Dropsy in the sorority? Oh no...

[TigerLily]

Well, while I was giving my girls their evening meal, I noticed I was missing one. In an effort to find her I moved her favorite hiding place and there she was. My excitement at finding her totally fell through when I saw the pineconing. She is showing the pineconing all along her body, and looking a tad bloaty around her tummy.

I pulled her out right away and separated her, the poor thing. I'll be keeping her in one of my spare critter keepers for the time being, but I've heard enough of dropsy to know not to be too hopeful.
Things are extremely tight right now for me as far as the budget goes, so unfortunately I really don't have the money to be buying more meds, and as harsh as it may sound: especially so for something I most likely won't be able to fix. I'm not happy about that, and I'm very worried about her.
...So I suppose clean water and salt baths will be on the menu for tomorrow. Will salt baths even help?

What are the chances of the rest of the girls getting this? I'm worried I could lose them all to one stupid outbreak.

[doggyhog]

Ohhhhhh no.......

Honestly, chances are VERY slim that she will make it. Fish with dropsy pretty much can't be cured. So, it doesn't sound that bad saying you can't buy anything for her, because chances are, she won't make it.

I'd do a water change NOW! Like NOW! Don't care if it's almost 2 AM. :D Dropsy IS contagious, but I'd do a small water change every day, and add extra salt to the water. Just watch the girls veeeery carefully.

[TigerLily]

I'll jump right on that water change now and then do another tomorrow.
How much extra salt should I add? I normally add half a teaspoon per new gallon of water.

[doggyhog]

I'd say 1-2 extra teaspoons.

[dramaqueen]

I'm so sorry about your female having dropsy! Really, all you can do is make her more comfortable.

[TigerLily]

Well, after last night's emergency water change I have another bucket of water sitting out to warm up for a second change tonight.

The little girl that I separated last night seems to be having some difficulty swimming. She looks like she's having trouble keeping her nose up and getting to the surface for air. I'm keeping her water level low to make breathing a little easier for her. For the time being, she's hanging in there.

[dramaqueen]

Poor thing! I'm sure you're doing all you can for her.

[TigerLily]

I'm sorry to say that the little girl died sometime early this morning. I'll be continuing with the water changes ya'll suggested. How long should I keep those up for?

The other girls seem all right for now, but they are stressed. Is this because of the extra water changes, or could the stress be an early warning sign of something worse?

[dramaqueen]

I'm so sorry about your fish!

[Chicklet]

To many water changes can cause stress if their not use to it,

I wouldn't do more then a couple xtra water changes, Then just continue as you usually do,
Include the xtra salt for a short while, But I wouldn't continue that for too long either,

I use to use salt at every water change thinking I was doing right by it,
But thru some hard learned experience I realized salt should only be used when something is amiss in the tank,

Prolonged use of salt leads to kidney failure, The more salt you add just shortens their life all that much sooner..

I've even done some experimenting with different salt levels,
High salt can cause alot of other crippling effects with fish