HELP Sick Dwark Gouriamis

tyler_medeiros · Member Joined: 06 Feb 2005 Posts: 329 Location: Canada

Today when I got Home our dwarf gouriamis was very fat and his scales were sticking out from his body.
I know it is bloat or something like that but what medicine will fix it.
Please help he is our oldest fish and we love him very much.

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

Unfortunatly, it sounds like dropsy which is 99.9% fatal in tropical fish. You can try an antibiotic like Maracyn 2, but odds are it's not going to work.

-Chelle

tyler_medeiros · Member Joined: 06 Feb 2005 Posts: 329 Location: Canada

If it was your gourami, what would you do? This is quite a sad time for us. He's our orginial fish from starting this whole hobbie. We call him Grandma and we'd hate to lose him.

What are some causes of Dropsy and is it true gouramis are suceptable?

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

Dropsy is basically kidney failure (generally caused by a bacterial infection). The kidney isn't functioning so the body fills up with fluid.

I can't make the final decision for you but if you do decide to euthanize, here's a really good article on the humane methods:
http://www.oscarfish.com/cms_view_article.php?aid=13

If you try to medicate, you can go ahead and double dose the Maracyn 2. And if you can find some medicated food (like Medigold) that would be better than an antibiotic in the water.

-Chelle