Comet Goldfish with dropsy

Question
Hi Chris,
I have had 4 comet goldfish for over a year. I recently put them in a brand new 30-gallon tank which I believe had "New Tank Syndrome" (greenish, cloudy, and smelly water). The dirty tank looks normal again, but I have noticed that one of my comets has become extremely bloated and that the scales on its midsection are sticking straight out. I did some research of my own, and I am convinced the fish has dropsy. I have been treating the water with an antibiotic (Maracyn-Two) for 2 days now, but the swelling has not subsided. I would like to try some epsom salts, but I do not know the proper dosing for a 30-gallon tank, nor do I know how to add the salts. Also, is it OK to add epsom salts to a tank with three other apparently healthy fish in it? (I have been treating all of them with the antibiotic). Thanks for your help, I really don't want to see my fish die, although I have heard the prognosis for dropsy is not good.

Answer
Hi Nick;

The prognosis isn't good in dropsy because there are so many possible causes, most not curable unfortunately. Here is a web page about it that tells the dosage of epsom salt to use too;

http://www.goldfishinfo.com/ailment1.htm#dropsy

It is best to avoid adding epsom or medications to the main tank though. Your sick one should have a hospital/isolation tank that you can more closely control the medications, water quality and temperature. Your other fish really shouldn't be treated with the epsom and medicines anyway. A hospital tank of about 10 gallons would be just great. Don't put any gravel, filter or decorations in it. All those things absorb medications and make them less potent to treat what they were intended to treat. He just needs an air pump hooked to an air stone for bubbles, and lights. If you want to raise the temperature as part of the treatment you may need an aquarium heater in there too. Change 50% of the hospital tank water every day. Changing water every day helps keep the water clean to boost his immune system. Add that day's medication right after the daily water change. It's perfectly okay to make a water change while treating with antibiotics such as maracyn-two. It decays after several hours and is no longer useful. That's why we have to add it daily. Also after a water change, add back enough epsom salts to treat the new water. Epsom doesn't decay like the medicine does so you don't need to re-treat the whole tank after you make water changes.

Good luck and I hope he gets better....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins