[ChristineS]

I had just gotten over my fish problems and everything was fine and now this....

My male guppy keeps 'sitting' on the bottom of the tank, on the gravel. He occasionally swims for a bit, then settles on the gravel again. He is very sluggish. Also, upon close inspection his scales are standing out- all of them, making him look almost 'furry'. The other two females are fine, as is the one fry in the tank. However- most of my pond snails have died off?

Did a water change already, not sure what else to do...

 

[longtail4711]

If his scales are all sticking up, then what he has is called "Dropsy".

Unfortunately guppies are quite prone to this, and it's extremely difficult to catch and treat because there are several things that can cause it. Bacterial infections and old age can do it. Once the scales start sticking up, then the liver and kidneys are damaged beyond repair and there is no cure.

The kindest thing you can do for him is remove him from the tank and euthanize him.

Here's an article on how to do this humanely:

What Is the Most Humane Way to Euthanize a Fish?

 

[ChristineS]

Crap! Is there anything- anything at all- I can try, before killing him? I'm pretty attached. Also anything I can do to prevent my others from getting it? I assume it's not contagious since you didn't say "get him outta there STAT!"

 

[ChristineS]

Researching. My guppy doesn't have the telltale giant bulging belly?

 

[ChristineS]

It's dropsy... Couldn't euthanize it myself. My little brother is doing it for me now. Then I'm going to check my other fish for signs...

 

[longtail4711]

It COULD be contagious..but it might not. Since "Dropsy" is just a symptom, not a disease itself, it's REALLY hard to pinpoint what the cause is. Internal bacterial infections, viruses and parasitic infestations, poor water conditions, or even just old age can cause the swelling that makes the scales stick up. The problem is, by the time you notice symptoms, it's too late.

My last betta died of it simply because he was old and his kidneys were failing. I recently lost a guppy also to old age and he got the same thing.

I'm really sorry for you loss. It's never easy to have to sit by and watch this happening to our favorites. But you did the right thing. It's really uncomfortable or even painful for the fish to go through this, so you're doing the right thing.

 

[ChristineS]

I just want to know what caused it so I can prevent it from happening again. I had a few goldfish in the tank for a while, and he liked to school with them rather than the girls (unless he was horny) so I'm thinking he may have caught something from them (all of them went belly up once I removed them from the tank...)

 

[ellyabillion]

Interesting article on fish euthanization. I asked my aunt (who is a Ph.D. biochemist and studies invertebrate neurology for her research) the most humane way to euthanize some pond snails, and she suggested putting them in the freezer. Of course, then my husband wondered why there was a dish with frozen water with black specks in the freezer.....

I wonder if the same would hold true for fish.