Vicky Chai Tea

You know... I would just like to say thank you so much to everyone here. You've all been incredibly helpful and kind, especially you Tithra. I am familiar with dropsy and it's mortality rate... I just thought maybe if I caught it fast enough and treated it they may have had a chance but... I have been considering euthanasia for a while, especially with the pearscale. The fantail though... I was hoping maybe to build a harness, and fingers crossed a vet visit to see if he can live a normal or at least healthy life. I have read up on the clove oil method, I had a beautiful betta who developed a tumor and eventually very aggressive dropsy. Unfortunately he passed before I could find any clove oil around me. So I am at least a little familiar with the procedure, but I've never done it. I will let you guys know when I decide what to do.

They've been in Epsom for 11 days now. With, unfortunately, no swelling reduction that I can see. Should I just stop it? No weight either, I'm very sorry. I did, however, inspect their gills for any paleness and they look healthy. As for how much I feed them... I would have to say about 10-15 pellets? If I had to guess. Pretty much as much as they would eat in a normal sitting. Once again, I'm really sorry I didn't get their weight yet. I've honestly had this scale for years and once the batteries ran out I just never got new ones.

Hmmm... so either I recorded their treatment wrong or I made a grave mistake. I do remember, however, knowing full well the two week treatment time and making it a point to treat them. I'd like to think I made a recording error but I am extremely forgetful... unfortunately. Because of financial constraints and a fear of his digestive tract grinding to a halt, I put them both in the same tank since I only have one heater. I did add both filters, though. So now they're both in a 20gal with two filters, a heater, and an air stone. Should I continue the 50% daily water changes or increase them? *sigh* This is so stressful. All because some lady didn't stop to think if she knew enough about fish to keep them. Fish are treated like a throw away pet, a decoration. She genuinely seemed to care about their well being in the end, though. As promised, pictures. Here is the set up. Now I'm going to take a moment to complain, because I have not had the chance anywhere else. Feel free to ignore this.These tanks are in my basement, I have to go down a flight of stairs with each bucket of water. That's 4 trips, at least. I've been working 40+ hours weekly because of my two jobs. Also because of them, Christmas was my first day off in over a month. Some days I work 5 hours at one job only to work 4 hours at my other with literally no time in between. So no breaks. I don't think I've had one break this entire time, aside from Christmas eve. I also have birds, fish, snakes, and a dog to tend to in my free time.

Ok! Sorry for the lack of updates on the guys. Unfortunately, the news is not good. I've been tracking their progress daily, here is what I have since I left off earlier. Prepare for wall of text. TL;DR Mostly 50% water changes, some days I skipped water changes and did a 100% to try and make up for it the next day. The pearscale is slowly getting worse and the fantail has developed a small sore on his side, but it doesn't look too severe.. Both of them are still eating. Oh, and I finally got Epsom salt and I need a heater because the fantails tank is getting way too cold. The temps have stayed a very constant 75F and 60F until now. Dec. 3- Fed Metro-Meds in a.m, ate with enthusiasm. 50% WC both tanks. No change. Still have to weigh fish and get Epsom salt. Dec. 4- Fed Metro-Meds in a.m, ate with enthusiasm. 50% WC both tanks. Dec.5- Fed Metro-Meds in a.m, ate with enthusiasm. 50% WC pearscale, 70% fantail. Pearscale looks a little worse. Dec. 6- Fed Metro-Meds in a.m, ate with enthusiasm. 50% WC both tanks. Dec. 7- Fed Metro-Meds in a.m, ate with enthusiasm. 50% WC both tanks. Dec. 8- Stopped Metro Med treatment. Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. 50% WC both tanks. Dec. 9- No WC. Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. Dec. 10- 100% WC both tanks. Started using Prime as water conditioner. Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. Dec. 11- Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. 50% WC both tanks. Dec 12- Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. 50% WC both tanks. Red spots appear on pearscale. Raised pearscale temperature from 70F to 75F. Fantail tank still 60F. Dec. 13- No WC. Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. Red spots still apparent. Dec 13- 100% WC both tanks. Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. Red spots worse. Dec. 14- Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. 50% WC both tanks. Dec. 15- Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. 50% WC both tanks. Dec. 16- Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. 50% WC both tanks. Dec. 17- Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. 50% WC both tanks. Dec. 18- Bought Epsom salt. Dosed both tanks. Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. 50% WC. Dec. 19- Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. Pearscale looking worse. 100% WC both tanks. Dosed with Epsom salt. Dec. 20- Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. Red spots till on pearscale. No WC Dec. 21- Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. 100% WC both tanks. Dosed with Epsom salt. Dec. 22- Fed presoaked pellets in am, all eaten. No WC. The fantail has developed a small sore on his side from laying on the same area for too long, I assume. Dec 23- 100% WC both tanks. Pearscales bloating looks worse. Dosed with Epsom salt. Dec. 24- Fed in am, no WC Dec. 25- Fed in am, no WC Dec. 26- 100% WC both tanks. Fed pearscale metro-meds+ fantail pellets. Pearscale still looking bad, if not worse. Dosed with Epsom salt. Unfortunately temp in fantails tank is 58F. Must buy heater. Dec. 27- Fed presoaked pellets to fantail and metro meds to pearscale. I do have photos, I'll upload them soon.

