IMO I would lean towards it being dropsy... as far as the parasite question reguarding meds I've always used prazi-pro w/out any issue or problem includeing on very stressed out fish, which imo at this point could mean the difference... I would keep her lights off and avoid any traffic ect or anything that could or would stress her as much as possible. exposeing her to to much meds/changes could also do more harm then good. I would give the meds a few days. and monitor her and the water quality.... alot of times meds will effect the filters bacterial colony and cause an ammonia spike ect that can end up being the demise of a fish. I hope she pulls threw for you. idk if prazi will react to the meds but I've never had a reaction personally when useing it. I'de hesitate to say use it, but it might be worth haveing on hand as a last ditch effort. often times it will "kick start" some fish. BUt with as much as shes already been threw Its really a toss up imo.
Please help my O "Swamp Thing"
- Thread starter PDRed302
- Start date
This is what I am thinking it is. I had hope that it was only an infection from held eggs but with her scales turning up a bit today, dropsy is exactly where my mind went.
I have already started my Maracyn 1 and 2 treatment (goes on for 5 days) if she survives this treatment but is still showing symptoms I may lean towards using prazi-pro.
I anticipated a possible mini cycle/bacteria loss and picked up some seachem stability in case I ran into any problems; thanks for the heads up though.
Hopefully I will have an update here in a few days that's positive!
some info from other sites. I'm only pasting small portions from entire articles:
http://fish.turquoisewave.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=38
Remember that salt of any kind (epsoms, NaCl, sea salt) is not a cure for dropsy. All it can do is let you doublecheck that your fish isn't constipated and maybe buy you some time if it really is kidney failure.
> Note that large fish and small fish do not react the same to diseases,
> especially with dropsy symptoms which may have come on slowly. Small
> fish often die before you've had a chance to research cures or methods
> of euthanizing. Larger fish can live quite a long time (months).
Valuable larger fish (i.e. show koi or family pet oscars) can be treated by a vet. According to Untergasser and Manual of Fish Health, the best thing to buy time for a fish in kidney failure is aspiration of the excess fluid from the abdominal cavity with a syringe. A vet or someone trained in fish anatomy can do this procedure without puncturing internal organs. I wouldn't try it myself...
----------------------------------------
http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/disease-prevention/dealing-with-dropsy.aspx
Dropsy is not a specific disease but rather a symptom of a deteriorated health condition.
The visible swelling is the result of a tropical fish not being able to regulate the amount of fluid in a part of its body, typically the abdomen, and specifically, most often the visceral cavity that houses a number of organs such as the stomach, intestines, gall bladder and kidney. The failure to regulate fluids is a symptom so there is usually some other disease involved that starts the process..........
At the same time, there are also theories that connect dropsy or the abdominal swelling we typically associate with dropsy with actual disease-causing pathogens: internal bacterial infections, parasites, viruses and tumors.
----------------------------------
http://www.oscarfishlover.com/helpful-articles/swollen-abdomen
Because a bloated, swollen abdomen is a symptom, not a disease, it can be extremely difficult to treat.
Unfortunately, in many cases, Oscars that develop severely swollen abdomens do not survive. By the time the symptoms have shown themselves, it is too late for the fish. There are various reasons why a fish will develop these symptoms. In some cases, there is a genetic problem with the fish. The fish may well be okay for the first few years, then it starts developing problems in the abdominal area. There wouldn't be any cure for this condition.
Fish can develop tumours which will cause swelling in the abdomen. Unfortunately, the only treatment for this is surgery which would probably be futile as the fish would probably not survive.
Internal bacteria or viral infections in fish can often result in them having a swollen abdomen/body. Quite often the eyes bulge and the scales are raised. This is sometimes referred to as "dropsy" This is an extremely serious condition. Remember that dropsy isn't an actual disease, it is actually a symptom of something more serious that is wrong with the fish. For this reason, it is very difficult to treat. If caught early, antibiotics might help. However, off-the-shelf may medication not work, you may have to seek professional advice and have injections administered. Again, the chances of this resulting in a cure are quite slim.
If your fish develops a balloon shaped abdomen that is soft and not hard like a tumour, this could possibly be internal organ disease which can result in fluid buildup in the abdominal cavity....
-------------------------
This article is primarily about a different appearing infection than common Dropsy, but a little more than midway through, it gets to Dropsy:
http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/healthdisease/116-jss.html
There is interesting reference to veterinary cultures used in identifying the causal agent, and also a medication called Seachem Neoplex helping with this fish's cure.
just searched for some remote straws.
you do live in a big city, sometimes a vet is interested in trying their hand at less common animals.
