stillnzcookie Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 One of our harlequin Rasboras has been off-colour for the last couple of weeks. Its scales are all sticking out but, apart from that, it seemed fine until a day or so ago - it was still schooling and eating fine. It is now hanging around in the corner of the tank during the day and only joining the other fish after the lights go off. I wondered whether it was being bullied, as there is a bit of jostling going on, but there are no marks on it, just the bristly scales. All the other fish in the tank seem perfectly healthy. We have a basic 60L planted tank setup with 6 harlequins and 3 panda cories. Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate are all fine. The Ph is about 7.6 which is a lot higher than it used to be (last year we had problems with low Ph, this year it seems to be too high - soft tap water is a nuisance), but it has changed very gradually and all the other fish seem to have adapted. We have had a bit of an algae problem, but nothing too major, and as the weather gets colder, the temperature in the tank is fluctuating a bit between day/night but is set at 26 and reads at 24/25. Is there anything we can do to save our fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Does it look kinda like a pine cone? If so its probably dropsy. There are treatments available, but from my experience and others I've read around here, the chances of survival are slim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillnzcookie Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Thanks for that - yes I googled it and it looks like dropsy. Should I just let things take their course, or should we be putting it out of its misery? We don't have a quarantine tank and are not in a position to get one, and I'd rather not treat the whole tank. Also, how contagious is it? I'd rather get rid of one fish than risk losing all of them. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Unsure if it is contagious. In my experience it didn't appear to be contagious. Only one fish in the tank died as a result of dropsy and his tankmates were fine. I believe that once they reach the pine cone stage, death isn't very far away but I'd put the little fella out of his misery anyway. And do a good water change too. Search this site too using dropsy as the keyword. There are heaps of topics including this most recent one > viewtopic.php?f=25&t=38060&hilit=dropsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillnzcookie Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 I took the cover off the tank this morning and I can't find it at all, so I'm guessing it's gone to the big toilet bowl in the sky. Will have to clean up the whole tank and find out where it is - I presume the other fish wouldn't completely eat it up? If they have eaten it, will they get sick too? We would like to get some more fish at some stage - how long do you think we need to wait, to make sure none of the others are infected? Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Dropsy is a symptom, not a disease. Fish get it when they can no longer process wastes. So, the cause of it to your particualar fish will determine whether or not it's contagious; if the thing that caused the dropsy in your fish was contagious, then your other fish could get it too. What you want to be doing for the next couple of weeks is lots of water changes, often. The better you keep your water, the healthier your fishies. Sorry for your loss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillnzcookie Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Thanks lmsmith, we will do that. We have also just had a bit of an algae explosion today so hopefully it will get that under control too - obviously something isn't quite right in the tank. Is it possible to overdo the water changes? We do a 30-50% change every 7-10 days, but what is the most you could do if you're wanting to clear everything up? Would 50% twice a week be too much? We found the fish and it was still in one piece, so at least the others hadn't eaten it. This may be a stupid question but could dropsy be caused by bullying? Our harlequins seem to be jostling each other more and more (maybe reaching sexual maturity?) and we lost the first one after it had a huge hole taken out of its side. Will getting more harlequins make the bullying better or worse? I wonder whether it would be better as it would spread the love around, so to speak?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 If the fish are stressed, other problems can be more likely to pop up, so things like being bullied could potentially contribute. If I have a major problem in a tank, I'll do 2 50% water changes a day. As long as the temp in the tank stays pretty consistent and the water isn't chlorinated, and your filter is established, there's not really a way to do too many water changes. In some cases, some people have to do 90% water changes and the fish are fine. There's a saying in fishkeeping: We don't keep fish, we keep water. Basically, the healthier you keep your water, the healthier your fish will be; and in a tank, the only way to get rid of nasties is to dilute, dilute, dilute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 I had a guppy with dropsy a couple of years ago. Once I knew that it was that, I euthanized him I can't say for sure if dropsy itself is contagious but I do not think it is a good thing for other fish to feed off one who has died as a result from the disease, I read that somewhere but it was quite sometime ago so anyone can feel free to correct me on that! So the best thing is to put the poor fishy out of its misery once you're sure that it is indeed dropsy. I know the above is too late for your wee fishy and you have my sympathy in losing your fish. Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillnzcookie Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Thanks for the advice - we'll keep up the water changes and see what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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