Ug. No salt or batteries yet. My fault. Hopefully tomorrow. They're not doing any better or worse as far as I can tell. Oh, the fantails sore on his side is actually better, now that I think about it. It's just a few missing scales now, healing nicely. It wasn't very serious to begin with though.

Ok, can do tomorrow.

40 hour work week with no days off, double shifts (rather, working both jobs in one day), and relying on rides from my fiance. Just really busy. Still, I HAVE had the time I just haven't remembered when I was free. I was unaware of that... do you know how I can weigh them? I have a digital scale that goes up to... 5lbs I think?

Yes! I was very pleased with how fast they came. I began to record what I'm doing with the tanks. So far they're still sinking and bloated, though. Still haven't gotten any epsom salt, that's my bad. Nov. 25- Recieved fish. Treated with aquarium salt. No food. Set up: Two 20gal tanks. Pearscale= heater and air stone. Fantail= filter (200GPH). Nov. 26- 100% WC both tanks to remove aquarium salt. No food. Waste appears normal. Nov. 27- 90% WC on pearlscale tank, added 100GPH filter. 80% WC on fantail tank. Pearscale= Heater, filter, air stone. Fantail= Filter. Fed defrosted frozen peas. Ate with enthusiasm. Nov. 28- 60% WC on peascale tank. 50% WC on fantail tank. Fed pre-soaked sinking pellets. Ate with enthusiasm. Still sinking. Waiting on medicated food. Nov. 29- Meto-Meds arrived. Fed normal pellets in a.m. Ate with enthusiasm. 50% WC both tanks. Condition unchanged. Nov. 30- Fed Metro-Meds in a.m, ate with enthisiasm. 80% WC on pearscale 50% on fantail. Dec. 1- Fed Metro-Meds in a.m, ate with enthusiasm. 50% WC both tanks. No change. Dec. 2- Fed Metro-Meds in a.m, are with enthusiasm. Water change to be done later today. Pics:

I gave them peas today, they eagerly ate them up! I also got a new filter. Did a 90% WC on the tank without a filter before putting it in. Then I did an 80% on the other tank. Still gotta get epsom salt. No change in behavior or condition.

I am willing to do as many water changes as it takes. @___@ I am a firm believer in keeping my water CLEAN and STABLE. 50% daily it is then. I am totally able to get a new filter, it may take a few days though. At latest the end of the week, if all goes well. Once again, thank you guys for your help.

Thank you. After someone pointed that out I figured.

Metromeds are a medicated food that is the gold standard for treating dropsy. You can buy them at goldfishconnection.com http://www.goldfishc...uctId=9&catId=5 If you are unable to order them here we also have a member who has generously offered to ship a small portion of meds for just the cost of shipping. Let us know which option would work best for you You guys are so wonderful. I am able to buy the meds myself but thank you SO MUCH for the offer. I just ordered the 8oz one now. Just got done with the water change on the pearscales tank too... should I do it on the fantails as well? Or is he ok? If I don't get an answer today I'll just go ahead and do a 100% change, no harm in that. Just as a precaution. Also, I planned on doing the pea treatment for both of them. Is this still worth it or should I skip that? Pics of the poo. Is it strange that I got excited seeing their poo this morning?! Haha. I was just worried about if they had parasites as well or not. Pearscale Fantail As promised, videos! Well, video, because I can't get the other one to upload for now. http://s113.beta.pho...G_1120.mp4.html

I have Tetra Parasite gaurd, which has metronidazole and praziquantel and some other anti parasitics. But I saw their poo today and it looks normal. I haven't heard of Metro-Meds. UGHAHSJKAHJKS I can never tell if pearscales have dropsy or not! They all look like they have dropsy to me. Otherwise I would have never added the salt Ug. Ok so 100% water changes to get the salt out. I don't have epsom salt but I can get some and do a bath. For both or just the pearscale? Thank you for the replies.

