im in shock and am so upset . i returned home from holiday last night only to find my beautifull 5 inch orange oranda has dropsy    he's still alive at the moment but he now looks like he's eaten a golf ball and his scales are at right angles! im so upset ! now i know dropsy can sometimes be caused by water quality so i tested it straight away and it came back fine    im just gutted. obv this website says to put him out of his pain but i just cant do it  so upset  

ps none of my other fish are ill. the rest are eating fine and swimming perfect. i know dropsy is often caused by water condition but from what i read on here it can also be a internal organ problem and as all my water tests have come back spot on i have a feeling its a internal problem . . . just so upset  

Dropsy can also be caused by internal bacterial infections or a sudden drop in water temperature. Since you already tested the water, i would try to treat it with some medicated fish food. Prognosis is pretty good for dropsy caught in the early stages.

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thanks guys, im just so gutted. i was away on holiday from thursday till sunday night so i have no idea how long he was like this (asked my mom to feed my guys and she said she never noticed anything wrong but then again i dont think people pay close attention to other peoples pets unless there is very obviously something wrong)

nabi, i will look for that food but at the min he's just not eating + im stuck at work so by the time i finish the pet store will have closed i just keep thinking if i hadnt gone away i might have been able to pick it up sooner.