Help...sick otto

[Paige]

Does anyone have any advice about a sick O cat? I noticed this afternoon
that his stomach is bloated and he's breathing fast. From what I've read it
sounds like dropsy but I don't know what to do about it. Is it treatable?
I'm going to try and move him to my smaller empty tank.
I've had this guy for a couple of years I don't want to lose him :(

Paige

[Essayons89]

I'm sorry to say this but dropsy isn't the easiest thing to treat for.
You will have to place the fish into quarantine and treat with
Maracyn 2 (or another broad spectrum antibiotic.

Place the fish into a QT with water that matches the temp and pH of
the main tank, or if your water quality is good in the main tank,
then fill the QT with water from the main tank. Place the fish into
the QT and follow the five day dosing instructions for the Maracyn 2.
Be sure to keep up any treatment for a few days after all symptoms
disappear. If treatment is required after the five day period then
perform two large water changes twelve hours apart (up to 50% each
time is fine) then treat for another five days.

Maracyn 2 will cloud the water, this is normal and is nothing to worry
about. Surface agitation should also be increased, or an airstone
added since the med will lower the amount of dissolved oxygen in the
water.

I've only brought back one fish that had dropsy. This is a tough one
to treat for since the exact causes of this are uncertain. Dropsy can
occur in fish that are kept in poor condition for one reason or
another or in healthy fish in a well maintained aquarium. Dropsy can
be caused by bacterial or viral infections or through an
environmental problem.

Don't hesitate to start a treatment and good luck!

Bryan
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[Mean_Chlorine]

Thusly (Essayons89) Spake
Unto All:

>I'm sorry to say this but dropsy isn't the easiest thing to treat for.

I'd go as far as saying that when an oto, or other plant-eating fish,
develops dropsy, it's too late to do anything about it: the intestines
are rotting due by the bacterial infection.
Quite likely the cause is unsuitable, e.g. rotten high fat/high
protein, food. IME poor quality frozen bloodworms (red chironomid
larvae) is an excellent way of causing dropsy in otos and other plant
eaters, like Tropheus.

However, it's also worth remembering that a gravid oto female can look
ridiculously bloated, in which case it's of course not sick at all.

[Paige]

Thank you everyone but we decided to put him to sleep. He was about two
years old and I didn't think I could save him.. When I picked him up out of
the tank he let me simply pick him up...so I knew he was doing bad.

Thanks,
Paige