Can I re-use an epsom salt bath? Dropsy/swelling

[Pealion]

Hello,

I have a fish with advanced dropsy symptoms - i.e. she is swollen and displaying the pine cone-like appearance.

I'm afraid it is entirely due to my ignorance that she's gotten this bad, and I feel awful, I had honestly thought she was just changing shape as she got older as it has happened very, very gradually, but over the last week it has become apparent something was amiss as she's been increasing in size quickly and the pine coning has appeared. It was at this point that I Googled, found out about dropsy, etc.

It appears the general consensus online is that once the scales start popping out, there is not much that can be done to fix things, but I've seen epsom salt baths/dips recommended as something worth trying, and I'd feel bad if I didn't try something.

I gave her an epsom salt bath today, 30 minutes in a bath of 12 liters with 43g of salt in - this seemed a moderate amount based on the information I found online. Some people recommended a much stronger concentration (10g / litre) and then much weaker solutions (1tsp / 4 litres) so I went for something in between (approx 3 tsp per 4 liters).

Would be interested to know if this concentration sounds about right for a 30 minute bath... and also, out of interest, if she suffers no ill effects and I want to repeat the bath, can I use the same water again, or should I mix up a fresh bath each time?

If anyone else has any other suggestions for things to try I would be very grateful.

The thing I find odd is that, although she's very swollen and her scales are popping out - she's lively, has an appetite, swimming normally (given her size) and is passing stools, so doesn't seem constipated. She doesn't seem to be suffering at the moment, which is a little perplexing given how swollen she is!

Apologies for jumping in with my first post as a question, I'm just a bit desperate for some guidance as I've never come across anything like this before.

Many thanks!

 

[DoDad]

I cured a koi with popeye using a quarantine tank with salt levels of 0.6%

 

[Pealion]

Thanks DoDad.

Just to update she's still big, but just as lively. Her scales are back to lying flat now, so not sure if that means that the Epsom salt baths are helping or not. She defecates a lot when she's in the bath, but not sure if that's just because she's been moved into somewhere different and is going WTF??!

I'm just going to continue with the baths and let her carry on as long as she is lively and eating. She doesn't show any signs of suffering at the moment, which is one thing! If I can get my hands on a tank I might consider moving her into quarantine for a bit with a lower salt level to see if she improves over time. I don't like the idea of her being alone though!

 

[dieselplower]

The problem here us that dropsy is actually symptoms of another illness you will want to get sorted out.

 

[Dave 54]

It all depends what sort of dropsy it is it can be caused by organ failure or caused by a bacterial infection, it can also be caused by a viral infectiion, it can be caused by parasite that infects the kidneys last but not least simply be down to fluid retention .
In the advance stage the fish can loose the ability to stay upright , this is caused by pressure on the swim bladder.
Salt should be used at 5 or 6 kg to 1,000 litres or 12-13ib per 220 gallons , if you can however QT the fish your going to have to work out how much per litre from the size QT unit , rather than putting the rest of your fish in a stressful situation from both salt and thermal stress.
Next raise the water temperature slowly to around 25c a 1c per day,buy a bottle of Acriflavine which is a good anti bacterial treatment and safe to use with salt.. follow the treatment through by reading the instructions on the bottle however even if you cure your fish you can bet your bottom teeth that it will re-occur sometime in the future this is down to irrepable organ damage mainly to the fishes kidneys, give the fish 5 days if its still swollen then it'd be kinder to euthanize it humanely using anesthetic to over dose the fish oil of cloves is the one that is redily available however I use another called MS222
Sorry it may end like this as I know people get attached to their fish as pets but I hope this information may be of help to you .

Dave

 

[JD Tuna Fish]

Any update? How did it go?

 

[Mmathis]

Any update? How did it go?

@JD Tuna Fish This is a very old thread and the OP hasn’t been around since this was posted. BTW, hello and welcome!

 

[j.w]

@JD Tuna Fish