Dropsy?

[Emilywoodham1997]

Hi guys!
So just over 5 weeks ago I moved a guppy that had a pot belly and a tetra that had pine coned scales into a quarantine tank. The tetra passed a few days later but the guppy is acting completely normal, eating still etc. He just has a bit of a belly. I’ve treated the tanks for internal bacteria and used aquarium salt. I phoned my local fish shop today and they said it’s more than likely safe to move the guppy back into the main tank now. What does everyone else think? I don’t know what to do really.

 

[Essjay]

The fish in the photo does not have dropsy - his scales are not sticking out like a pine cone. Dropsy isn't actually a disease, it's symptom of an underlying disease which could be bacterial, viral or even protozoan. The difficulty is diagnosing the underlying disease to treat it. However, when the fish gets dropsy it is often too late as dropsy occurs when the underlying disease has damaged its kidneys.

Going back to your non-dropsy fish, what does it look like when he poops - normal or white and stringy? White stringy poop is a sign of intestinal parasites which can also make a fish swell up.

 

[Emilywoodham1997]

The fish in the photo does not have dropsy - his scales are not sticking out like a pine cone. Dropsy isn't actually a disease, it's symptom of an underlying disease which could be bacterial, viral or even protozoan. The difficulty is diagnosing the underlying disease to treat it. However, when the fish gets dropsy it is often too late as dropsy occurs when the underlying disease has damaged its kidneys.

Going back to your non-dropsy fish, what does it look like when he poops - normal or white and stringy? White stringy poop is a sign of intestinal parasites which can also make a fish swell up.

The picture is of the fish in question haha! Okay I just thought as he had a pot belly and my tetra had it that it’s possible he could. I will look at some intestinal parasite meds then thank you! He did do a poop earlier and it was quite pale in comparison to my other fish.

 

[Essjay]

Before adding any meds keep an eye on him. The commonest parasite in livebearers is camallanus worms and these show as red bristles sticking out of the anus when the fish stops swimming for a moment or two. We should not add meds to a tank unless we are 100% positive what the problem is. Pale poop could be because of the colour of food he's eaten.
Check the fish in the tank he was moved from as well.

If he does show red bristles, NT Labs Anti Fluke & Wormer, or Maidenhead Aquatics own brand AquaCare Anti Fluke and Wormer. You need to repeat the treatment as meds don't kill the eggs and the additional treatments are to kill the worms that hatch afer the first treatment.

 

[Ichthys]

To me it just looks like it has a belly full of food. This would distend it at the front just like in the picture.

If you do decide to treat for worms, a single course of Sterazin will eradicate them.

 

[Essjay]

I agree, it does look more like overeating, but I would still keep an eye on the fish just in case since worms are so common in livebearers. If there are no red bristles and/or stringy white poo after a few days, it is safe to put the fish back .