Maracyn-Two

[MissD]

Hiya guys,

I don't exactly need help here, per se, I'm just kinda looking to see if anyone can give me a rough timeline of Maracyn-Two and Dropsy, or if I can expect to see certain things at certain times during the course.

I currently own 17 bettas and this is the first time any of them has had dropsy. I inspect them daily and went straight to get some Maracyn-Two when I noticed a couple of this guy's scales starting to pinecone. He's had his third dose of medicine today. He isn't really eating, but he's never been much of an eater anyway, so I'm not too worried about that. He had a huge clump of fungus hanging out of his left gill and getting in the way of his fin so I removed that with tweezers last night...I know I shouldn't have, but it seemed to be bothering him and came away very easily, and he does seem a lot more active today.

I'm hoping I've saved him - I do feel pretty confident, however, I'm kinda curious as to when I'll start to see his scales laying smooth again. Is every fish different, or should it happen by a certain day? They're not any better yet, but definitely not any worse, either.

Any replies would be great...cheers.

 

[WILDER]

Sad to say when you see the pineconing effect it's to late last stage of dropsy, he's not eating and there are second infections there as well, dropsy is often fatal in most cases.
Maracyn–Two
Manufacturer: Mardel
A broad-spectrum antibiotic for internal or external gram negative bacterial infections which can even be absorbed through the skin. Effective treatment of fin and tail rot, popeye, gill disease, dropsy (swollen body, protruding scales), septicemia (bleeding or red streaks on the body), secondary and internal infections. Effective even when fish won't eat.
Active ingredient: Mincycline hydrochlor.

 

[BettaMomma]

I *knock on wood* haven't ever had the misfortune of having to try to bring someone back from dropsy. I have heard it can be done, though. It does sound like you've caught it at a somewhat early stage...

Colloidal silver is also known for curing just about anythign a fish can get, and there are folks on this forum who have saved fish from dropsy - I don't know if you would be able to get some, but I just ordered some to have on hand for treating various ailments that find my fish.

I know Maracyn 2 is supposed to treat dropsy, but once it gets to the pineconey state it's almost too late unless you have something on hand like colloidal. Sorry I don't actually have an answer to your question - i'll anxiously be waiting to hear of the progress he makes.

And, if you would like, I can share with you the address of where you can order the colloidal from. It was about 30$ but it's for a very good sized bottle and it cures just about everything.

 

[WILDER]

http/www.fishjunkies.com/Diseases/dropsy.php
http/www.mushi.petfish.net/dropsy.html

 

[MissD]

See, I'm just completely baffled now...

He's just eaten a pellet and he's swimming around with his fins and tail spread right out, but he's most definitely pineconey. Ugh, I thought he was getting better...it'd be nice if I could prove the whole pineconing = too late theory wrong...ya never know.

I will keep whoever's interested updated, though.

As for the collodial silver, BettaMomma, thanks so much for the thought but really with this guy he's either going to get better with what I'm doing now or, like it's been said, he's too far gone. I will keep that in mind though should, God forbid, this happens again though...thanks


Edit: Missed a word... I'm smart like that.

 

[Kiarra]

Honestly, some people have had luck with Maracyn 2 and Tetracycline (not combined). But the good stories are few and far between. Just keep medicating him, and keep everything in his world as good as you can get it.

 

[MissD]

Will adding aquarium salt to his water make any difference? I gave him a 100% water change and scrubbed everything so it was all sparkley before I started his medicine, but didn't add any because the Maracyn-Two didn't say whether or not it was okay to do so...? I just want him better

 

[WILDER]

Yes you can use salt, but the problem with dropsy is when they are pinconing the organs fail and you can't cure organ failure.

 

[MissD]

I know, yeah. I'm just hoping...

I will not give up on my little man.

 

[BettaMomma]

Dont add salt with dropsy.
That will hold in additional fluids and make matters worse.

 

[MissD]

Wonderful...now what the heck do I do?

 

[Haiku]

I'm afraid I can't offer much advice, but there is this from Wilder's second link:

Epsom Salts added to the betta's water (at 1/8 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water) may help to alleviate the fluid retention, and make the betta more comfortable, but it will not cure the disease. Be aware the Epsom Salts contain Sulfa, so if you are treating with medications that are not compatable with Sulfa, do not add Epsom Salts to the water.

As BettaMomma said, I know there are a few who have saved their guys from dropsy but I'm not sure what stage it was at when they caught it, and I think it depends on the cause of the dropsy (i.e. if it's parasites or a bacterial infection).

I wish you best with your little guy. I do hope he can be one of the success stories.

 

[MissD]

Thank you, so do I. He's incredibly active at the moment and comes to the glass whenever I stick my face in front of his bowl which, at the moment, is roughly every 15 seconds. His fins and tail are also all spread out lovely. Hopefully this is a sign that he's feeling better, because he did look pretty naff for the first couple of days.

I'm praying I caught this as early as possible and that we can be some of the luckier ones.

 

[Kiarra]

He sounds like a little sweetie.

I really hope he does make it. What kind of symptoms did he have beforehand? Did he have any signs of parasitic infection, or any signs of bacterial infection?

It's a good sign that he's active, and that he's eating.

 

[MissD]

Thanks, he's my little baby! Well...they all are, really...

He had absolutely no signs of anything before I noticed a little patch of pineconing on his right side. It's really, really strange. He still doesn't really have any symptoms of anything other than he's a little bit bloated and looks like he's just fallen from a tree. I've had bettas come home with all kinds of infections (13 of my 17 are WalMart rescues) and generally whenever they had something internal they would twitch around and act funny...not this little man.

I have good news though. I think we're going to be one of the very few success stories. His left gill and the left side of his body are now almost back to normal. The bloating is almost gone on that side, too. There's just the initial patch of pineconing that I noticed left visible now, but that specific spot was always a little worse than the rest of him.

He looks like he may have a little bit of gill damage as a result of the fungus that he had attached to it...it doesn't stick out as much on one side when he "yawns", but doesn't appear to be irritating him.

He looks pretty perky at the moment...between swimming from side to side in his bowl to look at his mum, he's digging around in his gravel.

BettaMomma...it looks to me like I've got a little Lucky now!