Can I save my fish?

Question
I have a red oscar, I've had him approximately three years. I have a 75 gallon aquarium and nothing has changed with my set up. But recently my oscars eyes have bulged out and he looks bloated. He is still breathing and he keeps trying to swim. He can swim for a very short time and then he floats back up to the top. He has been doing this for approx. 3 days, I called the pet stores around here and they keep telling me to wait for him to die, I've been watching this for 3 days and he is trying so hard and I want to help him, it's breaking my heart. His fins are starting to tear from him trying to swim around because he is running into things, and he spits stuff up once in awhile. All my other fish are fine, but they are not oscars. Can you please give me some ideas, or let me know if there are any medicines I can get for him? I know he is just a fish but he is part of our family, Thank You, Jodi

Answer
Hi Jodi;

Poor guy. He may have "dropsy" along with a condition known as "Popeye". Both conditions are really not diseases themselves, but are symptoms of something else. Viruses, bacteria, cancer, etc., could be the cause of his symptoms. It's almost impossible to know. I really should tell you that most fish as seriously ill as yours don't make it. By the time the body begins to build up fluid and swell, it means the kidneys are failing.

Below is a link to a very straight forward article with treatment options for you;

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article24.html

I wish I could help more......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins