goldfish dropsy

[poeticjustice88]

180 litre tank

2 calico oranda - adult

1 adolescent calico

2 adult shubunkins

and a couple of catfish and algae eaters

Nitrite 0

nitrate spiked to 20ppm. First time its ever done this without a death. no idea why

ammonia .25 ppm

ph 7

kh ?

My calico is around 2 years old. She has always been a fat, egg shaped girl. always had a really big gut on her, ever since i got her. But i recently noticed she is very lathargic, just gets pushed around by the current and does dlips and rolls. its not too strong i might add, the current. have just today noticed some pineconing on her scales. I am really worried. I know everyone loves their fish' dearly, but these goldfish and my life. I would do anything to keep em healthy so I am desperate to find out what I can do.

I have read that salt baths can help to remove any excessive internal buildup. Can I please get some solid answers on what salt, how much and how often! So many different forums say different things, one says aquarium salt, the other says NEVER use it, one says table salt non iodized the other says epsom. Please, I beg for a straight answer.

I also need some ideas on medications and location on the gold coast, qld. I have very little money but will find a way. The best medications for her please, whether they be a general med or a specific type.

temperature? Do I raise or lower the temps? It has been cold recently on the gold coast, my tank is not heated. could this be a cause?

ANYTHING else that you may be able to tell me would be so helpful i could not thank you enough. I am desperate to keep her alive as she is my pride and joy. ANY help you may be able to give me to help fend off the inevitable would be greatly appreciated.

As I said, I have no money, I am physically disabled and do not work so the cheaper the meds the better. In saying that. If anybody on the gold coast has some meds that would suit her conditions, please, I beg of you, sell me what you have left at a decent price so i can save her

Michael

[poeticjustice88]

please, any help or advice on medication, temperatures, procedures would be greatly appreciated. I need to know the best medication for this circum stance, anything you might know at all would be a great help.

Hell, if you want to come around and have a look for yourself to help me out, i would not say no.

I DO NOT want to lose her. she was my first and I have a great bond with her, as does my partner (as she is her fish )

Kind Regards,

Michael

[poeticjustice88]

my loving partner helped me to pay for some medication for our poor "nugget". We went out and got some "Pimafix". The bottle states it is an antifungal remedy that aids in the healing of mouth and body fungus;cottony growth, fin and tail rot and redness of skin and body. Also aids healing of internal and external bacterial infections. The store that we went to, "City Farmers" in Labrador had a selection of medications, but this looked to be the best suited for the symptoms we are seeing. It looks to be a 7 Day schedule of medication, so with any luck we will see some improvements in her condition. She is still in the hospital tank I have set up, with epsom salts being dosed in twice per day, and a water change every night. Doing every thing we can on our side, now the fight is up to her.

[mermans_goldfish]

At first glance mate, I'd say your tank is way overstocked. This probably affected the water quality and contributed to the dropsy in your poor little girl.

Because I live locally and had a similar experience, I decided to join this forum and answer. Dropsy is a symptom of organ failure, usually caused by an internal bacteria infection. As a beginner, I learned the hard way. I lost a few fish and had to learn how to euthanize using clove oil. You're better off PREVENTING dropsy than trying to treat it. Having said that, I did successfully save a goldfish with dropsy once (and only once) by 1)Recognising the problem and acting immediately 2)Setting up a 'hospital' or quarantine tank 3)Treating with Myxazin by Waterlife. I'm not very confident in Pimafix being the right treatment for dropsy, but I'd love to be wrong on that.

If you want to try a salt bath treatment for dropsy be sure to use use EPSOM SALT, not aquarium or sea salt. Here's the logic: with dropsy the kidneys are shutting down, hence the water retention and pine-coning. Normal salt will only cause your fish to retain more water! That's the opposite of what you want to achieve. You want to relieve the water retention.

Best of luck with your fish. Dropsy is not usually something a goldfish recovers from... but it may be possible.