treating dropsy

[Elle2]

I had a fish recently die of what I am now pretty sure is dropsy (thanks all for the links).

I am wondering if there is something I should be doing to make sure the rest of my fish don't get it? I have no idea how it arrived in the first place.. I have made no new additions in a very long time.

Thanks.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Dropsy can occur for a number of reasons...stress, old age, changes in habitat, etc. It's not an illness in itself, but a side effect on the body after the organs shut down and stop expelling fluids. I have used Jungle Fungus Clear Tablets to treat it succesfully on a few occasions. If you don't suspect any illness, I would make sure your water parameters are good, temp isn't flucuating, etc. If you want to though, the Fungus Clear is rather mild and shouldn't hurt any of your fish if you wish to treat the tank (maybe at a half dose).

HTH

 

[An t-iasg]

Did the fish die in a QT tank or in the community tank? Some websites say dropsy is contagious and some say it's not. All my fish that died of dropsy were bettas that lived alone anyway. I tend to think that the dropsy effect is not contagious, but if the fish was in the community tank, it wouldn't hurt to watch the other fish closely and do a few extra water changes.

You say you haven't made any new additions to the tank - that makes me think that the affected fish was ill with a tumor, kidney failure, or something to start that bloating/pinecone look. Dropsy itself, as I'm sure you read, isn't a disease, but rather a symptom of one - one that's often hard to pinpoint and treat effectively.

I would just pay extra attention to tank maintenance and water changes for a few weeks. I think your tank will be fine.