Naminori

I have a platy who started showing signs of dropsy about four days ago. I read up and got some Maracyn 2. Today was day three of the medication, and she has continued to expand. She's now very round, but while she looks horrible, she is still as alert and active as ever. I'm not sure what to do with her - I feel like crying every time I see her because I imagine she must be in pain, but she doesn't act like she is. I don't want her to have some painful drawn-out death, so I would consider euthanizing her. However, she is a pretty young fish, and I have read stories of people whose fish have survived dropsy. I would really appreciate some feedback on what you think I should do.

Also, Maracyn 2 says it's a 5 day treatment. If I decide to continue attempting to treat her, but she doesn't appear to have improved after the 5th day, can I start a second 5-day treatment?

Thanks.

TFA101

yes, you can remain treatment until the signs of disease have gone away. dropsy is a challenge to treat. You are on a treatment of meds, so as a supporting measure, you should try feeding your fish some food dipped in the juice of organic garlic. Simply crush up a clove of garlic until you have juiced it, and add a bit of aquarium water to slightly dilute the mixture. Feed your fish some food mixed with this juice, or when they are not eating, add a few drops of the juice into the tank for health reasons. Garlic contains many nutrients that are beneficial to your fish's health, and it will give your platy's immune system a good boost during this time of disease.

Good luck to you and your fishy

Lucy

Is she just round or is she pinconed?

You can start a second round of treatment. You might want to try to feed her her tiny bits of thawed, frozen, shelled pea. Sometimes this will help move things along and get the bloat down.

Naminori

Thanks for the food tips, I will give them a try!

And Lucy, she is pineconed. When I started using the meds, her scales were sticking out only a little, but they progressively went out further. For the past couple days, she's been very round and very uh, pinecone-y. It seems like she's reached her maximum volume, though, and I haven't seen a change in her appearance since then.

Lucy

I'm really sorry. I hope the meds work.