Dropsy again?

[SilverDragon]

I could just be extra paranoid (as I tend to be most of the time) but Im worried my dwarf gourami may have dropsy. I have already lost a Gold Gourami to dropsy and Ive learned that in certain colours of fish, its hard to tell whether their scales stick out or not, especially when the scales are so tiny. The tank is 5.5 gallon with a female Betta and Albino Cory Cat as well as the Dwarf Gourami in question. Does anyone know some early symptoms of Dropsy besides the scales sticking out and bloating?

 

[SilverDragon]

Oh, and it looks like hes mostly swimming with his head up and tail down. His scales only look a little bit prickly at certain angles of viewing e.g. from behind.

Temp 77 F
Ph 7.4 or higher
A few floating plants from an outdoor pond

 

[Zagz]

If his scales look prickly and he is swimming funny it could very well be dropsy. It may be too early to tell, but is he not eating, staying still at the either the top or the bottom of the tank, acting lethargic? Is his color off?

 

[SilverDragon]

Well hes staying still more often than he used to, I think, but not at the top or bottom.. just kindof anywhere. hes not acting lethargic, and he still eats like a pig.... and his colour is actually more vibrant... hes getting the irridescent blue in his dorsal fin now.

 

[SilverDragon]

Well Ive decided to treat the tank with Mycarin Two... I didnt remove the other two fish cuz all I have for a QT is a one gallon.. then I run into the heating problem if I use that... Its not going to hurt the other two fish anyway.... Im starting to wonder if this is just a bad coincidence that Ive had 2 gouramis with dropsy, or is there something wrong with my tank? Ugh.

 

[Zagz]

It could be a bad coincidence. How long ago did the other gouramis contract dropsy?

 

[SilverDragon]

Well the other gourami died about a month ago, but he wasnt in the tank with this flame gourami... I got the flame gourami to replace the gold one (the gold one was going to get too big anyway.. stupid pet store guy gave me him by mistake)... the female betta however has been in there the whole time, but shes fine. The cory cat was put in the same time as the flame gourami. hopefully thats not too confusing.. lol

the gold gourami was fine one day, and the next he was sick, and died that night.

 

[Zagz]

It might be that they were sick right from the LFS. If you got them all from the same lfs that is. You could always try getting some from a different lfs and seeing what happens.

 

[Devilishturtles]

How did you acclimate them? What are current water parameters? Dropsy is caused by an internal bacterial or fungal infection. If you keep losing them in your tank, it could be that you are getting weak fish from the lfs that cannot combat an infection in your tank. Treating the entire tank with maracyn two might help. That's my only theory. Best of luck with treatment.

 

[SilverDragon]

The two gouramis (previous and current) were purchased from different pet stores. Yesterday was the last day of medication (mycarin 2) and he is still acting normally. It looks like it was just my paranoia, I dont think he had dropsy. His scales just look wierd from certain angles in the light. Im glad.. I love that fish, his name is Sunset, and he cost me over $10. lol

 

[Zagz]

Glad to hear that they are doing fine. Just keep an eye on him in the future. It is better to err on the side of caution rather than to lose a fish.