I think my guppy has dropsy!!! Is she going to die?

meandthefish · New member Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 1

She is fully bloated all over her belly and her scales are popped out. When you look down at her from the top she looks like a porcupine and when you look at her from the side or front she just looks like she is overly fat. She also has this black dot on the very bottom of her belly and some of her scales look like they could be starting to slough off. I have been treating her for 3 days now with Maracyn-two. I would love to see her get better but i think it may be too late. Crying or Very sad

Any info would help. Oh by the way I have other fish in our 10 gallon tank too! They are all guppies and i have a total of 13 of them. They do not seem to be affected. I had quite a few others (because they just kept having babies) and they all died from what I now believe was some form of fin rot and I think that is how she got so sick. Her tail was never affected she just got fat and then almost over night she popped out and i knew something was wrong. I'm afraid I may lose her and may even lose her tank mates at some point too! Crying or Very sad

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brads · Member Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 20

Sounds like dropsy alright. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do. First and sadly, I need to tell you that dropsy is usually fatal so... if the worst happens I'm sorry in advance. Do not give up though, there's always hope. Anyway, Dropsy is caused by a bacterial or viral infection and usually brought on by poor tank conditions (a need to change the water more often. Once a week is good) and/or over feeding. These things bring on constipation which in turn pushes against the swim bladder which usually makes the fish unable to stay off the top of the tank. Since she's constipated I'd stop feeding her for about three days. This should help her pass... so to speak. Fish can go for about 10 days without food so don't worry there. You can try giving her a skinned green pea for her constipation. It's kind of a Fishie laxative. Try giving her and any other fish you might have a pea a week or so. They love 'em and it helps to keep them cleaned out. Hang in there.