---------------------
This site has dropsy xray images:
http://www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/dropsy/
http://fish.turquoisewave.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=38
Remember that salt of any kind (epsoms, NaCl, sea salt) is not a cure for dropsy. All it can do is let you doublecheck that your fish isn't constipated and maybe buy you some time if it really is kidney failure.
> Note that large fish and small fish do not react the same to diseases,
> especially with dropsy symptoms which may have come on slowly. Small
> fish often die before you've had a chance to research cures or methods
> of euthanizing. Larger fish can live quite a long time (months).
Valuable larger fish (i.e. show koi or family pet oscars) can be treated by a vet. According to Untergasser and Manual of Fish Health, the best thing to buy time for a fish in kidney failure is aspiration of the excess fluid from the abdominal cavity with a syringe. A vet or someone trained in fish anatomy can do this procedure without puncturing internal organs. I wouldn't try it myself...
----------------------------------------
http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/disease-prevention/dealing-with-dropsy.aspx
Dropsy is not a specific disease but rather a symptom of a deteriorated health condition.
The visible swelling is the result of a tropical fish not being able to regulate the amount of fluid in a part of its body, typically the abdomen, and specifically, most often the visceral cavity that houses a number of organs such as the stomach, intestines, gall bladder and kidney. The failure to regulate fluids is a symptom so there is usually some other disease involved that starts the process..........
At the same time, there are also theories that connect dropsy or the abdominal swelling we typically associate with dropsy with actual disease-causing pathogens: internal bacterial infections, parasites, viruses and tumors.
----------------------------------
http://www.oscarfishlover.com/helpful-articles/swollen-abdomen
Because a bloated, swollen abdomen is a symptom, not a disease, it can be extremely difficult to treat.
Unfortunately, in many cases, Oscars that develop severely swollen abdomens do not survive. By the time the symptoms have shown themselves, it is too late for the fish. There are various reasons why a fish will develop these symptoms. In some cases, there is a genetic problem with the fish. The fish may well be okay for the first few years, then it starts developing problems in the abdominal area. There wouldn't be any cure for this condition.
Fish can develop tumours which will cause swelling in the abdomen. Unfortunately, the only treatment for this is surgery which would probably be futile as the fish would probably not survive.
Internal bacteria or viral infections in fish can often result in them having a swollen abdomen/body. Quite often the eyes bulge and the scales are raised. This is sometimes referred to as "dropsy" This is an extremely serious condition. Remember that dropsy isn't an actual disease, it is actually a symptom of something more serious that is wrong with the fish. For this reason, it is very difficult to treat. If caught early, antibiotics might help. However, off-the-shelf may medication not work, you may have to seek professional advice and have injections administered. Again, the chances of this resulting in a cure are quite slim.
If your fish develops a balloon shaped abdomen that is soft and not hard like a tumour, this could possibly be internal organ disease which can result in fluid buildup in the abdominal cavity....
-------------------------
This article is primarily about a different appearing infection than common Dropsy, but a little more than midway through, it gets to Dropsy:
http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/healthdisease/116-jss.html
There is interesting reference to veterinary cultures used in identifying the causal agent, and also a medication called Seachem Neoplex helping with this fish's cure.
just searched for some remote straws.
you do live in a big city, sometimes a vet is interested in trying their hand at less common animals.
---------------------
This site has dropsy xray images:
http://www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/dropsy/
A few things come to mind. First, I missed the fact that she was actually an egg laying female. You might want to consult the breeding section as well as the disease section. This is not an uncommon problem to hold eggs and the breeder section might give you some good ideas. Internal infection from the held eggs could have progressed into dropsy, and you might have to treat both problems. Dropsy can be cured. It is a serious problem, but there is hope until it plagues the internal organs(kidney or liver). This could take some time though so there is hope.
Petspoiler brought to light a few risky treatments. I would not suggest those until you have a clear diagnosis or you could be causing more harm. Releasing fluid from the body cavity can actually be a fairly safe procedure. I have given injections to the body cavity many times. The trick is going at a steep angle under the scales and stopping as soon as you pierce the peritoneal lining. This, on the other hand, is stressful and will open a small wound for bacterial infection.
Surgery is always risky, but if you have a steady hand and know anatomy there are many well-documented cases where the fish recovered just fine. Once again though, it is opening you up to secondary infections and unneeded stress and danger if you are not sure of the cause.
There are many safe sedatives that can help with any major procedure and I would certainly use them if you attempt this. Clove oil and spearment oil are both easily available and will work.
If you do find out one of these problems is happening, I personally would look into these treatments. These are more or less worst case scenarios and you most likely can fix the problem with meds. But if it progresses, look into it.
