[EDIT] Help me save my sick angel, please! (pix)

[demurefemme]

I am virtually positive that my seven year old angelfish is suffering from dropsy: his abdomen is bloated (scales are still lying flat) and his eyes definitely have that "pop eye" look. Long story short, I just got back from a ten-day trip and my "babysitter" flaked on checking up on the fish. So no clue how long my baby has been suffering

I went to Wal-Mart (only place open upon my midnight arrival from out of town) and picked up the Jungle Fungus Clear Tank Buddies, as the only other medicine I currently have in the apartment is some expired (3/06) Maracyn.

He's in a 10 gal QT now, with the JFTB's, and I'm wondering if adding Maracyn (these, ideally, or new ones tomorrow) would help or hurt. I can't find anything online about mixing these two...

I know dropsy is almost always a lost cause, but I love this little guy and I want to do everything I can to help him pull through if he can.

I know there probably aren't many of y'all up at 4 am, but hey, it's worth a shot!

Thanks!

EDIT: I changed the title of this post since the question in the original title has been answered...the saga's still going on, though. Thanks for all your help so far! My fingers are crossed and I'm hoping and fighting for success!

EDIT: here are some pics of my poor baby...

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/demurefemme/sickshark.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/demurefemme/sickshark2.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/demurefemme/sharkie.jpg

...i really hope he pulls through!

i've started adding epsom salt to the QT tank now, 1/4 tsp at a time so it's as stress-free as possible. *fingers still crossed and hoping for the best*

 

[DepotFish]

Dropsy is no lost cause. You treat it with epsom salts for the swelling and antibiotic food. Other antibiotics too, some people do injections. The more aggressively you treat, the better chance the fish has. Fungus buddies are not the right treatment. I know the box states that it helps with dropsy, but dropsy isn't caused by a fungus and its internal, not external.

 

[demurefemme]

Thanks! I am off to pick both of those up. I had seen a few threads where people had success with these tabs, but I definitely want to do everything I can for him. So you would vote antibiotic food + other antibiotics (maracyn and maracyn II maybe?) + epsom baths?

 

[Devilishturtles]

I've used the Fungus Clear tabs twice to treat and cure dropsy with a goldfish. They CAN work. Dropsy isn't the result of anything but and internal infection that is affecting your fish's ability to get rid of liquids. Either an internal bacterial or fungal infection. Sometimes you need a Fungus Med, sometimes you need a Bacterial Med. You CAN treat with both at the same time, but it may be a little stressful.

You can try Maracyn and Maracyn Two combo, but if it doesn't work I'd go back to the Fungus Clear Tabs as soon as possible. The epsom salts will help too, to draw liquid out of the body.

 

[demurefemme]

Thanks Devilishturtles!

I picked up some Maracyn Plus and added that to the QT tank...I figure I should just go all out and I'd rather risk stress from overtreatment than death because I was too cautious.

He doesn't look any different, physically, today than yesterday, but he's more active today. I was afraid that the pop eye had affected his vision, but he has been watching me every time I come by to check up on him (which makes me feel soooo guilty that I can't explain to him what's going on! ) and swimming around more normally today than last night. Hopefully those are all good signs, but he still isn't eating.

I will add the epsom salts tonight if that will be safe to do. With the fungus tabs and the Maracyn plus already in the QT tank, should I do dips instead of adding the salt to the water? I don't care how involved I have to be, I just want to do everything I can to save his life.

My camera is charging now, so I'll try to include pics in the next post.

Thanks again, y'all!

 

[Devilishturtles]

Hey demure. I'm not convinced that your angel has dropsy. It more just looks way constipated to me. Is it still eating? If it is, stop feeding for 2-3 days. Is it passing any poop that you can see?

The pop eye is another thing, and could simply be from stress or infection. Have you tested ammonia, nitrite, nitrate at all? How responsible was the person watching your fish? Could they have overfed?

 

[demurefemme]

No, he isn't still eating, and he isn't pooping, either.

The fish-sitter was a disaster. It was a friend of mine, and he didn't even stop by once. I have had friends watch them before with no problem, but this has made me 100% sure that I'm never leaving for more than a couple days without hiring a professional to watch them.

When I got back, I immediately tested, and my nitrates were elevated. I was in something of a panic that night, but I think the color was between the 40 and 80 patches on the strip. I have been having some problems keeping them down lately, though, which is unusual and I'm not quite sure why it's happening, since I haven't added any new fish or started feeding more. But I've been doing bigger and more frequent water changes (the nitrates were fine when I left town, but it was a 10-day trip) to try and keep it down.

