Blue devil swollen like a fancy goldfish

SoggyNW · Dec 9, 2022

Like the title says, my blue devil is swollen up fat with his scales sticking out and eyes bulging. I'm thinking dropsy but I wanted to run it past the forum and see if anyone has any other thoughts.

I'll try to get a better photo but hes not coming out of his hole for food so this is the best I have for now.

Celestion · Dec 9, 2022

Ouch poor guy, pro's will be here soon , looks like some kind osmosis deal , if the fish is in 025 , I would drop to 019 warm water maxed oxygen levels

Jay Hemdal · Dec 10, 2022

True dropsy (where the scales stick out like pineapples) is rare in marine fish. The reason is that the salt in the water reduces edema. Is this fish in full strength seawater? If so, keep it there.

The root cause for this edema is either kidney or liver failure. Ultimately, there is no treatment other than supportive care. It will eventually prove fatal, sorry.

Jay

SoggyNW · Dec 10, 2022

Jay Hemdal said:
True dropsy (where the scales stick out like pineapples) is rare in marine fish. The reason is that the salt in the water reduces edema. Is this fish in full strength seawater? If so, keep it there.

The root cause for this edema is either kidney or liver failure. Ultimately, there is no treatment other than supportive care. It will eventually prove fatal, sorry.

Jay

Thanks a lot for the info. He's actually looking somewhat better this morning, probably still not long for this world. He's the first fish I got so I'm a little bit attached but he is at least 5 years old. This is why I keep fish, I can't deal with loosing dogs and cats.