HELP! I have two Platies with FISH BLOAT! (dropsy)?

Question

I have a ten gallon freshwater fish tank with:

2 male, 1 female Silver Mollies & fry (about 40-50 fry, two generations combined),
1 male 1 female Guppy,
2 Neon Tetras (others have died off),
1 Plecostumus (I can't spell that) Algae Eater,
and
1 male 1 female SICK Platies.

Yes, I know it's packed! I DO NOT have a sick/hospital tank.

Here's my main Question: I need to know what you would recomend to treat my two sick Platies. They have Dropsy or Fish Bloat and look pitiful! They seem lifeless an scared. I started using a product called Prima Fix.

On the cover it says:
All Natural Prima Fix
Antifungal Remedy for Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium fish.
Rapidly Treats fungal infections on body and fins
Also treats internal and external bacteria infections.

Should I keep using this product, or get something specificly for Dropsy? What would u use?
HELP!
P.S. Keep in mind that my only outlets are Walmart, Meijers,
and a small petstore. Don't recomend rare items!

I have cured Dropsy before! I really want to save my fish this time!

If I were to purchase a hospital tank, how many gallons should I get?

Seriously, WHAT MEDICINE WOULD YOU RECOMEND?????????

Answer 1

Hey Becky, hang in there. Although, dropsy is one of the worst things to discover in your tank, there have been cures. I actually dug up as many articles/cases where people have cured Dropsy and how - I will attach the links.
But for starters, please remove the infected fish, put them in a bowl ( I call them nurseries).

http://www.marquette.edu/courses/phys/buxtoni/puregold/disease/dropsy.html

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article24.html

http://www.pets-warehouse.com/marinefishdisease.htm

Also a little about the disease -:

Dropsy is not very contagious; however, if a fish is diagnosed with dropsy, it is important to remove it from the aquarium as soon as possible. If there are multiple fish, treat the afflicted fish in a specially established "sick tank" (Quarantine). Dropsy can spread from the ill fish, possibly causing stress among the other fish in the tank community. This extra stress may make the others vulnerable to dropsy or other forms of disease.


Treatment may consist of antibiotics targeting the causative agent. They work best in the very early stages of dropsy. A more hands-on approach is to raise the aquarium's temperature a few degrees- slightly higher than usual. Adding Epsom salts to the water at (a rate of 20 mg/L)helps to encourage the fish to expel unnecessary damaging fluids.

Prevention-:

Maintaining water quality is always extremely important. It should always be checked first, because it is often the cause of disease in aquarium fish. Frequent water changes can work to prevent the spread of disease by "watering down" the concentration of disease agents, and by reducing stress on the tank occupants.

All tanks need a 10-25% water change on a weekly basis. The best method of changing water is siphoning the water from the bottom, removing debris and fecal matter from the gravel.

Always feed fish from reliable sources and use high quality food. Varying diet is also important.


SO hang in there, and let us know how it goes..

Take care.. :)

Answer 2

I have to be honest with you, dropsy is very difficult to treat even if you catch it early and have an expensive arsenal of drugs ready to use. Dropsy can literally cause a fish to pop or split open and that's got to be painful. On top of that, if the fish dies in the tank, especially this way, it will spread the disease all throughout your tank. Since you don;t have a hospital tank to put them in and would have a very hard time saving them even if you did, I have to suggest you humanely euthanize them. That is the only way to stop their suffering and protect your other fish. Sorry.

MM