By the time you notice dropsy it's too late. There is little you can do. The signs of dropsy typically include, sitting at the bottom of the tank and/or difficulty swimming. Fish will not eat. But perhaps the most shocking sign of dropsy and easiest to spot, is your fishes belly will be swollen. In most cases it will be swollen to the point that the fishes scales will stick out from it's skin, and it will almost look like a pine cone.
Dropsy is rarely ever the primary disease that a fish contracts. It is usually a secondary infection to another disease that the fish gets because it is already stressed from fighting another infection. It can be caused by bacteria, stress, organ failure, and in some cases it can be a symptom of old age which caused the organ failure that is causing the dropsy.
By the time you have noticed dropsy it is usually fatal and the fish will not recover.
To my knowedge there is no proven cure for dropsy. Some pet shops carry medications that 'claim' to cure almost every disease and problem including dropsy but I have never heard of them working successfully on dropsy. I would euthanase the fish.
Dropsy is the former name for oedema
In a fish, dropsy is fluid buildup. This fluid retention can be a symptom of a serious problem, such as a type of infection.
Most types of fish can get dropsy, although in my experience, it is more common in live bearers and tetras.
Dropsy
Dropsy
swelling or edema
Jean Baptiste Emile Dropsy was an Art Nuveau jewely engraver....died in 1928. His work was exquiste!
Don't get your hopes, high, because goldfishes DO NOT, umm... become pregnant. Most probably, it might have a case of dropsy. Quarantine it immediately (I don't know if dropsy is infectious, but don't risk it.) and examine it closely. If its scales are protruding, the fish is doomed. If there is no signs of anything like that, relax. It is most probably ... carrying eggs? and there is no disease infecting it.
Dropsy isn't a disease in itself. It is a symptom of another problem. The only thing you can do for dropsy is treat with a strong medication. I would use Maracyn I and Maracyn II in combination and keep the water very clean. That is your best bet.
Paul Dropsy has written: 'Mon village dans la tourmente' -- subject(s): World War, 1939-1945, History
Fish Hooks - 2010 Dropsy 1-17 was released on: USA: 21 January 2011