that houses a number of organs such as the stomach, intestines, gall bladder and kidney. The failure to regulate fluids is a symptom — so there is usually some other disease involved that starts the process.
Causes:
Dropsy is the buildup of fluid inside the body cavity or tissues of a fish. As a symptom rather than a disease, it can indicate a number of underlying diseases, including bacterial infections, parasitic infections, or liver dysfunction.
The causes of dropsy are seemingly anything and everything. Although many people tend to think of tropical fish diseases as being caused by specific “bugs” (pathogens) that they then have to get rid of, sometimes the cause is less obvious. In many cases, environmental parameters are at fault. In new setups, water parameter issues, such as elevated ammonia or nitrite levels before the nitrogen cycle is complete, can be the problem, whereas in older setups it could be chronically low pH, due to lack of maintenance. Dropsy can also be brought on by the stress of aggressive tankmates and seems to affect older tropical fish more than younger ones of the same species (in the same living conditions).
At the same time, there are also theories that connect dropsy — or the abdominal swelling we typically ociate with dropsy — with actual disease-causing pathogens: internal bacterial infections, parasites, viruses and tumors. In these cases, it can be extremely difficult for a hobbyist to properly diagnose the problem by correctly identifying the causative pathogen, unless the fish in question is sacrificed and dissected. For the average hobbyist without experience in proper fish dissection, a microscope and a good tropical fish disease reference, it can be a rather fruitless exercise because many pathogens can be very difficult to find and identify.
The next issue is obviously what to do about a tropical fish with dropsy. First, dropsy is not contagious. However, if one fish does become affected, other fish in the same fish aquarium — particularly those of the same species — could also be at risk. In such cases, the fish become affected one by one, until there’s no more of that species left (or the causative issue gets resolved). By far, the best example of that phenomenon is when a group of known sensitive tropical fish, such as rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi), are kept in inappropriate conditions and develop dropsy one at a time until you are left with either one extra tough ram or none at all.
Symptoms:
Big fat belly, not pregnant
Huge Swelling of Body
rear end of fish drops
Bulging sides and stomach
Scales almost popping off
Scales may be forced outward
Eyes may possibly buldge
Treatment Methods:
The general consensus seems to imply that if caught in the earliest stages (especially if the underlying cause or causes can be identified), dropsy can be effectively treated with anti-bacterial medications and/or salt baths. So, how do you catch it in those early stages? In most cases, the fish in question will stop eating fish food, typically a day or two before the swelling starts. It may also hang back at feeding times, and generally stop ociating with other fish in the fish aquarium a day or two before that. So, there is often time — but you have to be a keen observer to see the changes in behavior. The very minute that you observe any change in the behavior of your tropical fish, consider what the cause might be.
If you suspect that one or more of your aquarium fish are suffering from dropsy, follow these steps to treat the condition:
Isolate the sick fish in a hospital tank. To make water changes easier, this tank should be kept bare except for a filter and heater, if necessary. The temperature of the hospital tank should be as close to that of the original tank as possible.
Create a salt bath by adding no more than 2.5 teaspoons of Epsom salt for every ten gallons of water in the hospital tank. The magnesium sulfate in the Epsom salts may help to draw the excess water out of the fish's body that caused it to swell.
Feed your fish antibacterial fish food. You can either purchase prepared antibacterial fish food or make your own by creating a 1% mixture of fish food and an antibiotic like chloromycetin or tetracycline.
Continue to feed your fish antibiotic fish food and monitor their progress for 7 to 10 days.
If no improvement is seen after several days of treatment, treat the aquarium water with Maracyn Two. This medication is effective against bacterial infections and is absorbed through the skin of fish.
If, after ten days of treatment, your fish shows no signs of improvement or if it becomes worse it may be that the cause of dropsy is not bacterial. If the antibiotics do not work and the salt bath is ineffective, there may be nothing else you can do for your fish.
To find out about other treatments for dropsy you can contact your local pet store and seek advice from the professionals there but dropsy is a notoriously difficult disease to cure and other treatments may be just as ineffective.
Prevention:
As is true of most tropical fish diseases, the best way to prevent dropsy is to maintain good water quality in your tank. Perform routine weekly water changes in your fish tank; changing out between the appropriate of your aquarium's water volume. It is also important to give your fish enough space in the aquarium - overcrowding can result in stress and illness. Avoid feeding your fish too much as well because uneaten fish food that sinks to the bottom of the tank will decompose and it may negatively affect water quality in the tank.
Unfortunately, dropsy is a condition which is often fatal in fish and it can be caused by many different things. The key to preventing dropsy is to keep your aquarium clean and as stress-free for your fish as possible. If your fish should happen to contract dropsy, take action as soon as possible to treat the disease. Even if you act quickly, however, there may be nothing you can do to save your fish. The best thing you can do is keep your tank clean in the hopes of preventing your fish from becoming sick at all.
If the main causes of dropsy are environmental, in theory it should be relatively easy to prevent. Properly research your intended tropical fish purchases to make sure that you can provide the appropriate environment or that the species in question will do well in your aquarium, given its current environmental conditions. Things to consider include the right water parameters (such as pH, temperature, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate), tankmate compatibility, diet requirements and other needs, such as cover and habitat. There are also some species that appear particularly sensitive to dropsy, such as the aforementioned rams, many small barbs (e.g., cherry barbs, Barbus titteya; checker barbs, B. oligolepis; gold barbs, B. schuberti), dwarf gouramis (Colisa lalia), mollies (Poecilia) and goldfish (Carius auratus). It is probably best to avoid these species until you have some experience maintaining the fish aquarium conditions they need in order to thrive.
Aside from buying the right species for your aquarium, carefully consider your maintenance schedule for the fish aquarium. Maintaining good environmental conditions requires regular water changes, filter maintenance and siphoning of the substrate. These are all important components of a pro-active disease prevention plan. Add to that a varied diet and compatible tankmates, and you should never have to deal with dropsy.
Sources:
www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/disease-prevention/dealing-with-dropsy.aspx
www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/224
(Google pictures used)
