My Gourami has dropsy, very swollen belly and pineconing. Hes not taking any food. I dont know what to do. I was sent some medigold pellets but he wont take anything. HELP!

Once the scales stick out like a pinecone there is no cure i'm afraid it's the last stage of the desease, some fishkeepers try shelled peas, and a salt bath to help draw the fluids out , what do you feed the fish as to many dry foods can lead to dropsy,swim bladder, and constipation, you need a good varied diet it's as important as good water quality, they need frozen foods and veg in there diet, daphnia is good as it helps the fish to digest there food.

yeah.daphnia and shelled peas are great for keeping fish systems working properly

I believe that is quiet incorrect, I agree, there is not much you can do for a fish, accept put it to sleep, once its at the advaced stages of a disease like dropsy, but dry foods cannot lead to dropsy. Dropsy is a disease that must be introduced for a fish to catch it. Swim bladder problems and Constipation however can result from a unvairied diet. If your fish has Dropsy and there is other fish in the tank, remove it NOW, it is highly contagious, and one of the worst diseases out there, you should keep a close eye on your other fish (if you have any) and if any more symtoms show, remove imediatly and place in a floater, if pineconeing appears, put the fish to sleep in the freezer.

Shae

I both agree and disagree with what has been said in this thread.

In what I know, dropsy is a symptom of a bigger problem. Basically, I think it is caused by something else, and that something else is who knows what...

In my divided 10 gallon, I had two bettas. The water was kept impeccably clean. One of the boys was a few years old, and it wouldn't surprise me if he was going on four.

He became swollen overnight, and I figured he was constipated. I fed him a pea and waited. His tummy never went back down in size, and he started to pinecone. Other than that 48 hour window where I thought he was constipated, there was no warning sign that he had dropsy. What made it even harder was that he was active, making bubble nests, eating, flaring, being overall quite happy.

I pulled him out, long after he had dropsy. His younger partner was most definitely exposed. Either he fought it off, or the flow between the divider was much less than previously thought. But that makes no sense to me.

I put the healthy guy in quaratine for a week, and he showed no signs. At that time I tore down the 10 gallon and scrubbed the shit out of it. I now have him and a new betta from Yeevia living quite happily in there.

I don't know *why* it happened, or even more strange, why his partner never got it.

Dropsy IS confusing like that, and you can't peg it.

Unfortunately there isn't much you can do but make his last days as comfortable as possible. Dropsy is a mean one, and I have only heard one success story.

:(

yeah.You can also eiutahnise a fish by usung clove oil,which is quicker then freezing

I agree - you're correct, as usual :)

Dropsy is the symptom, or a result of some other disease causing kidney failure - the body's inability to expel fluids correctly comes on, and the fish just simply can't get rid of its fluids as it should. It can be from any number of things - infections, swim bladder injuries or infections, constipation, etc.

I know of only 2 cases where dropsy was beat at the pineconing stages - in both cases, maracyn 2 was used and in one case colloidal silver was also used.

It is said that you should not use salt as a treatment when treating for dropsy because of the water retention that comes along with dropsy, but I have seen a biological explanation for the intake/expulsion of salt from a fish's body so I"m thoroughly confused as to whether it helps or hinders the treatment. Therefore I'd stay away from both aquarium and epsom salt just to be safe.