sick harlequin, dropsy?

[James_in_MN]

I quarantined one of my harlequin rasboras since it looked sick. Now it's bloated with its scales sticking out, looking almost like a miniature pine cone with fins.

I suspect that it may be dropsy.

1) Is there anything I can give the fish in an attempt to save it?

2) Is there anything I may have to do to the tank he came from (10g community)? I don't see anything like it going on in that tank.

 

[James_in_MN]

Last tested water parameters for my 10g tank:

05/14/2011
0 ppm ammonia
0 ppm nitrIte
5 ppm nitrAte

 

[rich311k]

Sounds like he is pretty advanced, I doubt he will survive. You could try Epsom salt dip to relieve bloating and antibiotics, I do not think it will be successful.

As far as the main all you can really do is watch and hope it is hard to prevent cure something that we cant identify.

 

[James_in_MN]

I've done some reading, and decided that since it's probably too far along and I'll be out of town for a week, I'll have to euthanize the fish. I'm getting an icy bath ready as I type.

My hope is that I got him/her out in time before the rest of the tank could have been infected. They all look healthy to me, so I'm hoping I caught it in time for the others.