# Scales raised, puffiness, infection (danios)



## KhuliLoachFan

All my danios are dropping, one by one. They are getting puffy, scales sticking out around the mid-section, one got so big I thought she was gravid (and a she), although now she's lying on her back dying. It's weird that they all got sick at the same time and only the danios are sick.

I suspect infection of some kind. I need a med suggestion. Or other diagnosis suggestion? :-( My poor danios.

W


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## Sunstar

sounds like dropsy. I had a goldfish do that. Dropsy is a symptom of a lot of things apparently, though. I am not sure what to do. I read somewhere a theraputical salt additon to the tank might help draw the excess water from the fish to make her swelling go down. 

I took my goldfish out of the tank and put him in a bucket to treat him. I wanted erethromycine but I couldn't find any. Unfortunately he died.

What other notiable symptoms do you have?


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## conix67

Unfortunately I heard dropsy is very difficult to treat. I think it's best to eliminate the cause to avoid spreading to other fishes.

The symptom sounds exactly like the dropsy I read or heard about...


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## KhuliLoachFan

*learning from your fishies dying...*

Water parameters are normal (PH 7.8-8, no ammonia or nitrite, nitrates typically <10 ppm). Two of my danios that died were moved from one tank to another so I suspected stress. Then the rest that had not been moved started getting sick and dying. There are zebra danios and leopard danios, and nobody else is affected (yet) in the two community tanks they were in.

I saw a spot, or "hole" forming on the side of the most sick, and swollen danio. I thought it was pregnant. But the raised scales around the midsection and clamped fins, and listlessness of several days is worse now. The sickest danio is in a hospital tank, I added the only antibiotic I've got, and a bit of salt.

The other sick one is in another quarantine tank. I added salt but no meds, but have been changing water regularly (daily 25%) in case it's toxins. I figure, doing one the one way and one the other way gives me a decision on how to treat the rest if they keep dropping.

W


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## KhuliLoachFan

It is consistent with Dropsy .. potentially due to poor water quality (missed water changes, nitrates climbing too high - that tank did go two weeks without a water change a few weeks back, and the nitrates probably got high during that period). I also suspect that in my 50g tank, I overfed the recently added pleco, too soon after adding him, and although I didn't see it, the tank might have mini-cycled, and stressed out or made fishies sick. The thing is danios are so hardy, it's weird. One of the bleeding heart tetras died too. 

Maybe that's it. I was thinking angel-fish agression, but it might just have been (a) 50g tank was torn down and moved four weeks ago, (b) I added a pleco 2 weeks ago. Prolly should have let it all set for a month before adding an fishy, specially a biggie like the gibbicaps pleco.

Have I diagnosed my own sins correctly, anyone?

W


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## Shattered

Sounds like you have, sinner! (  ). 

I haven't had much experience with Dropsy though but from what I've read it sounds like that's what you have. 

Sorry about your losses.


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## Sunstar

I have heard it can be treated, but success is SO rare. Sorry again. My spark goes to the fishies that pass to the great swimming lakes of the afterworld.


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## ameekplec.

Sounds exactly like dropsy, even from just the title. Sorry for the losses.

IMO, with a fish like the danios, it may not be worth trying to save with meds, as they will drop like flies, and the meds will cost more than just to replace them. And like was said before, it's not an oft successfully treated disease.

Just try to keep the water clean, and that usually prevents dropsy from happening in the first place.

Good luck with the fish!


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## KhuliLoachFan

Well I lost a leopard danio and a zebra danio today, and that is the fourth danio I've lost, the previous two losses were also a leopard and a zebra danio. I've got one of my other leopard danios in quarantine who is not showing any symptoms yet. I think I'll move the remaining two danios into quarantine tanks tomorrow too.

My kids and I repeat the line from the cosby show when we have a funeral for one of our fishies... . "He was a good fish! ... Happy... and.. brave!". 




W


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