Comet fish with Dropsy

Question
QUESTION: Hi Darryl,
I wrote earlier and spoke with Nicole in depth about our fish Vanilla. He does have a tank mate, Comet in a 30 gal. tank. Water quality is good, it was cloudy when using the Maracyn. I got 4 days into the Maracyn, and Nicole said it would be best to stop at this point due to the safety of the other fish. I did stop, and did a complete water change, vacuumed, and added Epsom salt as per Nicole. My question is this: Vanilla(the one with Dropsy) is still eating and swimming, even though he is very bloated and his eyes are bugged out. Does he have a fighting chance if he is still eating and swimming? Should I start the Maracyn 2 again, or something else? He is a family pet, and I have been trying my best to do everything for him. Sorry for all of the questions. You have all been great to answer me, and I do appreciate all of your help. Please let me know if I should do Maracyn 2 or something else, or just let nature take its course. If I can help him, I will do it! Thanks so much.
Most Sincerely,
Julie
ANSWER: Hey Julie,

Yeah, switch the tank's food to a thawed pea diet. Feed them some peas cut up in the morning, and some frozen brine mixed with more peas at night. The vitamin content of the mix will satisfy the dietary needs far better then flake and pellet, and the peas will help ease the dropsy problem. However, this is not a cure, it sure will help. Continue with the maracyn-two for a few days, as Nicole said, dont stay on more then 5 days. Finish the dosing as the box suggests, and wait a few weeks before doing it again. With that all, keep the water as pristine and healthy as possible, of course, and things should get better.

Best wishes, and good luck. I really hope this helps, and let me know how things go!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Again, Darryl,
Thanks for your quick reply. I was a little confused about the Maracyn 2. I had finished day 4 on Monday, but it says not to go more than 5 days. If I do 2 more doses, that will make 6 doses. I did do a 90% water change on Monday, and about a 30% water change Tuesday. Should I go for 2 more doses? Also, should I be adding Epsom Salt, or will this hurt? I feel like I should be doing something else to help him! My twin boys are so upset about how much he has changed (with the bloating, and the scales protruding, bulging eyes) but they want me to do something for him, to keep him alive. Like I said before, so sorry for all of the questions, but I am new to this, and have never treated Dropsy. (It is Dropsy, right?-bloaing, pine cone type scales) He is still eating, and swimming, and to tell you the truth, I am surprised he is still hanging in there, the way that he looks. So, I should do 2 more days of Maracyn2, and it won't hurt the fish? Also, on the box, it says after 5 days, if you don't see improvement to do another 5 day dosing. Would this be too much medicine, or would it help? THanks for all of your understanding and information. This is our first aquarium, and our first big health problem! Thanks again.
Most Sincerely,
Julie

Answer
Hey again,

I prefer a specific aquarium salt. Some people claim to use rock salt and kosher salts, but at PetCo, a nice big box of aquarium salt is only a couple bucks. Buying epsom or kosher is twice the price. Stick with aquarium salt, the end result is less confusion, less worry, and clear directions. The potency of each other type of salt can have drastic effects. Pick up a hydrometer if you've been using salts, and adjust the salinity to around 1.007.

The maracyn-two recommends not using more then 5 days consecutively. Typically, a week between treatment scheduals is desired. More, if possible. In this case, I'd go ahead and start up again. It seems to have been a while between treatments, so the tank had time to settle, adjust, and recover a bit from the chemical input. As a side note, never change 90% of the water again. 50% is the very most, and that's only acceptable when there is a huge, drastic, lethal problem. 50% water changes should be spaced out 2-3 days apart too. If things get beyond repair at that point, it's stressful to the point of fatality, and nothing you do will really help much.

"pine cone" sounds like a bad explination. I prefer describing dropsy as a swelling, bloating, and failure of the organs with trouble swimming, and scales poking out like spikes. Pine coning, to me, brings to mind an image of a thin stick with long, narrow peices of wood sticking out. This is not the case of dropsy. if your fish is not a fat balloon of it's former self, then you're not suffering dropsy.

Feed him cut up, frozen peas (defrost them first). The vitamins and roughage will help regulate his body some. Dont over feed though, it will rot and make the water gross, just like any other food. The aquarium salt will help some, but dont expect miricles either. With medication, salt, and good food, he should not get worse. The damage done, is done. Just give him time! Tell your boys that they need to give him rest, and quiet. If they leave him alone for a few days and let you take care of all the work involved, then he will do better then if they bug him constantly. Worst case scenario, you can run down to a pet store and replace him (with some fish who looks similar) if this one does not make it. Not a happy ending, but it's better then having your boys worry over this fish. Also, being left alone will help releive stress and give the fish some calm to help recover. Turn tank lights off for at least 10 hours daily, but not more then 12. the darkness will help things out too. And, of course, keep the water around 65*f if possible.

All that is all you can do. Any more, and you will be over-doing things. Best wishes, and good luck!

P.S. as a word of motivation, any fish that's survived this long is fighting hard. he knows you wont give up, and he's giving it his all. This means a) you took great care of him before, and b) he is not ready to give up too easily! keep with him.