Help- Dropsy

[Rick40]

Hi

I know it has been a very long time since I posted here. Some of my goldfish in my pond have developed Dropsy  . I have  lost 3 in the last 3 days. I think a few more might have it. I was wondering what is the best way that I can prevent this in the future ? I know I can't do much about the fish that have been already infected by it  :'(. Tonight I did about a 50 % water change and added Prime to the water . Should I do another water change soon ? My pond is about 1000 gallons. My pump is a Sunterra 1250 GPH pump. I think I have about 12 Goldfish left in my pond. I haven't been feeding my fish recently because most of them have been hiding.

   Thank you

   Rick

[tranquility]

I've only dealt with dropsy once and that was with a koi--I worked on that koi 2 months and we still ended up loosing him...I've been told its bacteria-and its usually caused from an issue with the pond--You need to really look at your plumbing-bd's help because they don't allow waste to pile up-and keep those filters clean...I find it extremely odd though that you've had 3 with it...either you have major water quality problems of maybe its not dropsy your dealing with---was the fish pineconed(meaning their fins were all sticking out) and was the fish bloated....any thing else going on? also what are your water parimeters? Ammonia,NItrite, Ph, and nitrates?
Lawanna

[ThornyGardener]

So sad about your fish. Dropsy is not a disease but an end-stage symptom. Some other condition has caused kidney failure and the fluid builds up leading to that pinecone look. (Dropsy is not contagious.) I am sorry to report that no one knows a cure for kidney failure.

On a positive note, if you take care of whatever caused the dropsy you can prevent another from dying. Anything from poor water conditions to bacterial or viral infections can make a fish sick enough to result in kidney failure.

Start with the water. Remember the old adage: Take care of the water and the fish will take care of themselves. How are nitrates? (High nitrates can also cause pectoral fins to curl and blood-streaked fins.) I don;t believe ammonia can be read now because of using Prime. (Prime & Amquel may not be a good idea unless you have a soaring ammonia level that you need to get down quickly.) I am not aware of a condition brought on by high/low pH that results in dropsy.

If all water parameters are normal, are your other fish jumping? or flashing? or gasping for air at the surface? or at the bottom with clamped fins? When was the last time you added new fish?

[Rick40]

Thank you I haven't checked my parimeters in a while. I will try to do it tomorrow. My fish hang around at the bottom of the pond most of the time. They don't even come up when I feed them. The fish that died were bloated and looked like pine cones. Their scales were sticking out. So far today I didn't find anymore dead fish in the pond

BTW: What is "plumbing-bd's"

[Kittyzee]

I think it's "bottom drains"

[Rick40]

Thank you. If is bottom drains I don't have one in my pond. I forgot in my last post to mention that the last time that I bought fish was about 3 weeks ago. I added 6 small feeder goldfish to the pond

[tranquility]

If your fish are hanging out on the bottom and its dirty then thats probably whats causing so many dropsy cases....I'd add a retro fit bottom drain if possible as soon as you can..for the mean time---keep the mulm off of the bottom as well as you can...a shop vac comes in really handy for this......also feeder goldfish are sold to be food not pets and probably loaded with parasites....always be really careful where you buy your fish and quarantine any new ones for at least 6 weeks before adding them to the pond....
Lawannna

[Julles]

Sorry about the dropsy.  I know your pain - I lost my favorite "Blue Boy Buster Brown" to dropsy last year.  In virtually every case, there is nothing you can do to keep it from ultimately killing the fish.

Thorny Gardener and the rest gave very good info; I can't add any more, except that I'm sorry for your loss.  It definately is odd for so many to come down with it at once, so there most likely is something wrong with the water.  Another possibility - has an animal fallen into the pond an died, fouling the water?

[Rick40]

Well,its been almost 10 dayus since I lost a fish  .  I think I "kicked" the Dropsy case  . My water is still murky though. I added some Tetra Pond Water Clarifier and Tetra Pond Sludge Away to the pond,along with Prime.Hopefully the water will clear up more. I scooped out a lot of junk out of the pond after I added the Clarifier to it. In the first 1 1/2 years of my pond I never had to add a Dechlorinator to the pond when I added water,but from now on I am going to do it every time. My Goldfish are still hiding . Hopefully they will start to come out more. Maybe they will come out more when I feed them.

    Thank you for all your help.

    Rick

[HTH]

Feeder goldfish are not raised under ideal conditions.   They are shipped in bags with far more fish then water. With so many fish in the bag chances of one or more being ill is great.   By the time the fish store gets the bag they have all been exposed to several problems.   The fish store will continually remove dead fish from the tank.

Putting feeders in a pond or using them to cycle is risky.  To make matters worse the pet shop people I knew liked to pull good looking feeders out and put them in another tank at a higher price.  They are just as risky.  The moral is if you want cheap goldfish get them from a healthy pond and not a fish store.

Some years ago I ran an experiment where I purchased a group of 18 decent looking feeder goldfish.  I gave them the same care as the fancy goldfish I was keeping.   Within a month all but two had died.  Yes, I should have documented it but it was prior to digital cameras.

EDIT:  I live in the Oklahoma panhandle.  If anyone in driving distance wants goldfish please get in touch with me.  I am getting rid of all the single tail and some double tails.  The base stock was from calico fantails but many are orange. Many have deep bodies.   Free to good homes.

[Julles]

Hello, HTH, and glad you are with us.

Rick, I have been told to always add de-chlor.  Even if you don't need to dechlorinate the water (chlorine breaks down quite quickly on it's own), the chemical additive will help in other ways, by getting rid of chloramine, amonia, nitrates, and nitrites, all of which build up and do NOT break down or evaporate like chlorine will.  Over time, they can build up to dangerous levels.