Dropsy & Hexamita Dropsy (Aeromonas)

Another dreaded disease, Dropsy and Hexaminta Dropsy are easier prevented than cured. Dropsy is basically associated with fluid retention and renal failure.

Cause:
  • The fluids in the body build up and cause the fish to bloat up and the scales to protrude. It appears to only cause trouble in weakened fish and possibly from unkempt aquarium conditions. Several bacteria can cause it. If the fish reaches this stage then you will have to use Anti-Biotic to eradicate. Remember to remove all filtration as the Anti-Biotic will kill the beneficial bacteria.

Symptoms
  • Typical symptoms are: discoloration of the fins (in early stages may go unnoticed), fins become ragged and frayed, and in terminal stages only shreds of the fin or tail remain. Can lead to secondary fungus infections. The main causes are improper maintenance routine, infrequent water changes, temperatures too low for the fish being kept. This is a highly contagious disease

Treatment
  • An effective treatment is to add an antibiotic to the food. With flake food, use about 1% of antibiotic and carefully mix it in. If you keep the fish hungry they should eagerly eat the mixture before the antibiotic dissipates. Antibiotics usually come in 250 mg capsules. If added to 25 grams of flake food, one capsule should be enough to treat dozens Or use tetracycline. If you feed your fish frozen foods or chopped foods, try to use the same ratio with mixing. As a last resort add at most 10 mg per liter of water. Also, if unkempt conditions are the suspected cause, correct it. Treatments are varied, adding salt at a rate of 5mg per gallon seems to help. However, if you maintain an aquarium by following all recommended procedures, rest assured you and your fish will both never have to face these health issues. Lets now talk prevention. Keep all equipment clean.Do not over clean filters. Perform good quality water changes regularly
Hexamita (Hole in the Head) This disease is usually found among the species of particularly large cichlids.



How it occurs:
  • Hexamita are intestinal flagellated protozoa that attack the lower intestine. Discus and other large cichlids, especially Oscars, are especially prone to Hexamita.
  • Hexamita infects fish by ingestion with food and begins life in the gut.


Symptoms
  • Infected fish will usually appear thin in the stomach and may have sores or ulcers around the head.A bad case looks severely punctured in several places in the head. The first symptom of slimy, white mucous feces, even while still eating and acting normal. Further signs are the fish hiding in the corner it's head down, head above the eyes gets thin, they blacken in color, and swim backwards. A wasting away or loss of appetite may be experienced.


Treatment
  • Many believe that the best treatment for this disease would be to clean the aquarium and paying extra attention to cleanliness and good quality water changes. You can pick up cures from your Local fish store.
  • An effective treatment is the drug metronidazole. A combined treatment in the food (1% in any food the fish will eat) and in the water (12 mg per liter) is recommended. Repeat the water treatment every other day for three treatments.