# Help - Dropsy in a planted tank



## Rony1107 (Dec 25, 2009)

I have an 18 gallon tank. Recently I started noticing fish were getting rounder, putting on weight, scales protruding, red spots in the stomach area and deaths. 

I am sure its DROPSY disease. How can I treat it? 

I have a well balanced tank change water twice a week each time 25%, I have Co2, temp.23-24 with chiller, use RO minerals added to raise TDS, no algae, snails are fine. Two weeks ago I added 5 ottos may be they triggered the disease coz 2 of them died within a week.

I have rare mosses in that tank so I cannot use just any medicine coz it has to be plant and invert safe. Therefore I have few options. 

What can u suggest to treat the Dropsy problem?

I have right now in the medicine cabinet for fish only JBL Furanol 2 and Seachem Paragard. What is better to treat this disease? 

Please help guys my fish who are more than a year old have started dying like crazy this never happened to me before.


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

I'm not familiair with the named medicines but dropsy is caused by a bacteria. Furanol sounds like a anti worm medicine and paraguard like it is for parasites. Try to check whether it contains antibiotics, and antibiotics vs gram negative bacteria are preferred (I see you are not from the US, try to find esha2000 or another antibiotic). 
If you got a separate tank, try treating them in there. Adding salt (max a tsp per litre) to the (quarantine) tank is also a good option to increase their immune system

I doubt the oto's caused it, it is usual to loose a few otocinclus in the first few weeks. Besides that, the bacteria that causes dropsy is present in almost every tank, but healthy fish are not likely to get it, something else must be wrong as well. (not enough or low quality food, water too cold, high ammonia or nitrite or anything...)

Hope this helps!


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## Rony1107 (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks Yo-han yesterday I bought JBL Ektol fluid. Also made the necessary arrangements and set up the hospital tank with internal filter (spare) took some used floss from the planted tank filter transferred the water from the planted tank to the hospital tank. Simultaneously added new water to the planted tank. I'm running the hospital tank for a day bef.I transfer the fish.

I think may be the low temp.23 deg. caused an outburst of dropsy! 

My tanks are very clean and well maintained. I change water twice a week and vacuum the substrate as much as possible. Once in two weeks trim the plants check the Nitrates, Phosphates, PH, GH, KH. I have a HM digital TDS meters and check the TDS before and after everywater change. So I cannot think of anything except the temperature. 

Yesterday I raised the chiller to 24 degrees and after 4 days to 25 degrees to give the plants time to adjust to the change. 

Anyways I'm moving all my fish today to the quarantine tank and start medicating immediately. I will inform about the progress


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

I personally don't fully believe in any medication for small fishes. I have never saved any sick fish successfully after being in this hobby for decades except for:

1. the removal of parasites attached to goldfish which does not involve any medication (using a pair tweezer instead). 

2. ich removal from a 3 feet tank using a type of medicine that I cannot find anymore. The success rate was zero casualty.

I have a bad news that fishes infected by dropsy are too late to be rescued. I believe there is no cure for it. Any medication for dropsy is a gimmick in my personal opinion.


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

I agree that you will not save most of the fish, but I do believe you are able to save the less infected fish. Without doing anything you'll loose them all. I work at a lfs and medicated multiple kind of medicines on a lot of different diseases and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Dropsy is not untreatable but it depends on the stage of the disease, the water quality and the health of the fish whether or not it will survive.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I would add more magnesium to the hospital tank. Epsom salt is the most commonly available form here. I would add enough Epsom salt to raise the GH by about 2 German degrees of hardness. 

This is not a cure, but will help the fish flush out excess fluid from their system.


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## Byork (Oct 21, 2012)

If the fish has pineconed it is too late. Dropsy is bad news. It really isn't contagious though so if all your fish have it and your water is of the quality you say it maybe a different ailment. Have any of them pineconed?


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