Please help goldfish, bloating, pineconing?

Hello all, this is my first time posting. I have 2 freshwater goldfish, one is named Buffet (8 years old) another Barnacleboy (about 1.5 years old). The tank is 30 gallons, has 2 artificial plants and 1 floatie. On Tuesday (11/24/2020), Barnacleboy started bloating and now (11/27) it seems like his scales are pine-coning. From the top, it is evident that he has tripled his regular size and the pine-cone is worse. I think it might be Dropsy but I am unsure. I did a deep clean of the tank about a month and a half ago and fish were fine. I did a water test, ammonia and nitrite were fine, but nitrate is at 20.

Barnacleboy just started bloating out of no where. I consulted two different coworkers at Petsmart and one suggested PimaFix (treats fungal infections). I know I read another post on Dropsy but I wanted to be certain of how to treat it. I am creating a hospital tank and I have aquarium salt and Pimafix on hand. What should I put in the hospital tank and how much of each ingredient?

 

I don’t think fungal medications will help with dropsy. KribensisLover1 has been dealing with dropsy for a while, maybe they can help you.

 

I don’t think fungal medications will help with dropsy. KribensisLover1 has been dealing with dropsy for a while, maybe they can help you.

Thank you.

 

Hello all, this is my first time posting. I have 2 freshwater goldfish, one is named Buffet (8 years old) another Barnacleboy (about 1.5 years old). The tank is 30 gallons, has 2 artificial plants and 1 floatie. On Tuesday (11/24/2020), Barnacleboy started bloating and now (11/27) it seems like his scales are pine-coning. From the top, it is evident that he has tripled his regular size and the pine-cone is worse. I think it might be Dropsy but I am unsure. I did a deep clean of the tank about a month and a half ago and fish were fine. I did a water test, ammonia and nitrate were fine, but nitrite is at 20.

Barnacleboy just started bloating out of no where. I consulted two different coworkers at Petsmart and one suggested PimaFix (treats fungal infections). I know I read another post on Dropsy but I wanted to be certain of how to treat it. I am creating a hospital tank and I have aquarium salt and Pimafix on hand. What should I put in the hospital tank and how much of each ingredient?

Hello! I’m so sorry for you. So I DO think it will help a ton to read the post I originally posted, mainly Bc comments are from those way more experienced. I don’t think you’re supposed to use PimaFix not sure though.
However—to sum up what I did—
I had 7 Kribensis and 2 passed from Dropsy. Of the five left, at least three were extremely sick with dropsy. Also had an Angelfish with HIH who showed up after Dropsy began, though the Kribs didn’t have HIH.
Removed carbon from the tank, well before I decided to use meds, bc MacZ told me carbon isn’t great in general, so out it came.
(Apparently dropsy is usually a symptom of something, yet I have yet to find out WHAT in my tank. The Kribs were the only types getting it).
I did some Epsom Salt baths. I was told not to try to catch fish if they are able to swim away when you try to net them, because it’s stressful for them. So I did the baths only when the fish were slow and extremely simple to catch (in other words, when they were doing awful). I did a tablespoon per gallon. I did baths on three of my fish—2 died later, yet one REALLY improved after two days of baths. He was so much better that I couldn’t catch him after that, so I stopped for a while. Then, later, when he was very sick again, I gave a bath, and then immediately began treatment with meds.
I didn’t start meds for a while Bc I was told water changes are usually the most helpful. I did those every other day for a bit and then I believe three times a week and it might have prolonged some lives, yet nobody healed totally.
Finally—I dosed Kanaplex from seachem. Apparently the dosing instructions given on the SeaChem packages are much too low, and 17X that amount is best, yet I didn’t have that much medication & had already begun with the dose SeaChem told me to use (one level scoop for every 5 gallons). For my tank, the dose on the bottle DID work. I used it last Fri, Sunday, Tuesday. They didn’t get better right away, however they def did get better.
Bc of the Angelfishes HIH, I ALSO used API General Cure. I used API General Cure last Sun and Tues (I started later Bc the meds arrived in the mail later, that’s the only reason). So I don’t want to say using only kanaplex will help Bc I can’t swear to that. Because I used both meds, even though the Kanaplex was for dropsy and the API General Cure was for the HIH, I can’t say one medicine didn’t help the other sickness. In other words, if My fish got sick with dropsy again, I would dose both meds to be safe.
Now I did see immediate improvement in the Angelfish with API General Cure, and who knows, it might have helped my Kribensis a ton with dropsy, as well. MAKE SURE YOU REMOVE CARBON BEFORE MEDS ARE PUT IN.
You’re supposed to do a 25% water change 48 hours after the second dose of Gen Cure, (which would have been Th.)and I couldn’t do it until Friday. Friday is my usual water change day so I did a huge water change and vacuum. API General Cure also says to use brand new carbon after the water change, and I did for 24 hours to remove meds, and will now remove carbon from my filter entirely, to be safe. I have no clue what started the issues, and as you can see, my last water change after the meds was yesterday, so I can’t be sure all is better, though the fishes look SO SO MUCH BETTER. That’s exactly what I did and I really hope it works for you. Any updates?!

