Possible dropsy? Photos included. . .

[Pipa]

Over the last 7-10 days, my platy has developed a very swollen abdomen. He is not constipated or acting strange. He seems happy, alert, and is eating well. I am quite concerned however. I imagine it is dropsy, but I have no idea what the cause is (parasites, infection, tumor). We do not have a hospital tank at this time. Please see my gallery for photos of him that were taken before this developed, for comparison purposes. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tsaraber]

It doesn't look like dropsy to me from those pictures - dropsy would make the scales stand out, he'd look like a pinecone from the top. Can't see any of that from the pictures.

I don't know a thing about platy's other than they're livebearers. Is it possible he is a she and pregnant?

 

[JM]

Looks pregnant to me, did this happen gradually or within a day or two??

 

[Pipa]

I can see what must be gonopodium, so I have been fairly certain this fish is male. If you want, take a look at the other pictures of it in the gallery and see if gonopodium are visible. It has happened over the last 7-10 days.

There has not been another livebearer in the tank for about 2 weeks, and that one appeared to be male as well - see photo of it here. The photo is clear and I think you can see the gonopodium. This was the only other platy that has been in the tank, and it died a couple weeks ago. However, the remaining platy has the same type of appearance. Does this one look male?

 

[Holton]

what species is it?
I can give you an answer from there.

 

[Pipa]

Platy

 

[Pipa]

OK, today his scales are definately sticking out. I am getting nervous because I have read, if it is dropsy and he dies in the tank, the chances of all the other fish getting it are significantly raised. I am very afraid this will happen, we haven't been having the best luck lately and I do not want this to spread. What should we do? Euthanize? We have no hospital tank, and from what I understand dropsy has a bad prognosis....

 

[Aquafriend]

Do you have a new picture of him with his scales sticking out?

 

[An t-iasg]

I have not been able to treat dropsy either. But if this platy started having symptoms about 10 days ago, do any of the other fish show signs of it now? I have read that it may or may not be contagious. It's that one fish's organs -- kidneys probably -- shutting down. It's a matter of what caused the organ failure. Was it something contagious like parasites or an infection? Or maybe just that one fish had something wrong. I know that doesn't really help you, but if the other fish show no signs of anything wrong, you may be ok. The dropsy may have a non-contagious cause in your case.

 

[Devilishturtles]

IME, Dropsy is definitley treatable, even if the fish has developed the "pinecone" effect. The exact causes of Dropsy are varied depending on what and where you read. To my understanding, Dropsy is a bacterail/fungal infection of the kidneys. As An t-iasg said, it causes them to shut down, and the body back up with fluid. I'm pretty sure it isn't parasites.

What I would do, would be to pick up some anti-fungal meds. I have had luck with Jungle's Fungus Clear Tablets. You can also go with Maracyn-Two from Mardel. Maracyn I have not had luck with, but the Jungle product I have.

It may or may not be contagious, but I have always treated aggresively, and have prevented it from happening.

Don't lose hope! I had a goldfish that had dropsy to the pincone effect three times in the same year, and he made it through all of them. Finally ended up dieing when he got stuck in an aquarium decoration 8O

Good luck!

 

[krap101]

hmm i was going to say constipation but since it already had the pinecone thingy. yeah i had a balloon molly who had dropsy. died the next day . but it can be treated and hopefully yours will make it

 

[Pipa]

Well he was put in a medicated tank in the pet store and did not make it. I think it was just too late. Last night we noticed one of the danios with a slightly distended belly as well (see photos). What on earth is going on here. . .we can seem to prevent anything. I have seen many "catch-all" medicines in the store that claim to treat dropsy - so it must be most possible causes of dropsy. Are these effective? We just dont know what to do at this point. . .

 

[krap101]

uhh depends on what the cause is. sometimes its like too much nitrogen or something in the water. i think it also can be bacteria or fungus. or maybe parasite

 

[Devilishturtles]

uhh depends on what the cause is. sometimes its like too much nitrogen or something in the water. i think it also can be bacteria or fungus. or maybe parasite

Dropsy is not caused by a parasite but rather a fungal/bacterial infection.

If I were you, I'd start treating for dropsy now. I recommended Jungle's Fungus Clear Tablets. They are very effective IME.

Sorry about the platy, hope everything goes ok with the others.

 

[Pipa]

Well the danio seems to have lost much of the large belly in the pictures. Maybe it was some constipation that he got over quickly. I will continue to monitor him though. We have been having some problems lately so I will not assume everything is suddenly fine....