Dwarf Gourami With Dropsy.

LindaD

LindaD

AC Members
Jan 6, 2000
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Ontario, Canada
I have a single male dwarf gourami in a fully cycled 10g. I noticed a few weeks ago that his color was pale. Then a suddenly a lump appeared just before his tail. His tail also seems to droop, and he seems to have paralysis to some degree. He is still eating, although his appetite has diminished somewhat and he's nowhere near as active as he was before. The tank has no light, so tonight I decided to grab the lamp and give him a good once over since usually he eats with gusto. That's when I noticed his scales sticking out, just slightly. Great dropsy. :(

I have never dealt with dropsy before in all the years I've been keeping fish. I've found so much different info on treating dropsy, bacterial, acute, kidney failure. Some say untreatable, some say treatable.. Which is it? lol So I came here :D From the color change, to the lump to me noticing the pinecone appearance was probably around two weeks total.

What would be the best course of treatment?

Also a concern is if it is contagious, luckily right now he's alone. But if he does not make it will I need to throughly clean out the tank?

Thanks in advance.
 
Is the fish bloated? Or is it's scales just protruding?

I'm not too familiar with dropsy, but I've read that it can be treated with phenoxethol at a dose of 10-20 ml of a 1% stock solution per liter gradually added over 24 hours. This is more of a at-home treatment, so there might be some kind of commercial dropsy medication you can buy. The source I got this from might be outdated but it might work.
 
i think my dwarf gourami had this. i didnt catch on though, i just noticed a big red sore by the end of his tail. about a week later he was belly up :( i hope you can cure it! its the only fish i have lost in my new tank :(
 
He has some swelling, belly to tail from the lateral line down. Not extreme, but noticeable. His scales are protruding, but not as bad as some of the pics I seen of dropsy. During the day he spends most of his time on the bottom. I really haven't even seen him coming to the surface for air.

I called a local breeder before I checked back here. According to him, no treatment he has tried himself has been successful. He recommends that I euthanize him and sanitize the tank before restocking. :( I just finished a fishless cycle right before I purchased him.. Looks like I'll have to start over.

But I did check both lfs here in town (I live in a small town) and neither one had any type of medication for Dropsy. And by the time I ordered something online it would be too late. :(

This is not the first Gourami I have lost, thier shipments all seem to be in poor health. But after 2 months I figured this guy was going to make it. I ordered him a girlfriend a few weeks back.. I guess I won't be picking her up.

But, I have to go out of town in a few days, I'll see if I can find anything while I'm there. If all else fails and he gets worse then I'll euthanize him.
 
I've heard of surgical extraction of the fluids also, but that's an extremely drastic measure and I don't think it would keep them alive anyway.

I'd suggest keeping an eye on him for awhile and if he doesn't get any better I'd suggest euthanasia.
 
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