 

Hello! I’m so sorry for you. So I DO think it will help a ton to read the post I originally posted, mainly Bc comments are from those way more experienced. I don’t think you’re supposed to use PimaFix not sure though.
However—to sum up what I did—
I had 7 Kribensis and 2 passed from Dropsy. Of the five left, at least three were extremely sick with dropsy. Also had an Angelfish with HIH who showed up after Dropsy began, though the Kribs didn’t have HIH.
Removed carbon from the tank, well before I decided to use meds, bc MacZ told me carbon isn’t great in general, so out it came.
(Apparently dropsy is usually a symptom of something, yet I have yet to find out WHAT in my tank. The Kribs were the only types getting it).
I did some Epsom Salt baths. I was told not to try to catch fish if they are able to swim away when you try to net them, because it’s stressful for them. So I did the baths only when the fish were slow and extremely simple to catch (in other words, when they were doing awful). I did a tablespoon per gallon. I did baths on three of my fish—2 died later, yet one REALLY improved after two days of baths. He was so much better that I couldn’t catch him after that, so I stopped for a while. Then, later, when he was very sick again, I gave a bath, and then immediately began treatment with meds.
I didn’t start meds for a while Bc I was told water changes are usually the most helpful. I did those every other day for a bit and then I believe three times a week and it might have prolonged some lives, yet nobody healed totally.
Finally—I dosed Kanaplex from seachem. Apparently the dosing instructions given on the SeaChem packages are much too low, and 17X that amount is best, yet I didn’t have that much medication & had already begun with the dose SeaChem told me to use (one level scoop for every 5 gallons). For my tank, the dose on the bottle DID work. I used it last Fri, Sunday, Tuesday. They didn’t get better right away, however they def did get better.
Bc of the Angelfishes HIH, I ALSO used API General Cure. I used API General Cure last Sun and Tues (I started later Bc the meds arrived in the mail later, that’s the only reason). So I don’t want to say using only kanaplex will help Bc I can’t swear to that. Because I used both meds, even though the Kanaplex was for dropsy and the API General Cure was for the HIH, I can’t say one medicine didn’t help the other sickness. In other words, if My fish got sick with dropsy again, I would dose both meds to be safe.
Now I did see immediate improvement in the Angelfish with API General Cure, and who knows, it might have helped my Kribensis a ton with dropsy, as well. MAKE SURE YOU REMOVE CARBON BEFORE MEDS ARE PUT IN.
You’re supposed to do a 25% water change 48 hours after the second dose of Gen Cure, (which would have been Th.)and I couldn’t do it until Friday. Friday is my usual water change day so I did a huge water change and vacuum. API General Cure also says to use brand new carbon after the water change, and I did for 24 hours to remove meds, and will now remove carbon from my filter entirely, to be safe. I have no clue what started the issues, and as you can see, my last water change after the meds was yesterday, so I can’t be sure all is better, though the fishes look SO SO MUCH BETTER. That’s exactly what I did and I really hope it works for you. Any updates?!

Hello there! Thank you for your extensive post. I appreciate that. I ended up putting 1mL pimafix because I have him in a small hospital tank (about 1 gallon). I used a little bit of the aquarium salt but I probably need to redo the bath.

1) When doing the salt baths, do you change the water daily?
2) Would buying Kanaplex be worth it? It will probably arrive in the next two days.

I have a Topfin filter that has carbon in it, not sure if I should change my filter entirely.

My fish is still eating, I fed him this morning, but his scales are still puffed up. I am unsure if he will make it.

 

Hello all, this is my first time posting. I have 2 freshwater goldfish, one is named Buffet (8 years old) another Barnacleboy (about 1.5 years old). The tank is 30 gallons, has 2 artificial plants and 1 floatie. On Tuesday (11/24/2020), Barnacleboy started bloating and now (11/27) it seems like his scales are pine-coning. From the top, it is evident that he has tripled his regular size and the pine-cone is worse. I think it might be Dropsy but I am unsure. I did a deep clean of the tank about a month and a half ago and fish were fine. I did a water test, ammonia and nitrate were fine, but nitrite is at 20.

Barnacleboy just started bloating out of no where. I consulted two different coworkers at Petsmart and one suggested PimaFix (treats fungal infections). I know I read another post on Dropsy but I wanted to be certain of how to treat it. I am creating a hospital tank and I have aquarium salt and Pimafix on hand. What should I put in the hospital tank and how much of each ingredient?

