:-( One Of My Girls Has Dropsy

[QuotheRaven]

Sorry to read about your fish zoe.
Dogfood you are on this forum to enjoy it and contribute in a sensible, rational and friendly manner, being patronising and judgemental towards a fellow member of the forum is not proper conduct.
Dropsy is indeed a symptom to a disease and pineconing usually signals organ failure and common store bought medications very rarely cure this disease and why put a fish thats under stress and pain under more by using a medication which most likely will not work. Euthanising a fish is not a easy way out, it takes careful consideration on the state of the fish.

The issue here dogfood is her fish is unwell and she would like advice on the best way to help the fish, if she really if you say just wanted it to die to buy a prettier one, would she really be posting about the fish in question and asking for help and support I doubt it. Zoe also asked you to no longer post in the thread they created as you had offended them but you continued the conduct.
Stating she makes up stories to cover up negligence is prejudice towards zoe and I suggest the next time you respond to a thread asking for support you lend your support in as cordial manner as possible.

 

[stang1]

Zoe, I really hope your little girl gets better, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I would completely ignore dogfoods comments, sounds like he just wants to sound superior and cause arguments.
At the end of the day, she's your fish and you sound as though you are doing everything you can. I wish you all the best.

 

[Htw]

Well said!

 

[LouiseRat]

zoe i really hope ur girl gets better , but if she doesnt , remember how good a mummy u have been to her .

 

[Ashton]

This is my first post on this forum, and not a subject I would have liked but I feel I must point out that there has never been any documented proof that there is a cure for Dropsy. Nothing anywhere with photo's to back up the claim and certainly never anything been printed anywhere by the experts. To keep a fish alive after it has reached the pineconed stage is cruel to the fish.

I know it's not easy to eauthanaise a fish, but what's more important, the fish suffering or the owner's indecision?

Good luck Zoe

 

[jollysue]

Sorry about the fish, zoe. It is always hard to have sick fish--well, sick anything.

Don't get sucked into the drama. We all know you care and have to make difficult decisions. And the worst part is that no matter what you do, it will probably be too little or too much too late.

Euthanasia is an accepted practice going back to the beginning of animal care. It is so very hard. But sometimes it has to be done. I am with some of the others in that sometimes the medication just makes the fish's passing worse. I think darkmoon's experience is interesting. I have certainly tortured a few fish with medications during their last days. I would like to hear more exact details.

It really is very poor social skills to berate a grieving pet owner. Totally inappropriate timing and approach. Not at all helpful to zoe or the fish. (It is especially missing the mark to recommend a medication that is not available or legal to the fish owner. Duh!)

 

[black angel]

Dropsy is a sympton and not a disease in itself. Its a symptom of chronic kidney failure and when you see the dropsy its nearly always too late to save the fish.
To say theres no evidence of fish surviving it isnt quite true. The only fish i know of that have survived is goldfish and you can count the number on one hand.

Medications for dropsy dont work because they are administered to the water and not into the fish. A small amount of the meds does enter the fish but not in enough quantities to help.
The reason you can buy the meds in the shops is because they arent strong enough to really do much, and the meds that do work you cant get unless you go to a vet.

 

[matty101]

again zoe, like I first posted, you did your best. The Fishie God above all of us could'nt have asked for more. You did exactly what every other person on this forum (except dogfood) would probably do, which is to isolate her. Euthanising would obviously be the final stage in life when the pain becomes unbearable to both the fish and the owner. You are relatively close to that stage and in this, you try your best to make the fish feel comforted and prepare him/her for the next final of life, death. Zoe, do NOT take a word of dogfood's jiberish and do as you please. I personally never had a betta or any fish come down with dropsy but if it were to happen, I wouldn't go scavenging for Maracyn 2. I would simply put him down. Zoe, I hope ou can get over the not-too-distant death of your beloved betta.

WITH LOTS OF LOVE AND PRAYER, MATT

 

[MHunt]

There is so little that can be done about dropsy it's untrue. I had a dwarf gourami that eventually developed dropsy after being treated for an ulcer. It went within a couple of days, but i couldn't have brought myself to euthanise it. I tried interpet 9 which again mentions that it can be good against dropsy. I guess there may be some truth in that as it is a treatment for internal bacterial infections, but it wasn't very effective and i was probably too late anyway. I have heard the epsom salt bath used as it can draw the harmful fluids out of the body cavity by osmosis, releasing pressure on the internal organs and perhaps prolonging the life of the fish long enough for anti-bacterial meds to work. Hope the betta does get better.

