Possible Dropsy

[jc102]

Hey guys,

I have been noticing my tiger barb acting a bit strange over the past week or two. Today, I noticed his belly was bloated and he is swimming at an angle. I'm thinking it is dropsy. I've never had to deal with anything like this, so I did some research. Evidently, dropsy is very hard to cure and not contagious, but if the fish dies and the others nibble at it, they could possibly get it too.

I do not have a quarantine tank setup, nor do I have any extra cycled filter media. I do have a 1 gallon Betta tank that I'm not using. Should I set that up with a heater and air and put the Barb in it for observation?

I uploaded a video of my Tiger Barb (the yellow one with the black stripe). What do you think?

 

[coralbandit]

I don't see the typical pine coning that dropsy shows ..By the time you see it the damage is usually to severe for the fish to recover..Often it is an internal bacterial infection that surely can be contagious...
Fish looks large. Possibly constipated ,overfed or developing an issue still?
The 1g betta set up would not a good idea IMO...Water parameter can go crazy in small tanks fast....

 

[jc102]

I don't see the typical pine coning that dropsy shows ..By the time you see it the damage is usually to severe for the fish to recover..Often it is an internal bacterial infection that surely can be contagious...
Fish looks large. Possibly constipated ,overfed or developing an issue still?
The 1g betta set up would not a good idea IMO...Water parameter can go crazy in small tanks fast....

I never thought about it being constipated. They get fed once per day with one skip day every week. I've heard of people giving their fish peas for constipation. Perhaps I should try that and see what happens.

 

[Matt68005]

It could just be eggbound as well.
Possible causes of dropsy, internal bacteria, internal parasite, worms
API General cure should work, or by them seperately (Prazipro, Metronidazole)
Metro works best in food, this is not a diagnosis just a fallback plan if you notice them get sick and bloated
Watch for stringy poo

 

[jc102]

It could just be eggbound as well.
Possible causes of dropsy, internal bacteria, internal parasite, worms
API General cure should work, or by them seperately (Prazipro, Metronidazole)
Metro works best in food, this is not a diagnosis just a fallback plan if you notice them get sick and bloated
Watch for stringy poo

Thanks! What does stringy poo indicate?

 

[Matt68005]

Worms usually

 

[Big Bubble00]

Oh... its called dropsy? I had a goldfish that died 2 days ago, I saw my cat splash on it and blamed my cat. Turned out it was dropsy cuz he was swimming really slow and not as active as my other goldfish. What causes dropsy?

 

[jc102]

I haven't noticed stringy poo, other than from my pleco, but I will keep an eye out just to make sure. So far he seems to be acting the same. I didn't feed any of the fish today. Tomorrow I'm going to try feeding peas and I'm going to observe to see if it eats.

 

[flitabout]

This is was dropsy looks like in goldfish

 

[flitabout]

It is caused by a bacteria