Oscar with dropsy

Hi all. My oscar has had dropsy for a month now. It looks bloated like a
fancy goldfish. I have treated it with anti-bacterial medication and it is
still eating and looking ok. How will it fare in the end?

TIA.

--
cheers

"perrin" wrote in message
...
Hi all. My oscar has had dropsy for a month now. It looks bloated like
a
fancy goldfish. I have treated it with anti-bacterial medication and it
is
still eating and looking ok. How will it fare in the end?

TIA.

--
cheers


If he is still eating, then anti-bacterial food would be the most
effective. The odds are against him though.
--
www.NetMax.tk

|| Hi all. My oscar has had dropsy for a month now. It looks bloated
|| like a fancy goldfish. I have treated it with anti-bacterial
|| medication and it is still eating and looking ok. How will it fare
|| in the end?
||
|| TIA.
||
|| --
|| cheers

1, Dropsy is a result of poor water conditions, mostly overfed, under
maintained, and even incorrect housing of said fish, ie, big fish, small
tank.
2, Dropsy is usually, fatal, irreversable, and usually, near impossible to
repair.
3, If caught early, medicated food, is said to be the only fix, as it's an
internal problem, not an external problem. Anti-bac, fungal, etc, won't
help at all, because the problem exists inside the fish, and the only way to
get medications to the fish is if the fish eats the medicine, which you can
now see, is why it's so hard to fix dropsy. you can't just feed them a
pill, the medicated food is best, and they usually don't like to eat if they
are sick..
4, they usually don't make it..


--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??

"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message ...

1, Dropsy is a result of poor water conditions, mostly overfed, under
maintained, and even incorrect housing of said fish, ie, big fish, small
tank.
2, Dropsy is usually, fatal, irreversable, and usually, near impossible to
repair.
3, If caught early, medicated food, is said to be the only fix, as it's an
internal problem, not an external problem. Anti-bac, fungal, etc, won't
help at all, because the problem exists inside the fish, and the only way to
get medications to the fish is if the fish eats the medicine, which you can
now see, is why it's so hard to fix dropsy. you can't just feed them a
pill, the medicated food is best, and they usually don't like to eat if they
are sick..
4, they usually don't make it..

RedForeman and Netmax are both correct, but I'm going to take it a
step further: The term "dropsy" as used in aquaria can refer to any
number of internal ailments that cause swelling of internal organs,
and it's not a reference to a specific disease and therefore has no
specific cure -- except, of course, prevention. The bad news is that I
have never seen an aquarium fish that has gotten this ill survive
long. Once a disease has manifested this far, causing the extreme
swelling of internal organs, there's nothing that can be done. Since
the Oscar in question is still acting normally and eating, I'm glad
that he's feeling no apparent discomfort. But I don't give him long.
--Mark

"Mark Stone" wrote in message
om...
"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...

1, Dropsy is a result of poor water conditions, mostly overfed, under
maintained, and even incorrect housing of said fish, ie, big fish,
small
tank.
2, Dropsy is usually, fatal, irreversable, and usually, near
impossible to
repair.
3, If caught early, medicated food, is said to be the only fix, as
it's an
internal problem, not an external problem. Anti-bac, fungal, etc,
won't
help at all, because the problem exists inside the fish, and the only
way to
get medications to the fish is if the fish eats the medicine, which
you can
now see, is why it's so hard to fix dropsy. you can't just feed them
a
pill, the medicated food is best, and they usually don't like to eat
if they
are sick..
4, they usually don't make it..

RedForeman and Netmax are both correct, but I'm going to take it a
step further: The term "dropsy" as used in aquaria can refer to any
number of internal ailments that cause swelling of internal organs,
and it's not a reference to a specific disease and therefore has no
specific cure -- except, of course, prevention. The bad news is that I
have never seen an aquarium fish that has gotten this ill survive
long. Once a disease has manifested this far, causing the extreme
swelling of internal organs, there's nothing that can be done. Since
the Oscar in question is still acting normally and eating, I'm glad
that he's feeling no apparent discomfort. But I don't give him long.
--Mark

Not to quibble with my esteemed and learned colleagues ;~), but Dropsy
symptoms are also documented to occur under ideal conditions. There is
some randomness to dropsy, which is as Mark points out, a general
umbrella term. For example, there is a type of fish tuberculosis which
falls under Dropsy. A large amount of the disease organism can be
present long before any symptoms appear, so a healthy fish can be a time
bomb for years (and unlike human tuberculosis, fish tuberculosis does not
respond to antibiotics).

My own experience supports the randomness of Dropsy, mortality occurring
to one out of several hundred under identical conditions, though
Cyprinidae (esp. danios & goldfish) and Anabantidae (esp. Bettas &
Gouramis) seem more likely to get it, and when cichlids get it, they tend
to be older. Probably more info than most ppl wanted to know though ;~).
--
www.NetMax.tk (who really hates fish diseases)

|| Not to quibble with my esteemed and learned colleagues ;~), but
|| Dropsy symptoms are also documented to occur under ideal conditions.
|| There is some randomness to dropsy, which is as Mark points out, a
|| general umbrella term. For example, there is a type of fish
|| tuberculosis which falls under Dropsy. A large amount of the
|| disease organism can be present long before any symptoms appear, so
|| a healthy fish can be a time bomb for years (and unlike human
|| tuberculosis, fish tuberculosis does not respond to antibiotics).
||
|| My own experience supports the randomness of Dropsy, mortality
|| occurring to one out of several hundred under identical conditions,
|| though Cyprinidae (esp. danios & goldfish) and Anabantidae (esp.
|| Bettas & Gouramis) seem more likely to get it, and when cichlids get
|| it, they tend to be older. Probably more info than most ppl wanted
|| to know though ;~). --
|| www.NetMax.tk (who really hates fish diseases)

I'm always glad you 'add your $.02 worth', because I always seem to convert
it to about a buck or two!!!

I'm also glad you said that, because the times I've had it, was from a
breeder, swore his fish were healthy, but yet, 2 batches, 2 seperate
batches, different parents, etc, all came down with it... tank had been up
and running for quite some time... and even had eggs a couple of times, but
stress seemed to be their demise...

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??

How long will it take before they go? Are they suffering - oscar looks
normal behaviour-wise to me.

PS to NetMax: it's a juvenile, about 4 inches.

--
cheers
"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...
: || Not to quibble with my esteemed and learned colleagues ;~), but
: || Dropsy symptoms are also documented to occur under ideal conditions.
: || There is some randomness to dropsy, which is as Mark points out, a
: || general umbrella term. For example, there is a type of fish
: || tuberculosis which falls under Dropsy. A large amount of the
: || disease organism can be present long before any symptoms appear, so
: || a healthy fish can be a time bomb for years (and unlike human
: || tuberculosis, fish tuberculosis does not respond to antibiotics).
: ||
: || My own experience supports the randomness of Dropsy, mortality
: || occurring to one out of several hundred under identical conditions,
: || though Cyprinidae (esp. danios & goldfish) and Anabantidae (esp.
: || Bettas & Gouramis) seem more likely to get it, and when cichlids get
: || it, they tend to be older. Probably more info than most ppl wanted
: || to know though ;~). --
: || www.NetMax.tk (who really hates fish diseases)
:
: I'm always glad you 'add your $.02 worth', because I always seem to
convert
: it to about a buck or two!!!
:
: I'm also glad you said that, because the times I've had it, was from a
: breeder, swore his fish were healthy, but yet, 2 batches, 2 seperate
: batches, different parents, etc, all came down with it... tank had been up
: and running for quite some time... and even had eggs a couple of times,
but
: stress seemed to be their demise...
:
: --
: RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
: streetfighter!!! ==========================
: 2003 TRX450ES
: 1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
: '98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
: ==========================
: ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
:
:
: is that better??
:
:

I suppose 4" is a teenager ;~), but it's much younger than I've seen
Oscars get it. Mark probably has more experience on this, and on how
long they take to die. It depends on so many factors. If the internal
organs are ok, and they continue eating, then it might go on for a long
time (weeks, months). Without eating, they would probably starve in the
6 to 8 week range. When an organ completely fails then it is quick.

Generally I find that the smaller the fish, the quicker it dies from
dropsy (or most any diseases). If it were me, as soon as I determine
there is no chance for recovery, I put them in a fishbag with a bit of
clove oil in the water (ratio of 2ml per gallon). IIRC Mark also has an
article on euthanasia on his site which covered more options. The clove
oil is what has worked best for me so far.

It's difficult to define 'suffering' as their nervous system and
emotional capacity are not comparable. While they continue to eat &
behave normally, you can assume that the disease is not incapacitating
them, but beyond that....?
--
www.NetMax.tk

"perrin" wrote in message
...
How long will it take before they go? Are they suffering - oscar looks
normal behaviour-wise to me.

PS to NetMax: it's a juvenile, about 4 inches.
snip

|| How long will it take before they go? Are they suffering - oscar
|| looks normal behaviour-wise to me.

If it's still eating, get some medicated Tetra flakes, and maybe you caught
it in time, or you've got something that resembles Dropsy...

Sorry couldn't help more..

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??

"NetMax" wrote in message ...
I suppose 4" is a teenager ;~), but it's much younger than I've seen
Oscars get it. Mark probably has more experience on this, and on how
long they take to die. It depends on so many factors. If the internal
organs are ok, and they continue eating, then it might go on for a long
time (weeks, months). Without eating, they would probably starve in the
6 to 8 week range. When an organ completely fails then it is quick.

Generally I find that the smaller the fish, the quicker it dies from
dropsy (or most any diseases). If it were me, as soon as I determine
there is no chance for recovery, I put them in a fishbag with a bit of
clove oil in the water (ratio of 2ml per gallon). IIRC Mark also has an
article on euthanasia on his site which covered more options. The clove
oil is what has worked best for me so far.

It's difficult to define 'suffering' as their nervous system and
emotional capacity are not comparable. While they continue to eat &
behave normally, you can assume that the disease is not incapacitating
them, but beyond that....?
--
www.NetMax.tk


Because Dropsy (the swelling of internal organs) can be caused by
anything, it's impossible to say how long this poor fish will last.
One thing, though, is that "suffering" is easier to "diagnose" in an
Oscar because they respond in very predictable ways to stress. If an
Oscar is eating and swimming around in the tank, then it's pretty
certain that he's comfortable; at the slightest sign of pain or stress
(or fear), he's lost his color, stopped eating, and glued himself to
the gravel at the bottom of the tank. Such is Oscar nature.

But I'd like to ask a question. I think it's unusual that an Oscar has
developed Dropsy and yet continues to eat and act normally. I wonder
if he's been mis-diagnosed and perhaps the swelling is being caused by
something else? Anybody have any thoughts on this possibility? --Mark