Also the dropsy looks pretty bad on the one fish and apparently the Epsom Salt baths don’t cure them but they do soothe the pain from swelling etc etc so even though I’m no expert I would begin with that.

 

20 NITRITE?!? HOW that’s literally impossible unless you are actively trying is it 20 nitrate. That’s basically 30 ppm ammonia if it’s 20 ppm nitrite

 

Hello there! Thank you for your extensive post. I appreciate that. I ended up putting 1mL pimafix because I have him in a small hospital tank (about 1 gallon). I used a little bit of the aquarium salt but I probably need to redo the bath.

1) When doing the salt baths, do you change the water daily?
2) Would buying Kanaplex be worth it? It will probably arrive in the next two days.

I have a Topfin filter that has carbon in it, not sure if I should change my filter entirely.

My fish is still eating, I fed him this morning, but his scales are still puffed up. I am unsure if he will make it.

He’s still eating? That’s interesting. Mine def were not. I hope somebody else sees this to comment! Don’t change the filter Bc they need the bacteria in the filter to keep the tank stable. A new filter will upset the balance of the tank totally. I would remove the carbon in general, but if you don’t want to, def at least remove it when you dose meds. If you only use Kanaplex, you don’t need to put in new carbon after, but you MUST remove carbon before, Bc when carbon is in the filter, it takes all the meds out of the water, so medicating the fish is a total waste. I took mine out Bc I was told it’s not super safe and then kept it out during the meds. I did not change the water daily (so after a Salt bath I would put the fish back in the main tank). I did change the water every other day. It’s def different if you’re using a quarantine tank, so I hope somebody chimes in as I don’t know the protocol for that. And all I know (and it could be diff as your fish are still eating etc etc) is that my fish would DEFINITELY be dead if I hadn’t used Kanaplex. NO DOUBT. And your pineconing looks advanced. So yes I would say it’s absolutely worth it. Kanaplex says it treats dropsy so I believe that’s a must have. Also, people say dropsy is only a symptom of a root issue. I only mention this bc API General Cure doesn’t claim to treat dropsy, but maybe it helped the root cause (Bc it treats parasites so it might have helped some root issue I don’t know about ) but again it doesn’t say it treats dropsy. Kanaplex does say it treats dropsy so that IMHO is a must.

 

I think the op meant nitrate? I think? Also if my message was confusing pls let me know. I tend to overexplain some things and not explain others.

 

I think the op meant nitrate? I think? Also if my message was confusing pls let me know. I tend to overexplain some things and not explain others.

Your response made absolute sense. Thank you. I will try the best I can. You were very helpful!

 

Your response made absolute sense. Thank you. I will try the best I can. You were very helpful!

Please keep us posted. I hope somebody else chimes in about PIMAFIX. And Epsom salts are diff than aquarium salts. I didn’t know that before so I don’t mean to explain if you already know! And only one fish was sick in my tank, and then slowly many (if not all) the same type of fish got it. So even if Kanaplex comes too late/you don’t wind up needing it Bc your fish gets better, I still think it’s great to have in case your other fish starts acting sick. Also I assume he is also gasping a lot and lethargic. Those were my symptoms. Since yours is still eating I want to make sure the other symptoms are the same.GOOD LUCK!!!!!

 

20 NITRITE?!? HOW that’s literally impossible unless you are actively trying is it 20 nitrate. That’s basically 30 ppm ammonia if it’s 20 ppm nitrite

WAIT I didn’t notice that in the original post. Do you mean 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 20 nitrate? If so, that’s perfectly normal. If you actually have 20 nitrite, that’s probably what’s causing the dropsy.

 

WAIT I didn’t notice that in the original post. Do you mean 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 20 nitrate? If so, that’s perfectly normal. If you actually have 20 nitrite, that’s probably what’s causing the dropsy.

Thank you for confirming this

 

WAIT I didn’t notice that in the original post. Do you mean 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 20 nitrate? If so, that’s perfectly normal. If you actually have 20 nitrite, that’s probably what’s causing the dropsy.

Sorry, I meant to say nitrate. I had 20 of the least toxic one. Thank you!

 

Sorry, I meant to say nitrate. I had 20 of the least toxic one. Thank you!

Ok, that’s good. 20 nitrate is about what it should be.

 

Please keep us posted. I hope somebody else chimes in about PIMAFIX. And Epsom salts are diff than aquarium salts. I didn’t know that before so I don’t mean to explain if you already know! And only one fish was sick in my tank, and then slowly many (if not all) the same type of fish got it. So even if Kanaplex comes too late/you don’t wind up needing it Bc your fish gets better, I still think it’s great to have in case your other fish starts acting sick. Also I assume he is also gasping a lot and lethargic. Those were my symptoms. Since yours is still eating I want to make sure the other symptoms are the same.GOOD LUCK!!!!!

