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Re: [Killietalk] Help! SJOs with dropsy?
Ron,
From: Wright Huntley <whuntley at verizon_net>
Yep, it is dropsy.
Wright, how did you figure that... by the popping scales or is there a
visual indication that I missed?
No. the "pine-cone" effect was pretty obvious and definitive.
The level of contagiousness (there's a better word, but I forget it)
is highly dependent on the causative organism and varies from low to
extremely high.
D*mn... how am I to fight something I can't see or not know?
Many fish symptoms are pretty certain indicators of a certain pathogen.
Not so with dropsy. I once had a strain of FIL that nearly all developed
it in old age before dying -- it may have been genetic and no bug
involved at all -- kidneys just crapping out as the first thing to go.
You need a microscope, stains, and a bit of training to hope to narrow
down the diagnosis. Barring that, it is most often an internal
bacterium, so a strong antibiotic that does both gram positive and gram
negative bacteria is the best "shotgun" approach. [Use one in food, as
water treatment is usually worse than useless.]
Best bet is quarantine and zap with a powerful antibiotic,
like furanace.
If I can find it at the LFS, I will. BUT is furanace a 'friendly' to
bio, plants, shrimps and snails? (I'll remove/quarantine those which are
not tolerant to the treatment).
Check your veterinarian sources, as I can almost guarantee you that you
will find nothing effective at the LFS. The vet can get you
nitrofurazone or other appropriate antibiotic. What is more, a proper
dosage and course of treatment can be worked out that is unlikely to
create resistant strains of *other* bacteria you didn't even know were
there!
Please don't use a common human antibiotic, please?
I'm aware of that. Thanks.
===================================================================
snip...
Question is... can Erythromycin be used in a hurry? (Wright, I'm
confused further... isn't Erythromycin a 'common human antibiotic'??)
Yes. I strongly suggest not using it or tetracycline on fish, ever. It
does kill BGA, but that is so easy to get rid of, other ways, that use
of erythromycin is contraindicated.
Parting shot: I just destroy most fish that show dropsy, as my cure
rates have been near zero. Only an irreplaceable fish gets heroic
treatment, and I may have made it once or twice, but the survivor
probably was sterile or over the hill by then. :-( Put effort into the
living and accept that 99% of dropsy patients will die.
Good luck, Ron.
Wright
--
Wright Huntley - Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514 - whuntley at verizon_net
760 872-3995
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