How to Treat Dropsy in Fish

Dropsy is a common fish disease that causes alarming symptoms. The bacterial infection causes fish in freshwater aquariums and ponds to bloat and eventually die because of damage to their internal organs. It is a difficult illness to treat with a high death rate. However, if you are able to detect dropsy early, there are several steps you can take to nurse your fish back to health.

Things You'll Need

  • Extra fish tank or plastic aquarium partition
  • Medication (penicillin, naladixic acid, tetracycline)
  • Medicated fish food
  • Epsom salt, methylene blue or electrolyte balancing salts
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Instructions

    • 1

      Know the symptoms of dropsy. By the time you see more than one symptom of dropsy in your fish, it may already be too late. It is important to recognize the signs of the illness early and quickly. The illness changes the appearance of the fish, and giving them a swollen body, scales forced outward and popped out eyes. A fish with dropsy will have noticeable behavioral changes too. It will be lethargic, stop eating and spend its time in the top or bottom of the tank.

    • 2

      Quarantine the sick fish. Place the fish affected by dropsy in a separate aquarium, or install a plastic divider to partition your tank. Dropsy is not contagious but keeping your affected fish away from healthy fish will help them heal. They will have less stress and competition for food.

    • 3

      Administer medication to the affected fish. Penicillin, naladixic acid and tetracycline are all effective medications that can combat the bacterial infection. The medicine must be able to treat the internal infection since external medications will not get to the root of the problem. Give the medicine to your sick fish by adding it to their daily food. This will only work if the fish is still eating. Read the medication label to determine how to add the drops to the fish's food. Pre-medicated foods are available commercially that can boost the fish's immune system.

    • 4

      Give your fish salt baths. Salts baths will draw the extra fluid out of the fish. You may give sick fish a salt bath up to two times a day. Add Epsom salt, methylene blue or electrolyte balancing salts to the fish's water. These salts are available at pet stores and the labels will indicate how much salt to add to the tank depending on the water volume.

    • 5

      Prevent future dropsy infections. Dropsy is hard to fight once a fish is infected, but it is easier to prevent. Good water quality is the key to preventing dropsy in your fish tank. High nitrates can trigger the illness, so doing water changes in the tank at least once a week will keep the nitrates from building up. Be sure to change 10 to 15 percent of the aquarium's water each time. Overfeeding your fish and keeping too many in a tank will lead to more waste, and in turn, a higher nitrate level in the water.