I think my Red Pencil Tetra might have dropsy or a tumor.

[Stroy15]

I found upon returning from vacation that my red pencil tetra has swelling on the right side of his body but not on his left side. The scales also seem to be up.

I might be dropsy but I thought it might also be a tumor.

the water has

less than 20 nitrate

no nitrite

no ammonia 

6.5 ph

40 kh

120 gh

I moved him to a hospital tank and treated with general cure, some epson salt, malifix and some pimafix. I did find him upside down and is concerned he might not make the night.

[Fish Folk]

So sorry. Sounds like you’re trying to be a good fish-doctor.

I have a soft spot for these Nannostomus. If you cannot bring your fish back from this, maybe take time to assess what may have been the cause.

Not sure where you’re located and what meds might be available. I find good success with treatment of API E. M. Erythromycin & API General Cure.

I have a fun group of N. beckfordi. I enjoy them even more than tetras. However, I’ll acknowledge that it is far more expensive to treat sick fish than to buy new healthy ones. Some fish I throw the “piggy-bank” at. Others I frankly don’t. This does touch on ethics issues which good aquarists disagree on.

Rooting for your fish!  

Edited July 10, 2022 by Fish Folk

[Torrey]

On 7/9/2022 at 7:31 PM, Stroy15 said:

I found upon returning from vacation that my red pencil tetra has swelling on the right side of his body but not on his left side. The scales also seem to be up.

I might be dropsy but I thought it might also be a tumor.

the water has

less than 20 nitrate

no nitrite

no ammonia 

6.5 ph

40 kh

120 gh

I moved him to a hospital tank and treated with general cure, some epson salt, malifix and some pimafix. I did find him upside down and is concerned he might not make the night.

Is there anyone in the tank who may have torpedoed him in the side?

Because bruising from an injury can be one sided, and look pretty similar.

You already have a lot going on with him med wise, so I would see how that works. 

I (personally, based on past experiences with fish) would have started with an epsom salt bath, I need to verify the dosage for getting down swelling in fish. I haven't had to use that remedy much since I quit breeding cichlids in the 90's... Jack Dempsey's can be real buttheads, and I would frequently wake up to a fish swollen on one side, swim bladder balance issues, and plants dislodged, as a cooler temp water change would make them think it had rained and they needed to spawn.

Not saying conclusively that is what you are looking at, just saying if you stretched your red pencil out to the size of SA Cichlids, that's what the rest of my cichlids would look like the morning after a water change.

I've seen it in my zebra danios, a couple of times, when one danio will get a bit too enthusiastic during feeding time (this is why I no longer fast my zebras once a week) and nails one of the other danios in the side. It can cause bruising (their heads are HARD) and an epsom salt bath can reduce edema. 

[nabokovfan87]

I wish you the best of luck. Pull through little one!  Beautiful fish.

On 7/9/2022 at 7:52 PM, Torrey said:

It can cause bruising (their heads are HARD) and an epsom salt bath can reduce edema. 

Very good point!  I have recently added this to my fish meds case.
 

On 7/9/2022 at 7:38 PM, Fish Folk said:

I have a soft spot for these Nannostomus. If you cannot bring your fish back from this, maybe take time to assess what may have been the cause.

Not sure where you’re located and what meds might be available. I find good success with treatment of API E. M. Erythromycin & API General Cure.

Rooting for your fish!  

I just wanted to say as someone who is / recently dealt with a sick tank, I really appreciate this. It's a thoughtful reply from someone who clearly loves the animal/species in question and wants what is best for them.  It's an amazing thing to have as a resource and I love this forum for being this way.  You two got this!

Edited July 10, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Stroy15]

I regret to inform that the I found my red pencil dead at the bottom of the tank. It seemed very sudden with tank parameters looking fine. If it was torpedoed by another fish I don't know. I tend not to see darty behavior with the tetras in the tank. 

The whole tank was medicated with some medicated food before I left for vacation. So I don't suspect parasites. It may be bacterial or injury or a tumor, I'll haft to look into it. It might be possible moving to hospital tank and medicating sent it over the edge. Its very unfortunate. 

This red pencil was apart of the fist batch of fish returning to the hobby. I had him for 2 years hopefully he had a pleasant enough life for being middle aged upon death, even when I wasn't the best keeper, being a rookie an all. 

Thank you all for your suggestions and thoughts.