Puffed out Molly

Question
Hey,
My brother has a tank with one sucker fish, one other fish
(forgot the name) two mollys a male and female,and two
tetras. The female of the two mollys has had multiple
babies and right now we have two more of  her kids (both
females) in the tank with her and the other fish, as well
as a little net breeding cage for four of her other babies
(three teens and one toddler)the female of all the babies
looks really fat (we thought she was pregnant again) but
her scales are all puffed out and now that we have the two
other females in with the rest of the fish she has been
sitting alone (most of the time) at the top of the fish
tank. I noticed her puffed out scales yesterday and looked
again this morning to find that they are still puffed out.
she has been "looking" sick for a while, however. I read an
earlier comment you made on another puffed out molly and
you said it might have dropsy, what is dropsy and is there
anything I can do about that? Thanks
Hosanna

Answer
Hi Hosanna,
I'm sorry to say she does have dropsy. Which is more a condition or a "symptom" of an underlying problem rather than a disease in itself. There are many things that can trigger the fluid buildup/internal swelling and the scales sticking out and sadly once it reaches this point, often internal damage is too severe and treatment can be tried but it usually proves unsuccessful.

It would involve doing large water changes (to prevent any stress from poor water quality), adding some epsom salt to the water (1/8 teaspoon per 5 gallons) can help draw out some of the fluid, and using a strong antibacterial medication. Use of a hospital tank would be ideal but its generally ok if you have no choice but to treat the main tank.

This article will help explain dropsy into further detail as well as the various triggers/causes and treatments-

http://flippersandfins.net/Dropsy.htm

I'm sorry for the bad news but I do hope this helps!
Karen~