Dont be discouraged because it isnt getting better. Many diseases take some time to cure it, I think you are handling it the right way. Sometimes there just isnt anything you can do. I hope she gets better for you
Petspoiler brought to light a few risky treatments. I would not suggest those until you have a clear diagnosis or you could be causing more harm. Releasing fluid from the body cavity can actually be a fairly safe procedure. I have given injections to the body cavity many times. The trick is going at a steep angle under the scales and stopping as soon as you pierce the peritoneal lining. This, on the other hand, is stressful and will open a small wound for bacterial infection.
Surgery is always risky, but if you have a steady hand and know anatomy there are many well-documented cases where the fish recovered just fine. Once again though, it is opening you up to secondary infections and unneeded stress and danger if you are not sure of the cause.
There are many safe sedatives that can help with any major procedure and I would certainly use them if you attempt this. Clove oil and spearment oil are both easily available and will work.
If you do find out one of these problems is happening, I personally would look into these treatments. These are more or less worst case scenarios and you most likely can fix the problem with meds. But if it progresses, look into it.
Dont be discouraged because it isnt getting better. Many diseases take some time to cure it, I think you are handling it the right way. Sometimes there just isnt anything you can do. I hope she gets better for you
Thank you Petspoiler and Shenanigans...
And of course thanks to everyone else who has posted on this as well.
Hopefully what I am doing now is helping more than hurting. I do not plan on taking her to Vet and for now I do not plan on any type of surgery. Of course if she lives through the medications and still isn't any better then that may become my only hope.
A slight bit of good news, I forgot to mention that last night when I was doing a vac and water change she attacked the vacuum tube! Which of course is more than she's done over the past week.
Her eyes don't look as hazy this morning and I have the day off for a doctor's appointment so hopefully I'll be able to find some more maracyn 2 to go with the 1 I have now to finish up the 5 day treatment.
Wish me luck, I will update with any changes in her condition.
And of course thanks to everyone else who has posted on this as well.
Hopefully what I am doing now is helping more than hurting. I do not plan on taking her to Vet and for now I do not plan on any type of surgery. Of course if she lives through the medications and still isn't any better then that may become my only hope.
A slight bit of good news, I forgot to mention that last night when I was doing a vac and water change she attacked the vacuum tube! Which of course is more than she's done over the past week.
Her eyes don't look as hazy this morning and I have the day off for a doctor's appointment so hopefully I'll be able to find some more maracyn 2 to go with the 1 I have now to finish up the 5 day treatment.
Wish me luck, I will update with any changes in her condition.
Hope she gets better, I hate to see a beautiful fish like that die 
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
I would cut out the salt treatment I think that stresses the fish more. I would just do the antibiotics and increase airation maybe up the temperature and leave the lights off. Good chance it can pull through.
Salt can certainly stress out a fish, but that low of a salt concentration shouldnt phase an Oscar and it might be helping any infection she might have. The reason most people on MFK use salt for many illnesses is because it is one of the least stressful treatments(and very effective). Of course, combining a few treatments is more stressful than just using one.
Im glad she is looking better for you. Just like the doctor tells us, keep up with the medication a few days after she looks better. Nothing worse than conquering a tough disease only to have it come back
Im glad she is looking better for you. Just like the doctor tells us, keep up with the medication a few days after she looks better. Nothing worse than conquering a tough disease only to have it come back
...well, she didn't make it.
Got home from a day/night out with my wife and some friends last night and after taking the babysitter home I went to medicate her tank and saw that she had died.
Burried her in the front bushes area around 10 at night: I figured she'd help the plants
Today I'm going to clean out the 40 breeder as well as all of its equipment, let it dry out for a day and then get it put back together for my Acara pair.
I don't think it would be a good idea to keep any of the substrate or filter material so I am going to dump all of it just to be safe.
Thanks to everyone that tried to help.
Got home from a day/night out with my wife and some friends last night and after taking the babysitter home I went to medicate her tank and saw that she had died.
Burried her in the front bushes area around 10 at night: I figured she'd help the plants
Today I'm going to clean out the 40 breeder as well as all of its equipment, let it dry out for a day and then get it put back together for my Acara pair.
I don't think it would be a good idea to keep any of the substrate or filter material so I am going to dump all of it just to be safe.
Thanks to everyone that tried to help.
Aw, so sorry that.
I remember getting some good chuckles from things you posted about her. of course, one being her name.
then, your wife describing how Swamp Thing would start watching for you to walk through the door after work.
You provided a great life for her.
I remember getting some good chuckles from things you posted about her. of course, one being her name.
then, your wife describing how Swamp Thing would start watching for you to walk through the door after work.
You provided a great life for her.
