Does my gourami have dropsy?

Question

I have 2 dwarf gourami that seem to be sick. One of them appeared to be really bloated and puffy until it went down the next day. Now my other gourami is suffering from the same thing. He is super puffy but his scales aren't protruding outward so it doesn't appear to be dropsy. What could this possibly be? Thanks.

Answer 1

Take him to your local pet smart asap you can still get on top of this.

Yes it definitely sounds like dropsy.

Answer 2

"Swimbladder" does not cause swelling.  If it was any swim bladder related issue, it would be constipation-- the swollen digestive tract can compress the swim bladder, causing the fish to lose bouyant control.  If it is not eating, the best you could do would be to add 1/4 teaspoon of epsom salt per 10 gallons of water, as it acts as a natural laxative.

It is possible that you're dealing with Camallanus, which is a parasitic worm that will reproduce very quickly, causing the fish's abdomen to bulge.  Can you see any red spikes sticking from the fish's a**s?  If so, treatment with levamisole (Ergamisol) or fenbendazole (Panacur) would be best, but you'll likely have to get them from a vet.

If you don't see pineconing, it is unlikely that it is dropsy.  However, I feel it very necessary to refute the poor information given by one "answerer".  Salt does NOT decrease the fish's ability to take water into the body.  All body functions in fish, from respiration, to osmotic function, to digestion, rely on dissolved minerals in the water.  Salt is ionic and dissolves very effectively, providing essential sodium, chloride, and other ions (usually calcium and magnesium) that allow the fish to biologically function.

Answer 3

Sounds like bloat or swimbladder.  Are you adding salt to your tank?  If so leave it out next water change.  Salt interfears with a fish's ability to use the water they absorb for body functions.  SOme fish are more sensative to this than others.

Also, is he swimming ok?  It doesn't sound like dropsy but more like swimbladder or bloat.

You can feed or try to feed him green veggies, don't feed your other fish foods either just greens.  This will help with the swimbladder.  you can also choose not to feed them for two days.

Answer 4

Stop feeding him for a day or two. It he is still puffy, feed him some blanched peas. If he is still puffy after all that, it definitely has dropsy. Dropsy is usually fatal and there's nothing that can be done.