Introduction
Do you love fish? Have a fish tank at your house or personal office? Do the fish often fall sick? Are you worried about the health of your fish? If yes then you must know that there is a danger that lurks in the water of your fish tank called dropsy. It is a fish disease in which the stomach of this fine creature gets all swollen and it affects the fins of the fish. In fact it is a combination of diseases that can attack the fish and this can be curtains for the fish. The only consolation in this is that dropsy is mostly found in tropical fish and other fish have somehow managed to develop an immune system against this conglomerate of diseases.
History
The known history of this disease goes back to the time when people started to keep the fish as pets. That is the time when first known case of dropsy occurred. People back then had no idea about the real reason or the cause of it. Majority of the people at that time believed the view that it is the time of a fish’s death and at times these fish were just picked and thrown out to die. It can be said that even today the mortality rate of fish that get this disease is pretty low but now it is curable and the reasons and causes are known to mankind.
Features
The causes of dropsey; there are many but for a layman it’s just a fluid buildup within the fish. This is a good way of describing dropsy to average people but to understand the real causes this is not enough. It happens due to internal bacterial infections. The ironic thing about this is that dropsey disease is not related to one certain bacterial infection. Yes it is true that a number of different bacterial infections can lead to the disease. Hence it is at times called the collection of diseases as stated earlier. Dropsey may also be called spring viremia. In general terms it is also called viral infection and one of the prominent causes of dropsey.
Tips and comments
With all said and done; at the end of the day one has to realize that dropsy is deadly for fish. For most of the times it is unidentifiable in the beginning and only spotted when the fish look like a pine cone and that is the last stage. Dropsy is cured by injecting anti bodies into the fish which are very effective and can save life of the fish. Having said that, the antibodies need time to work and mostly the disease is diagnosed so late that it’s too late. A general observation for an early diagnosis of dropsy is that some unusual patches arise on the fish. These patches are mostly located near the eyes. When identified an immediate action has to be taken. Also to avoid dropsey in the fish try to keep the water as clean as possible by regular cleaning of the tank.
