Dropsy can bring your goldfish into critical condition. But how is dropsy caused in your goldfish? Can you treat dropsy in your goldfish? Let us discuss this below:
Dropsy is not a disease but a state in which your fish cannot eradicate the excess fluid from its body tissues. Swelling in the abdomen and bulging eyes are some signs of dropsy. Experts recommend maintaining adequate water parameters and avoiding overfeeding to prevent dropsy.
Lets us dive into the article to learn more about dropsy in goldfish. In addition to this, we will also learn to prevent dropsy in your goldfish.
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Goldfish dropsy
Goldfish are freshwater fish that thrive in less dense environments than their bodies.
Your fish’s kidney removes the excess water from the body tissues, mainly the gills, and the skin, back to the environment.
If the kidney of your fish is not functioning correctly, it makes it difficult for the water to get eliminated, making your fish starts taking on water that leads to swelling in the abdomen.
Dropsy is a condition that leads to the swollen belly of your goldfish. It can also be termed a situation where your fish cannot eliminate the excess fluid from its body.
It causes due to bacterial infection or the tank’s poor quality water.
If detected in the early stage, there is a slight hope for the cure of dropsy.
However, once your goldfish scales stick out like a pinecone, it indicates significant damage to the internal organs of your goldfish.
As dropsy can lead to irreversible kidney failure, leaving euthanizing the only option left for your goldfish.
There are many signs of dropsy in your goldfish that will learn in the below article.
Signs of dropsy in your goldfish
Here are the signs of dropsy in your goldfish:
- Swelling in the abdomen
- Bulging eyes
- Pinecone scales appear
- Redness of the fins
- Loss of appetite
Swelling in the abdomen
If you discover swelling in the goldfish’s abdomen, it indicates dropsy in goldfish.
The swelling in your goldfish’s abdomen is because your goldfish cannot eliminate the excess fluid from their body.
Swelling in the abdomen is the first sign of dropsy in your goldfish.
Bulging eyes:
Bulging eyes also indicate dropsy in your goldfish.
However, there can be many reasons behind bulging eyes, like your fish can even have a swollen eye if it gets hit by any object in the tank.
Pinecone scales appear:
If you discover your goldfish scales stick out like a pinecone, it indicates dropsy in your fish.
It also indicates significant damage caused to your fish’s internal organs.
Redness in the fins:
Redness in the fins of your goldfish also indicates dropsy. Redness in the fins is due to bacterial infections.
Loss of appetite.
Loss of appetite in your goldfish also indicates dropsy.
However, there can be many reasons behind your goldfish losing its appetites, like poor water quality and low-grade food.
How to know if your goldfish is suffering from constipation or dropsy?
Constipation is caused due to overfeeding and can lead to severe health issues like swollen belly in your fish.
However you can cure constipation in your goldfish within 2-3 days by serving cooked peas to your fish.
But if your fish is not cured within 2-3 days, it is not constipation.
Swollen belly of your goldfish then indicates dropsy in your fish. It is caused when your fish cannot eliminate the excess fluids from its body tissues.
Let us learn about the causes of dropsy in the below article.
What are the causes of dropsy in goldfish?
Here are some causes of dropsy in your goldfish:
- Poor water Quality
- Stress
- Ammonia spike
- Aggressive Tankmates
- Inadequate Water Parameters
Poor water quality
Poor water quality in your goldfish tank is a common reason behind dropsy.
Poor water in the tank can lead to several health issues in your goldfish like swim bladder disease, loss of appetite, constipation, and even making your goldfish suffer from dropsy.
It would be advisable to provide good water conditions to your goldfish for their proper growth and development.
Also read: Can Goldfish Live In Dirty Water?
Stress
Stress in the environment of your goldfish tank can also lead to dropsy in your fish.
You should always provide a stress-free environment to your goldfish to avoid such health issues.
Ammonia Spike
A spike in ammonia level in the tank can also be why your goldfish suffers from dropsy.
Ammonia spike can burn the gills and cause internal damage to your goldfish.
Ammonia spike can also damage the kidney of your goldfish leading to several health issues in your fish.
Aggressive Tankmates
Aggressive tankmates can also make your fish suffer from dropsy.
Aggressive tankmates can cause injury to your goldfish, further leading to stress and severe health issues in your fish.
Goldfish are non-aggressive species and should not be paired with aggressive tankmates.
Also read: Are Goldfish Aggressive?
Inadequate water parameters
Inadequate water parameters can also make your goldfish suffer from dropsy.
A drop in the water temperature can shock your goldfish further, leading to extreme stress in your fish.
In addition, inadequate water parameters can also lead to several health issues like loss of appetite in your fish.
Also read: What is an Ideal Water Temperature For Goldfish?
How to treat dropsy in goldfish?
If dropsy is detected early, your fish have a slight hope of recovery.
Dropsy caused by the bacterial infection has no hopes of recovery, making euthanizing the only option left. You can euthanize your goldfish in two methods
- Stun and stab method: An aggressive method to make your goldfish pass away with the help of a rolling pin and a sharp knife.
- Clove oil method: Clove oil method is a peaceful way of making your goldfish pass away.
Also read: How To Humanely Euthanize Goldfish?
In contrast, dropsy caused by other factors like dirty water or aggressive tankmates has a slight hope of recovery.
You can treat the affected fish in the following ways:
- Firstly, you should place the affected fish in a separate tank to avoid the risk of getting the other tankmates affected.
- Feed high-grade food to your goldfish.
- Add one teaspoon of Epsom salt per gallon of water to the hospital tank.
- It will be advisable to treat your goldfish with antibiotics.
- Always maintain appropriate water parameters in the hospital tank.
It is essential to place the affected fish in a separate tank to avoid spreading the disease to the other tankmates.
After placing the sick fish in a hospital tank, you should ensure regular water changes in the original tank and watch the other tank mates if they get any symptoms.
You should add one teaspoon of Epsom salt per gallon of water to your hospital tank.
Salt in your goldfish tank will help treat the osmotic balance of the fish by making the water salinity closer to your fish’s blood salinity, making your fish eliminate all the excess water accumulating in the body.
Avoid adding excessive salt as it can lead to health issues in your goldfish. Keep your goldfish hospital tank clean and maintain adequate water parameters.
It will be advisable to perform partial water changes in your hospital tank.
Provide a high-grade diet to your goldfish. However, these are the cure that works if the infections are not too advanced.
Keep your goldfish under observation for several weeks after the symptoms disappear, as dropsy can return if you never address the primary cause of dropsy.
How to prevent dropsy in goldfish?
Here are the ways to prevent dropsy in your goldfish:
- Provide adequate water parameters to your goldfish. Your goldfish tank water temperature should range between 68 °F to 74 °F.
- Provide high-grade food to your goldfish.
- Avoid pairing your goldfish with aggressive tankmates.
- Provide a stress-free environment for your goldfish.
- Avoid overfeeding your goldfish.
- Ensure regular water changes in your goldfish tank.
If you keep your goldfish in good water conditions and provide them with high-grade food, it is unlikely to get health issues like dropsy.
Conclusion:
- Dropsy is the condition that leads to the swollen belly of your goldfish.
- Bulging eyes and redness in the fins are some signs of dropsy in your goldfish.
- Poor water quality and ammonia spikes are some common causes of dropsy in goldfish.
- With the help of antibiotics and Epsom salt, you can treat dropsy in your goldfish.
- Provide high-grade food and avoid overfeeding to prevent dropsy in your goldfish.
Reference: ResearchGate