The one thing to remember here also, is that bettas only live for a couple of years anyway, I believe the wild forms are almost considered annual fish. It could just be a symptom of old age. That is how i see it when my guppies die. If not, i hope she gets better soon!

 

[lisa_perry75]

I see where you are trying to get logic from dogfood. But its wrong. And if you don't know what you are on about you should really say nothing at all. And a cancer patient, eh whaaaat? That really is nothing like a fish with dropsy. And if you think it is clearly you should stay quiet. Just aggravating a situation, even though you do not actually know what you are talking about, isn't exactly very friendly is it???

Zoe love, good luck. It is one of the hardest things to do in fishkeeping.

Wisperian (i think) you said about a salt bath but apparently because of the nature of dropsy that may make it worse depending on which stage, epsom salt bath is what you should use. I shall post a quote here about it from Andy Gordon of the Fish, Tanks and Ponds Website : -

DROPSY
http/www.fishtanksandponds.info/
Dropsy is more a symptom rather than a disease and has many causes. Ignoring the causes for now, dropsy is when the body of a fish swells up due to excess fluid actually in the body cavity. The scales stand out when fluid actually penetrates the microscopic spaces in the tissue between the scales. Due to the limited space inside a fish, all the organs are under extreme pressure due to the fluid and once the 'pinecone' stage is reached the fluid pressure will almost certainly have damaged the internal organs making recovery impossible. Although I have seen the occasional message on various forums about the successful treatment of dropsy I have never witnessed it, nor have I heard of a successful treatment from a reliable source. Quite the opposite infact, all the reputable source such as books written by Vets who specialize in fish usually say that it is incurable.

Apart from the problems caused by the fluid there is also the underlying cause to consider because fish don't just get dropsy for no reason. In all cases the fishes osmoregulation system has stopped working properly for some reason and because a weak solution will always try to dilute a strong solution through osmosis the surrounding water will invade the fishes body, healthy fish easily get rid of the excess fluid but if any organs which control this (kidneys, gills, heart, liver) are damaged or diseased then the fish will no longer be able to control its fluid levels and will succumb to dropsy.
We have no way of knowing which if any of the internal organs is damaged and even if we did there would be little that we could do about it.

In the very early stages of dropsy a salt bath may help. Adding salt to water will make the surrounding solution stronger than the fishes bodily fluids and so going back to osmosis where a weak solution invaded a strong solution to try to dilute it, which means that fluid will leave the fishes body to the surrounding water. And if the cause was a temporary one such as a bacterial infection which the salt may also treat, then the fish may have a chance. But only if it was treated in the very early stages before the fluid pressure damaged the organs and if the cause was also treated.

In most (99.99%) cases the fish if left will suffer a very uncomfortable lingering death. Which is why I think euthanasia is the kindest option. If people still insist that they can treat dropsy what ever the cause (and some do, on forums at least) ask for some photos and detailed treatment - then wait for the excuses!!!





Apparently epsom salts can draw out excess fluid without putting the strain on the damaged organs.

 

[ulster exile]

Hi Zoe, sorry to hear about your fish and even sorrier to see the unsympathetic and aggressive response you've received from one person - I thought that flaming was against the rules, if it isn't it should be.

Everything I've read/heard agrees with you - dropsy is a symptom and not a disease in itself. It is extremely distressing to see your beloved fish go through that and my heart goes out to you. I have faced the same problem and ended up making the decision to put my fish out of it's misery - I only wish I'd done it earlier instead of having him suffer with it while I researched for a treatment.

 

[Ashton]

In most (99.99%) cases the fish if left will suffer a very uncomfortable lingering death. Which is why I think euthanasia is the kindest option. If people still insist that they can treat dropsy what ever the cause (and some do, on forums at least) ask for some photos and detailed treatment - then wait for the excuses!!!

Andy Gordon is my Guru, he always, I repeat always, comes up with the most sensible and correct answer to any question. If he says there is no documented evidence of a cure for dropsy, THERE IS NO CURE

Unless of course you can PROVE differently

 

[zoekin8yg]

Thank you so much guys for all your comments. Sadly while I was asleep the poorly fish died Im keeping an extra close eye on the others just to make sure they are ok

 

[Ravenwing]

Awww zoekin8yg I'm so sorry I know you did the best you could for her and I'm sure where ever she is she knows that as well... little girl, you will surely be missed

 

[jollysue]

RandomWitkor has said she has had a very few recoveries. But of course there can be no cure since it is not a desease--only a recovery from a condition.

RIP lil'fishie