Please Help!!

S

SomniumFurvus

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Jun 15, 2005
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I have a guppy in my five gallon tank who has a swollen abdomen. Does anyone have an idea of what this could be? The only thing I can think of is dropsy.

Also, please give some suggestions about what I can do to help the little guy.

Thanks so much.
 
If his scales are standing out away from his body and they give him a kind of serrated or 'pine cone' look when viewed from above, that is a telltale sign of dropsy. Unfortunately I've never had any luck with treating it, so I can't recommend one medicine over another. A few of the customers I talk to at work have said their fish recovered when they used Maracyn 2, so you could try that and see how it works for you. Make sure you follow the package directions exactly and if it recommends a water change after X number of days or between treatments, do that too so you can avoid overdosing the fish. Adding a bit of salt to the tank during treatment could help ease some of the stress on him too.

If anyone else here has had sucess with another type of treatment besides Maracyn 2, I'd like to know it too! ;)
 
I would hold off on a treatment until you can identify what the problem is. Do a water change, and dont' feed it for a couple of days and see if it improves any. You can also try a tiny piece of a pea with the shell removed, that used to help my betta when he got bloated. Also, is that the only fish in the tank? and how long have you had it? It couldn't be pregnant could it?
 
Holly9937 said:
Also, is that the only fish in the tank? and how long have you had it? It couldn't be pregnant could it?
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This is one of four fish in the tank. I doubt the idea of pregnancy because the fish has a large and vibrant tail, so I'm convinced that he's male. I've had him for about four months.

As compared to the other fish, he's definitely the largest, so maybe I'm worrying about nothing and his large abdomen is just a result of his larger body. However, his body shape is very different from the others [them being more streamlined].

Also, I don't know what the first stages of dropsy are, but his scales are not sticking out at all. So maybe he's just at the stage of swelling, but without becoming "pointy".
 
As compared to the other fish, he's definitely the largest, so maybe I'm worrying about nothing and his large abdomen is just a result of his larger body. However, his body shape is very different from the others [them being more streamlined].
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It's hard to guess from a description, but female guppies get much larger than males typically, and males are more streamlined. A lot of fancy females will have very colorful and vibrant tails, but not usually much body color (although it isn't impossible) I would hold off on food for at least three days and evaluate. It won't hurt any of your fish to go for many days without food, and if you are in the early stages of bloat, 3 days of fasting may be a real blessing for your fish. Peas will help, and epsom salt may help (I don't know dosages) but more than anything just stopping feeding will help a lot early on.

A picture would be really helpful if that is possible.
 
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