Guppy may have dropsy

[evil Nick]

Levels are fine and water change was just done. This look like dropsy or just bloat. Scales are sticking out a bit.
Giving an Epson bath now but should I risk him in the main tank?
Thanks

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[IllusionX]

I though dropsy is not contagious?

 

[evil Nick]

Okay then works for me. Thought it was a bacteria and contagious. Thanks

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[coralbandit]

Bacterial infections are rarely "cured".
Sorry,I hope your guppy is constipated and the Epsom salt works.



You may medicate a beloved sick fish if you wish, but don't return to a community aquarium a fish that has "recovered" from symptoms of bacterial disease once its outward symptoms have been alleviated. "Dropsy" is a case in point. Sometimes a fish recovers enough from a bout of severe ascites to lead an outwardly-normal life. Then the "cured" fish is returned to the community aquarium, where it may become a sub-clinical carrier of bacteria, free of visible symptoms. A sub-clinical carrier remains a source of infection for all your other fish. When it dies quietly among the plants, a couple of months after the episode of "dropsy," the two events may not seem connected


Taken from
Bacterial infections | The Skeptical Aquarist

 

[Matt68005]

I though dropsy is not contagious?

Dropsy is a condition, not a disease. Conditions cannot be contagious, but the underlying parasite or infection could be.

 

[evil Nick]

well with some research I read that over eating blood worms could do it to certain fish as well and this guy was (yup was, he finally died) in the same tank as our puffers and loved munching worms. I always fed him flakes first but he still would gorge on worms.

What stinks is we replaced him with an identical guppy and it lasted one night. Must have stressed out and I found him up cought in the filter intake.

Checked water levels and everything is perfect.


Just bad luck I guess. Im hoping its not some parasite as a few weeks ago I had my goby in the tank finally pass. He stopped eating tho. This guppy never ever skipped a meal. The GF was/is pretty upset about it.

 

[IllusionX]

With guppies, I always leave a prefilter sponge on the intake tube as I often see them getting caught in it.

 

[PoppaRyno]

With guppies, I always leave a prefilter sponge on the intake tube as I often see them getting caught in it.

+1, i do this as well. Also feeding a high end flake food with probiotics helps. I use COBALT for just that purpose.

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[evil Nick]

I use a pretty high end flake for all my fish but also throw in some kens medicated here and there. When I noticed this I started giving a couple epson baths and netting him after he ate to only give him medicated flakes and no worms. He started to look better but then we noticed him hiding in the floating plants and knew it was coming. Its sadder I think when you can tell THEY KNOW its coming. I think he was also a relatively older fish when we got him, as he was full grown and I read they only live a year or 2. Im sure our heat wave here in CT is not helping. MY tank have been way over temp the last couple weeks. Heaters arent even running.

 

[evil Nick]

With guppies, I always leave a prefilter sponge on the intake tube as I often see them getting caught in it.

this is a 5 gallon tank with a very low power built in sponge filter system. I dont think he was stuck there but just died near there.