Written by Stacie S. who works in Drs. Foster and Smith’s Technical Support Department.
Dropsy is a common illness mainly found in fresh water aquarium and pond fish. Symptoms of dropsy are a swollen or rounded abdomen. It can look like the fish is a pine cone as the scales stick outward with all the fluid. Many times fish will stop eating, become lethargic, and either hang out at the top or bottom of the tank. If not treated, Dropsy can shut down the fish’s internal organs and cause death.
Many times Dropsy is caused by a bacterial infection; however, it is not very contagious. It is still recommended to quarantine any sick fish to help reduce stress on the other inhabitants. Unfortunately, many cases of Dropsy are fatal. By the time the illness is discovered the fish may have too much damage to fix.
As with most aquariums illnesses, the best thing for prevention is having good water quality. Many times high nitrates are to blame for causing Dropsy. The best way to ensure good water quality is to perform weekly water changes of 10% or bi-weekly of 15%. Ensure that you are not housing too many fish for your aquarium, and are not over feeding them. The general rule of thumb is 1” of fish for every gallon, keeping in mind the size the fish will be at full adult. We also recommend feeding fish once every other day what they can consume within 1 minute.
Treatment of Dropsy
Quarantine the fish and start treating the fish using a medication that treats Dropsy such as Maracyn-Two or Furan-2. You can also help attempt to boost the fish by feeding it a Bacterial Food.
As stated above many cases of Dropsy are fatal. However, by ensuring good water quality, it is an illness that you can avoid.
Related Posts:
- Saltwater Ich and Velvet
- Quarantine Aquariums – More Than Just Disease Prevention
- Fish Species Profile: Choati Red Leopard Wrasse
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I have lost a bunch of fish, over 15 in my main tank. I know that one of the last 4 has droopsy. do I need to sanitize the tank? or is there some thing I have done to prevent this disease? Out of my 4 remaining fish I have 2 fancy Guppies.. one of them has the dropsy. and 2 bottom feeders (the bottom feeders are showing no signs of any disease.) but I am wondering.. Before I move babies from the little tank to general population, should I scour the tank, or satinize it?