Dropsy or not?

[HMarcks]

I have been reading alot of peoples threads about dropsy and its symptoms and it seems like what my fish has but then again none of them are dying so I'm not sure.
I have a 50 gal tank I just did a whole battery of tests two weeks ago and the water conditions were fine but recently my Coral Platys have been looking weird.
I have 4 total, 3 of which I just picked up about 3 weeks ago. So I brought the 3 new platys home 2 of which were suppose to be females. Within a few days one of them had a very distended belly (no portruding scales) I thought she was pregnant at first but she hasn't gone down in size at all. So I read about pregnant fish and about how they should have a dark spot, she doesnt have this her belly is just all white and huge. Then one of the other new platys started getting a big belly, though not as big as her sisters it still has the same look to it. I wasn't really worried because they were acting normal and eating fine. Then just a few days ago I noticed my old original platy (male I think) had his scales portruding out all over his sides, though he wasn't showing any signs of bloating. So he has been like this for about 3 days now and still acts pretty healthy. Do these fish have Dropsy and are just refusing to die or what? I can't really tell and don't know the treating procedures I should be goind by. I do have alot (not too many though) of other kinds of fish in my tank and everyone else seems happy.
I plan on going home today and doing a good water changing but is their anything else I should try out?
Thanks,
Heather

 

[TLH]

Certainly sounds like Dropsy being as the scales are sticking out. Unfortunately there is not alot you can do for this ailment. It can be old age and be quite natural and nothing to worry about or it can be some systemic disease that has destroyed body tissue that is causing it.

If you can quarantine your fish with it you should do so. Odds on they will die in the end although when exactly that will be is uncertain. I've had fish last weeks with it as a result of old age where kidney failure was the probable cause.

 

[HMarcks]

Old Fish

Thanks,
It does make since that it might be old age for my original male with his scales sticking out, he is a good sized fish compared to the others so he could be pretty old. By the way are fish like birds where in general they live longer the larger type they are or do their ages vary just depending on what kind of fish they are? I have had my Beta (Carotene) for about 3 years now and he looks like a cute old man fish, he was my first fish and I am dreading the day I see him floating unmoving in my tank .

Heather

 

[TLH]

A little of both really. In general the bigger the fish the longer it will live but there are exceptions like Corydoras which will live for many years.

 

[HMarcks]

Update

So my old Platy with the protruding scales died this last saturday . But on the up side the one with the bloated belly gave birth on the same day . I even got to watch a few of them being born, really awesome. It has been about 48hrs and I can still count about 5 babies that have managed to survive being eatin by other fish, of course their could be more. My tank is well planted so they have lots of hideing places.
I am still a little concerned about the mom though. Her belly still looks quite bloated and her fish poo is white (which I read was a bad thing). Would she be successfully giving birth if she really was sick with something? I'll see if I can get a picture of her and post it for you guys later this evening.

 

[HMarcks]

Pics

ok here are some pics of my bloated platty. So what do you guys think? I was taking a pic of my beta and she was in the background and her color came out really well.

 

[Lotus]

She does look bloated, but it doesn't look like dropsy to me. Perhaps she has an internal blockage or some other problem. You can try not feeding for a day or two (it won't harm the fish), to see if it helps.

 

[HMarcks]

Whew I am so glad to here you don't think it looks like dropsy. Will the little ones be ok if I dont feed for a few days? Heres a picture of one of the just for fun cause I know how now.

 

[Lotus]

Cute babies!

If the tank is heavily planted, the babies should be fine. They'll pick on microorganisms on the plants.

Or, you could wait a week before witholding food, and hope she is OK.

I guess it's also possible she has a problem with birthing, and she has babies still inside that she's unable to get out. Do you know around how many she had the other day? I've had a similar problem with some livebearers, and it seems to be a genetic defect where they can't properly birth.

 

[TLH]

I must admit that it does look like she's still heavily preggers. I would carry on feeding but limit it to only a little each time. Keep a careful eye on her and see if she gives birth to anymore fry.

 

[HMarcks]

From what I saw it didn't seem like that many babies. I have had a Molly give birth a few times and there were swarms of babies, even in my heavily planted tank if I could find one their were at least a dozen with it. At most all I could count from her was around 10. I saw her have 3 but it took about 30 min each time, and I was watching her like a hawk (she didn't seem to mind me). I was suprised when she stoped having them because I thought I could see a few dark spots from their eyes in her belly when the light hit her right. So maybe she is having trouble with giving birth.
If this ends up being the problem should I keep her away from the boys? Is it stressful on her or will she just reabsorb the babies and be OK? I'll search around the net and see if I can learn anything.
You have all been so helpful. I was sure my platy was doomed but now I have learned all these new things that can go wrong with fish that arn't always life destroying illnesses.

 

[TLH]

Maybe you did disturb her by watching too closely, who can say for sure? A door banging shut or heavy vibrations can upset them. Sometimes if they get spooked they will stop and then carry on again later, sometimes days later. Lets hope all goes well and you wake up one morning to find she's thin again.

 

[HMarcks]

Well still no more babies. I tried not feeding them for a few days, which by the way was very hard for me, she has gotten a little smaller but still doesn't look normal at all. I can clearly see dark spots in her belly now which makes me think she still has some in thier. She still acts perfectly healthy and happy. I know I have been told they can hold the babies for awhile but does anyone know how long? Tomarrow it will be 1 week since she gave birth the, and many weeks that she has looked like a balloon. She seems like shes going to pop. If you guys think I am worrying to much about her just let me know.
Maybe I should start ranting about this on the live bearers forum now that we are sure its not dropsy. The thread title doesn't make since to this anymore

 

[TLH]

The dark area you can see in her belly is called the Gravid Spot. Like you said it's caused by the eyes of all the babies. If she's behaving fine and looks OK besides the fat belly I'd say it's just a waiting game now. I wouldn't worry over her unless she starts behaving abnormally.

I suppose (although I have no proof) that if you withhold food she may hold them back. No mother would want to bring babies into the world if they had no food to eat.

 

[HMarcks]

I know you all thought I was done talking about my silly platys but I just can't believe how big she is. I really think she just might explode if she doesn't get rid of any of these babies soon. The first photo is just a reminder of what she used to look like.

 

[Lotus]

If she's still alive and swimmin, I'd rule out dropsy. I guess that's the good news. Once fish have swollen up from dropsy, they usually only have a few days left. Dropsy is actually a symptom of internal organ failure, rather than a disease in itself.

She does look swollen, though. I suspect she has some kind of problem with birthing the fry properly. Unfortunately, there's really nothing you can do, except hope that she manages to give birth to the babies at least reasonably well.

 

[HMarcks]

Do you think I should just seperate her from my boys so she doesnt have to deal with babies anymore? I mean after she uses up whatever she has stored in there of course.

 

[Lotus]

I think it would be a good idea, if it's possible.

 

[HMarcks]

ok last question for this one. I have a 20g I was going to use later on for some Lamprologus ocellatus. If I put some of the substrate from my cycled tank into it and put the girl platy in there will she be able to keep the bioload up enough to feed the bacteria?

 

[Lotus]

Yes, that should work.