Bloated congo tetra

[shellyx]

Both the medications you list won't be available to shellyx without a vets prescription.

Yep, I can't get a hold of them. Kinda stuck now, just doing the baths

 

[Andy Sager]

Both the medications you list won't be available to shellyx without a vets prescription.

Well that sucks. How hard is it to get a Vet's prescription there? Do any stores there also have vet services ( as we have here at Petco)?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Well that sucks. How hard is it to get a Vet's prescription there? Do any stores there also have vet services ( as we have here at Petco)?

Vets mostly do cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters etc. In rural areas you will find vets that specialise in livestock too. The vets that work in pet stores certainly only deal with those commonly kept pets. I only know of 1 vet in my vicinity that deals with exotics, including fish, but ive not really searched in depth. Im sure if you search around you could find them.

The problem isnt finding a vet, it would be cost. A typical vet consultation will be £50 to £60 if you take the pet to the vet. A home visit would be £100 to £200. Plus the cost of the medication. And a specialist vet might be more expensive. If you are keeping £1000 koi, its worth paying.

I can actually see us going the Canadian route and banning all aquatic medications in the near future. Ive seen malachite green being discussed as being potentially banned. Human use of pet medication isnt so much of a problem here because health care costs are minimal, so controlling them isnt as important. But i can still see a more complete ban on the horizon.

 

[Andy Sager]

Vets mostly do cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters etc. In rural areas you will find vets that specialise in livestock too. The vets that work in pet stores certainly only deal with those commonly kept pets. I only know of 1 vet in my vicinity that deals with exotics, including fish, but ive not really searched in depth. Im sure if you search around you could find them.

The problem isnt finding a vet, it would be cost. A typical vet consultation will be £50 to £60 if you take the pet to the vet. A home visit would be £100 to £200. Plus the cost of the medication. And a specialist vet might be more expensive. If you are keeping £1000 koi, its worth paying.

I can actually see us going the Canadian route and banning all aquatic medications in the near future. Ive seen malachite green being discussed as being potentially banned. Human use of pet medication isnt so much of a problem here because health care costs are minimal, so controlling them isnt as important. But i can still see a more complete ban on the horizon.

So that's a death sentence to either tropical fish keeping or any sick tropical fish? That doesn't sound good. Sadly, some of the diseases need antibiotics to cure. So with a total ban, the hobbyist needs to consider that there will be losses to their stock due to the unavailability of meds to treat their fish's illnesses? That certainly does not seem fair. For wild fish, they just die and get eaten by other fish if they get too sick. It's all part of nature's plan where only 1- 10 % of offspring survive to become breeding adults. So the hobbyist has to consider the cost of medicating ( including the cost to get the medicines). Despite popular belief, SALT alone does not clear and cure everything. It would really put a spotlight on trying to save every life as that will no longer be possible with a total ban on certain meds.

 

[shellyx]

I've done a couple of baths today but there isn't any change in her, I've seen a couple of scales sticking out not sure if she's starting to get Dropsy or it's down to the size of her, keeping a close eye.
But yeah we can't get meds through our vets they don't deal with fish sadly.

 

[Andy Sager]

I've done a couple of baths today but there isn't any change in her, I've seen a couple of scales sticking out not sure if she's starting to get Dropsy or it's down to the size of her, keeping a close eye.
But yeah we can't get meds through our vets they don't deal with fish sadly.

I hate to say it but if the fish starts pineconing, you might as well euthanize her since the success rate of recovery WITH antibiotics when the fish are pineconing is low so without any, 1 in a billion...maybe.

 

[shellyx]

I have bought clove oil just incase I need it. Haven't had to use it before something I'm not looking forward to

 

[Andy Sager]

I have bought clove oil just incase I need it. Haven't had to use it before something I'm not looking forward to

You need to approach your Governments about figuring out a way to regulate meds so that they can still be available for your fish pets. Here in the US, antibiotics have been changed from pill form to just powder to curb human use so there are ways of doing it. For me, paying an outrages vet fee ( which they may deserve due to their expertise) to cure a $5.00 fish is crazy when a $10.00 med can save the fish and others in case the whole package isn't required. It makes no sense to me. Just sayin'. Animal rights groups complain how there is so much cruelty in animal care while your countries are saying " Fish are expendable so there is no need to have meds available. " What's wrong with that picture?

 

[shellyx]

I understand its ridiculous here, to them a fish means nothing so when they get sick we can't cure them unless you want to buy melafix or something like that.

She's still swimming around not eating. I'm not sure if its Dropsy I have seen that before and she's not looking like that? The side of her belly looks pink in colour. I'm unsure if I should still bath her, I hate having sick fish

 

[Andy Sager]

I understand its ridiculous here, to them a fish means nothing so when they get sick we can't cure them unless you want to buy melafix or something like that.

She's still swimming around not eating. I'm not sure if its Dropsy I have seen that before and she's not looking like that? The side of her belly looks pink in colour. I'm unsure if I should still bath her, I hate having sick fish

Unfortunately, with female fish, it could be dropsy, eggbound or a precurser to dropsy. The issues with Dropsy is that there is no disease called Dropsy. What dropsy is is an accumulation of fluid in the cavity usually caused by organ failure from the organs that help regulate the flow of fluids to and from the body. With eggbinding, the "stuck" egg(s) get infected causing and infection of the organs which causes them to not function properly. Without antibiotics, there has been no cure to my knowledge that works to counter either of these. Sometimes with eggbinding, using epsom salt helps relax the muscles so that the fish can push out the infected eggs but it doesn't work 100% of the time.
The pink color on your fish could point to the issue being eggbinding but Congos also have an array of colors within their scales so it could also be just a different view coming from the light hitting the fish from a different angle.
As for whether to continue doing the baths, all I can say is it's up to you at this point. My opinion is that without the proper meds, you are just "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" at this point. That said, until the fish's scales start to "pinecone", there is always a chance, ( a slim one) that the baths can help her rectify the situation. So you need to decide which is best for you.
Wish I had better news.

 

[shellyx]

On close inspection she's pine coned so I think I'll have to euthanize her, I've never had to do this before.
Could someone advise me on this?
Thanks as always Andy

 

[Andy Sager]

On close inspection she's pine coned so I think I'll have to euthanize her, I've never had to do this before.
Could someone advise me on this?
Thanks as always Andy

Having not used clove oil personally, I found this video to be most helpful.

Keep in mind this is not any kind of endorsement of the site or person but just of the simple instructions for using this type of euthanizing fish.

 

[shellyx]

Thanks for the help