* Ammonia Level (tank): 1.0 * Nitrite Level (tank) 0.0 * Nitrate level (Tank) 40.00 * Ammonia Level (Tap): 0.0 * Nitrite Level (Tap) 0.0 * Nitrate level (Tap) 0.0 * Ph Level, (Tank) (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines) 7.8 * Ph Level, (Tap) (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)7.5 Other Required Info: * Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops? API master test kit liquid drops. * What is the name and "size of the filter"(s)? Aquaclear 200 (up to 50gals 200GPH) * What kind of water additives or conditioners? Sera brand, not sure what it's called exactly. * Water temperature? Unknown, no heater * How often do you change the water and how much? Previously 25% once a month (if that) then weekly. * How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change? Unknown * Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running? 20 gallons, a year. * How many fish in the tank and their size? 2 approx. 5" * What do you feed your fish and how often? Omega One sinking goldfish pellets. They were really small though. * Any new fish added to the tank? No. * Any medications added to the tank? Unknown. * List previous issues experienced (dropsy, SBD, etc.) SBD, sinking. * Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? * Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.? See above. * List entire medication/treatment history for fish and tank. Please include salt, Prazi, PP, etc and the approximate time and duration of treatment. Unknown, I suspect nothing. The information above is for BEFORE I got the fish. As it stands their current set up is this. * Ammonia Level (tank): 0.0 * Nitrite Level (tank) 0.0 * Nitrate level (Tank) 0.0 * Ammonia Level (Tap): 0.0 * Nitrite Level (Tap) 0.0 * Nitrate level (Tap) 0.0 * Ph Level, (Tank) (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines) 7.5 * Ph Level, (Tap) (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines) 7.5 Other Required Info: * Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops? API master test kit liquid drops. * What is the name and "size of the filter"(s)? Aquaclear 200 (up to 50gals 200GPH) on one, nothing on another. * What kind of water additives or conditioners? Nutrafin water conditioner. * Water temperature? 70F * How often do you change the water and how much? Currently going to do 50% weekly on the filtered tank and 50% twice weekly on the unfiltered until I get a filter. * How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change? n/a * Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running? Two 20 gallons, running for a day but used old filter media in the one with a filter. * How many fish in the tank and their size? 1 goldfish per tank, approx. 5" * What do you feed your fish and how often? Going to do the pea treatment then switch to Omega One medium goldfish pellets (presoaked) and frozen bloodworms. * Any new fish added to the tank? No. * Any medications added to the tank? Aquarium salt (1tbsp per 5 gallons) * List previous issues experienced (dropsy, SBD, etc.) SBD (sinking) * Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? * Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.? See above. * List entire medication/treatment history for fish and tank. Please include salt, Prazi, PP, etc and the approximate time and duration of treatment. Just the salt. Ok, so, preface. I just recieved (a few hours ago) two fancy goldfish from a customer at my job. I work at a pet store. I'm not going into much detail about who I got them from or anything like that online. But let's say the conditions were less than ideal. The customer could no longer take care of them and I offered to take them. They used to be in a 5gal, then after a year or so upgraded to a 20gal. It had a filter, air stones, pea gravel, and a plastic smooth stone decoration. The owner had problems with green water and the fish sinking and was completely at a loss as to what to do (even with proper advice...) and they just were fed up so I offered to take the fish. So they are currently in two bare bottom 20 gallon tanks. One has a filter and an air stone, the other has a heater and an air stone but no filter. I will obviously get a filter asap. I did some reading about SBD and I know it can be caused by anything and may be chronic. If worst comes to worst they get X rays, possibly aspirate some air, and harnesses to manage it. My HOPE is that it was caused by nitrate poisoning and will go away with clean water and time. So, questions: What is this clear bubble on the pearscales side? Is the pearscale bloated or just deformed? Is 50% twice weekly ok for water changes on the unfiltered tank? Water test results: Them in the bucket: Setting up the tanks (incomplete in this pic) The pearscale is SO deformed. The fantail seems to have a small sore on his side, probably from sinking into pea gravel: Videos coming soon.