Floating - SB issues or something else?

[jenzaar 11,605]

uuuhhhhh :donthit

14 days on Metro ended on the 28th (began 12/14). So 3 days over.

 

Oxy is at Day 9 (began on the 22nd) 

 

 

I'm changing his water now. Will add back the oxy.

 

I don't know how he's doing. His shape seems back to normal. He's not flipping over. He just stays in one corner, all day long

BUT when I come to feed him, he grabs the nori right out of my fingers. swims all over trying to find more. I think (well no, I hope) he's just miserable in his dark QT but I don't know. 

 

I'll post a video a little later that shows his behavior.

[Queens4Fish 9]

I hope he gets better, all positive new year vibes your way. My Amidala passed a few hours ago.She was a tough cookie but never as robust as she should have been!

Good Luck!!x

[shakaho 6,312]

We recommend 14 days as a minimum for treating with metro, with a maximum of 30 days.  I treated a dropsied fish for almost a full month before she recovered.  

[jenzaar 11,605]

We recommend 14 days as a minimum for treating with metro, with a maximum of 30 days. I treated a dropsied fish for almost a full month before she recovered.

Oh! I thought it was 14 days and done.

Jeeze i will really get a video up today so we can see where this needs to go.

Thanks for jumping in, sharon!

I hope he gets better, all positive new year vibes your way. My Amidala passed a few hours ago.She was a tough cookie but never as robust as she should have been!

Good Luck!!x

Aww I'm so sorry to hear that it sounds like she was past any possibility of treatment, but i know that's never enough to console.

[jenzaar 11,605]

Ok here he is today.

He's been pretty active today, but slowed back down by the time i got to take this

H

Edited January 2, 2017 by jenzaar

[DawnMichele 6,045]

I hope he feels better soon Jen.

[Mikey 6,789]

I hope he starts feeling better soon he is just so beautiful!

[jenzaar 11,605]

He is becoming more active

No more floating, and swimming around more often (even when he doesn't seem to notice my presence). I still catch him in his corner though.

 

I did not put the metro back in, don't know if I should have, but without direction I didn't want to do a lot and starting and stopping.

 

He is still in the oxy, currently Day 15? 

[jenzaar 11,605]

 How long can he be in the oxy for?..... 

[jenzaar 11,605]

He is in clean water for now. 

The threads I'd read where treatment was laid out, the meds were advised for 10-14 days, and in some cases a few days past the time where symptoms have gone away. In all cases, we're way past that. I don't know if I've done him harm. Will continue watching him. He seems ready to go back with his friends.

[Arctic Mama 3,640]

I'm sorry, I haven't been able to do much fish stuff lately.  I wouldn't continue the oxy beyond two-ish weeks if you haven't seen much improvement. Given the medications used, at this point it is up to his body as to whether it can heal itself the rest of the way.  Sometimes the antibiotics give the needed foothold to beat a bacterial pathogen and sometimes they just can't work well or fast enough for the fish to recover.  You did your best either way and now it's up to him.

 

If you do a second course of metro and oxy please give it at least 2-3 weeks of no meds in between.  I wouldn't necessarily advise it but it won't hurt him to try if you see a recurrence of symptoms.  He needs some time to destress between treatments, however.

[jenzaar 11,605]

Hey, thanks for checking in

 

He seems great still, hopefully there won't be any need to consider another round of meds. I will keep you posted.

[DawnMichele 6,045]

Glad he is doing well.

[jenzaar 11,605]

Yeah, we're not doing well....
Setting QT back up now.

He is bloated and very pineconed. Torn fins and very floaty again.

Schedule from this past ordeal:
Metro - 17 days, ended 12/31
Oxy - 20 days, ended 1/11



I will heat and add epsom but will not dose Metro (or anything else) without instruction.

[Arctic Mama 3,640]

Straight dope?  After that much treatment, especially if they overlapped, another round of meds is unlikely to help.  What you're probably seeing is permanent organ damage in a weakened fish that cannot fight off infections anymore, and each new infection exacerbates the issue with the damaged organs and causes that fluid retention and floatiness again.  They're symptoms of the underlying problem, not problems in and of themselves.  And if treating the bacterial issues before didn't really fix things treating them now may buy him some time, but it will likely just pop up again.

 

So the question before you now is a quality of life one - do you want to try and prolong his time with more potentially effective treatments, or just let him pass on his own or euthanize him?  The treatments may work, they may not, but long term the recurrent dropsy fish tend to have increasingly close bouts of dropsy and poorer recovery from them.  You can stave it off but I don't think I've seen a fish who has been thoroughly treated and had a recurrence be treated again and go on to live much longer and disease free.

 

Its really up to you, I know he is special to you.  But this is bad news bears

[jenzaar 11,605]

Thank you for just saying it (no sarcasm if somehow if came off that way)... i will reread and then actually respond.

[Flipper 13,057]

Biff  get better buddy  

[jenzaar 11,605]

I've seen it enough times on Kokos to know that recurring symptoms like these very rarely end well... 

I don't want to try and treat him again. I'll do what I can to keep him comfy and clean, but for a few reasons I don't want to try to prolong the inevitable. I'll keep him in his tub for as long as I can. One of those times where I almost hope it happens quickly. But I will know when it's time. 

 

Hopefully in this time I can get at least one decent picture of his perfectly squishable cheeks

Thank you for your quick response

 

And thanks Aubz for the   

[DawnMichele 6,045]

IM so sorry Jen.  

[koko 14,364]

Im sorry hun

[FishyMandy 6,284]

Im so sorry