black skirt dead... Dropsy???

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tamtam

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Joined
Aug 15, 2004
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I lost a black skirt the other day... :( . I think it was dropsy but i was wondering how long it takes for dropsy to kill. He was acting a lil strange for about 5-6 day but i didnt think anything of it cause he is strange to begin with and was eating good untill 2 days before. He also was fat and from top view he looked to have his scales poping out of his belly( this is why im thinkin dropsy ) I had him in with a female betta and another black skirt all in a 15 gal. I am wonderin if i should do a huge tank cleanin or are the others even at risk of catchin it??? Im not familiar with dropsy... In fact i dunno if he had it. :?

well any advice would be great. thanks.
 
google search it and you will find a lot of information on symptons, contagiousness, and treatment (in case your other fish catch it). I don't have experience with it personally, but I am sure some other people will chime in soon. Good luck!
 
I hope so. Im sorta in the middle of an aprox 50% water change. So i cant write much. But Im doin the water change and cleanin the filter. We'll see how things go..hopfuly someone writes soon.
As soon as this all sorts out and I know the tank is stable im gonna get 3-4 nmore blackskirts... and if it doesnt work... im goin fer some livbeares..but I hoope it works.
 
IF this was scales protruding throughout the entire body, I'd guess dropsy. If just a small area, sounds like a bacterial infection.

Either way, fungal or bacterial, you are doing the right thing with a water change. You are just going to have to keep a heavy eye out for any other strange behavior and treat agressively.

IMO, stay with the black skirts, they have much more personallity than livebearers, and will last ya longer too. :wink:

Good Luck!
 
thank you. Well the other black skirt is acting kinda odd he is swimmin sorrta funny. just when he goes fast and turns it seems he sorta falls over... I dunno if its ho fast hes goin or if Im parniod... But Ill keep an eye on him. Should I raise the temp at all??? its about 80 now, would a higher temp help get through this???
TIA!!!!!!!!
 
I'm not so sure, but I don't think a higher temp would do you any good. 80 seems about fine. If the symptoms get worse physically on the fish, I'd treat with some anti-fungal meds. Jungles Fungus Clear Tablets have always worked wonders for me. Keep on checking it out, and make sure you aren't just paranoid and thinking you recognize somethig your fish actually does all the time :wink:

Sorry, I can't help you more on the heat part. Hopefully someone else will stop by who can help.

BTW: Were the scales protruding all over, or just a spot? This is important in finding out what exactly was wrong.
 
tis ok thanks for the help. Hopfully someone will check in soon. I dont wanna loose my female betta, I dont wanna loose the blackskirt ether but I was hoping in a few months to try breeding my bettas. Well... we'll see how things go*crosses finger*
 
So, to my last question though. Were the scales protruding all over? Or just in a cerain spot?

This is rather important in deciphering what your fish had when it died, and could also determine what kind of meds need to be given if any are required.
 
well im not to sure.. he was a very small fish and hard to see but the whole like 1 cm o so of his body had sticking out scales but it was more noticable on his belly.hope that helps.
 
so far so good:D they seem to be eating good and color is fine. they are also lively so hope things are good. im gonna keep up on the water changes.
I hope all goes well.
Thanks for all of the help:D
 
so far so good:D they seem to be eating good and color is fine. they are also lively so hope things are good. im gonna keep up on the water changes.
I hope all goes well.
Thanks for all of the help:D

No Problemo. Just make sure that you don't do too many water changes, or too much when you do do them. I'd just keep an eye on things and make sure all is well in the tank. Sounds like things are rebounding nicely. :lol:
 
:D:D:D I hope so. I love my tank. and im getting some new stuff for it in like 2-3 days for my b-day but I dont want to be putting any of it in with the tank in a mess. So ill have to wait but it'll give me time to sort out anything an figure out where its all going:D:D
thanks again:D
 
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