As for food, I left them with a vacation feeder just in case (and I'm glad I did, because all the other tankmates are fine now), but they don't usually touch it when I'm out of town (I've left them for a couple of nights with one, usually to come home and find it still whole). This time it was gone, though, so maybe he just ate all of it?

Should I upgrade him from epsom in the tank to shorter, stronger epsom baths? I've tried feeding him peas, but he won't touch them or flake food (even his usual favorite huge flakes). I probably could make the epsom concentration a bit stronger in the QT; I had read different recommendations for how much to put in and I used the most conservative first. What would you recommend?

Thanks again, so very much.

 

[kansei]

As far as the Jungle fungus tabs - most meds that claim to get rid of fungus are usually antibiotics of some sort . They are labeled like it as many people see alot of bacterial infections and think they are fungal infections -So "fungus" meds also will take care of many common bacterial infections.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I'd try increasing the epsom salts, yeah. Any improvement so far with the meds? Any improvements at all?

 

[demurefemme]

he's still trucking along...doesn't look any worse, but doesn't look any better, either. still quite active, but still not eating. a couple of times when i've checked in on him it has seemed that there might be - i don't think i can put this delicately - a tiny bit of poo leaving his body, but it never seems to be more than just the tiniest little nub.

i've been adding an extra 1/4 tsp of the epsom salts every few hours, making sure that he doesn't look stressed at all before adding the next dose. the temp in the QT is at 84, and he'll get his second dose of maracyn plus today. i may do a partial water change if anything at all shows up on the test strips.

thanks for all of your help so far! i'm glad he's still hanging on and i really hope he makes it through all this, so any and all advice is of course very much appreciated! i'll keep y'all updated if things change. thanks again!

EDIT: checked the water just now and there are traces of ammonia present...does this mean that he has started eliminating waste again?

also, since he's basically living in a mild laxative right now, will his waste - once it starts moving, if it starts moving - have a different consistency than it normally would? i've noticed some weird thread-like stuff in the filter cartridge and near his anal region. i have *no* idea what that is, though...it may just be from the salts and medication and may just be clinging to him there...

EDIT: ok, did a 25% water change and upped the epsom salts and gave him a second dose of maracyn plus. my boyfriend and i both think he looks a little less "puffy" today, but i'm afraid it may be just wishful thinking or that we're getting used to his bloated appearance. i tried giving him a couple of flakes to see if his appetite was back, but he wasn't interested at all.

i DO think that he might have started excreting some solid waste, though. when i did the water change, i picked up a really thin floating thread of what appears to be at least partially made up of normal fish waste (it at least looked close enough that my boyfriend was thoroughly disgusted that i was holding it, heh). it was very thin, and seemed to be mucus with a thin amount of waste in the middle. i'm REALLY hoping he'll make it through this, and i've got my fingers crossed that he's just super constipated with a case of pop eye.

thanks again for the help, everyone!

 

[lyquidphyre]

Since you said you were on AA in our LJ convo, I thought I would pop in here and add a few more two cents in addition to the two cents I left over on LJ =oP

Make sure when he doesn't eat the food you put out that you try and net out the left over food (this will help keep the ammonia/nitrites down). But you could probably go awhile with out feeding him.

 

[demurefemme]

thanks

i've only been dropping in a couple of flakes every few days, and getting them out the next day.

his eyes definitely look less puffy now, but his body is still pretty bloated. he doesn't seem to have really "gone" all that much, either.

i was feeling a bit more optimistic, but now he's not always 100% vertically aligned, and i'm starting to think he's heading downhill.

his last dose of antibiotics is tonight, and i think i may try some epsom salt baths as a last effort.

very sad. i was hoping he'd pull through :*(

EDIT: he's been in the dip for 20 minutes now, and still hasn't made any "progress," so to speak.

is it time to rule out constipation?

 

[lyquidphyre]

And his scales never popped out?

You might want to get him started on maracyn II and keep up with the epsom salt baths. It has been 5 days (at least), and the fact that he is still hanging in means there is some possible hope. Usually after five days the fish is on it's last "leg" and there is a noticible decline.

Just keep up with what you are doing because it seems to be helping =o)

(P.S. I started to reply to your LJ last night and my cat stepped on the power switch and turned off my computer and so the comment never went through)

 

[demurefemme]

thanks for all your help everyone, but sharkie passed away sometime during the night last night. he was a fighter and he was swimming until the end, and he will be missed.

 

[fynnie]

Im really sorry for your loss, You fought with everything you could.

 

[demurefemme]

thanks, fynnie. that means a lot.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Sorry demure I'll mention that 7 years is a good amount of time for an angelfish. It could simply have just been his time to go, and I'm sure nothing you did or didn't do.

RIP Sharkie.