He does seem a bit lethargic and is having trouble breathing. It pains me to know he is in discomfort. I don't have epsom salts, only aquarium salt.

 

He does seem a bit lethargic and is having trouble breathing. It pains me to know he is in discomfort. I don't have epsom salts, only aquarium salt.

Try to get Epsom salt as soon as possible.

 

Please keep us posted. I hope somebody else chimes in about PIMAFIX. And Epsom salts are diff than aquarium salts. I didn’t know that before so I don’t mean to explain if you already know! And only one fish was sick in my tank, and then slowly many (if not all) the same type of fish got it. So even if Kanaplex comes too late/you don’t wind up needing it Bc your fish gets better, I still think it’s great to have in case your other fish starts acting sick. Also I assume he is also gasping a lot and lethargic. Those were my symptoms. Since yours is still eating I want to make sure the other symptoms are the same.GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Pimafix is produced from the essential oil of the West Indies bay tree, pimenta racemosa. This is the same oil found in bay rum colognes. It is supposed to be effective against some fungal infections. However, dropsy is typically a result of bacterial infections, so Pimafix would not be the right medication. There is another medication called Melafix that contains tea tree (Melaeluca) oil that is supposed to have some antibacterial properties.

Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. It acts to relieve constipation both in people and in fish. Aquarium salt is sodium chloride. They are both salts, but they are quite different. A sodium chloride solution is known as saline. It helps improve osmotic balance.

 

Dropsy is a symptom and can be caused by many things, some of which are treatable, others not so much. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but if he doesn't get better you may have to look into euthanasia. Also 20ppm nitrate is fine. Ammonia and nitrite are the really harmful ones.

 

Epsom salts are the easiest to get. I went to Walgreens near me and I made sure I didn’t get any scented ones.

 

Epsom salts are the easiest to get. I went to Walgreens near me and I made sure I didn’t get any scented ones.

I did Target. It’s at practically every store.

 

He does seem a bit lethargic and is having trouble breathing. It pains me to know he is in discomfort. I don't have epsom salts, only aquarium salt.

Also I really would encourage ordering kanaplex. If the fish starts swimming vertically it’s bad. But even if your other fish stays healthy Kanaplex is great to have on hand. I ordered it long ago when I thought I needed it and didn’t but then I had it on hand for this time when I def needed it. Bc at least near me you can’t get it in stores. Best of luck.

 

Honestly melafix, bettafix, and pimafix aren’t that great of meds. They just aren’t very effective and melafix and bettafix can actually damage the labyrinth organ in gouramis and bettas. In rare cases they can also damage the gills of any fish. Pimafix I believe is better and safer, but still is not very effective.

 

emziemsterz if you look at my kanaplex post you’ll see I’m still having issues. So I’m ordering more kanaplex. Just wanted to tell you Bc it’s happening to me in real time as well’

 

emziemsterz if you look at my kanaplex post you’ll see I’m still having issues. So I’m ordering more kanaplex. Just wanted to tell you Bc it’s happening to me in real time as well’

Just remember that the disease you are treating might be resistant to Kanaplex. If Kanaplex does not work, you might need to try another type of antibiotic.

 

emziemsterz if you look at my kanaplex post you’ll see I’m still having issues. So I’m ordering more kanaplex. Just wanted to tell you Bc it’s happening to me in real time as well’

Thank you everyone for your feedback.
Another update, kanaplex is arriving today and my fish is still fighting through. He has been eating and is still pretty plump, but seems to be hanging on. I have him in a separate container using the fish tank water. Do I just put the kanaplex in with the water from the tank for Barnacleboy? Or is there a specific way to do it. Thanks again!

 

Thank you everyone for your feedback.
Another update, kanaplex is arriving today and my fish is still fighting through. He has been eating and is still pretty plump, but seems to be hanging on. I have him in a separate container using the fish tank water. Do I just put the kanaplex in with the water from the tank for Barnacleboy? Or is there a specific way to do it. Thanks again!

Oooh good question. Just read instructions. At least this way you can use a much smaller amount of meds Bc he’s in a hospital tank.

 

If your tank is heated, it might help to lower the temperature as well. Lowering the temp can hinder the bacteria's reproduction rate. Now of course that's assuming it's bacterial at all. Could be anything from viral, to bacterial, to just poor genetics. Like mentioned above, dropsy is a symptom rather than a specific disease. It's caused when the kidneys are failing and the fish loses its ability to osmoregulate and fluids build up in the body cavity.

I don't want to be the doom and gloom guy, but even if you manage to discern and treat the root cause, the damage to the kidneys is likely permanent by the time we catch it, and will likely cause problems long term.

Try to treat. But know that you're fighting uphill and don't kick yourself too hard if it doesn't work out. Wishing you luck.