Fish & shrimp health guide
Dropsy
Also called pinecone disease, bloat
A swollen belly with scales sticking out like a pinecone, often with bulging eyes.
TL;DR, Dropsy
Dropsy is not a disease in itself, it is what internal organ failure looks like from the outside. The body swells with fluid until the scales lift and stick out like a pinecone, usually with bulging eyes. It is most often the end stage of an internal bacterial infection, and by the pinecone stage the outlook is poor. Catching the swelling early, before the scales lift, gives the best chance. It is not really contagious, but the poor conditions behind it can affect other fish.
What you see
A rounded, swollen belly, scales that stand out from the body so the fish looks like a pinecone from above, bulging eyes, pale gills, loss of appetite, and lethargy. The pinecone look is the classic late sign.
What causes it
- An internal bacterial infection, the most common trigger
- Chronic stress and poor water quality weakening the immune system
- Sometimes organ failure, parasites, or old age behind the fluid build-up
How to treat it
- Isolate the fish in a quarantine tank to treat and to spare its tankmates the stress.
- Use an antibacterial or antibiotic treatment aimed at internal infection, ideally in medicated food.
- Add aquarium salt in a fish-only quarantine tank to help with fluid balance, if the species tolerates it.
- Keep water pristine and stable throughout.
- Be realistic, once the scales pinecone, recovery is uncommon, so act at the first swelling.
Treatment safety in a planted tank
Salt and many antibiotics used for dropsy harm shrimp, snails and plants, so treat in a separate quarantine tank, never dose salt into a planted display.
Prevent it
Pristine water, good varied food, and low stress. Dropsy is usually the price of chronic poor conditions rather than bad luck, so a well-kept tank rarely sees it.
Easy to confuse with
A gravid female full of eggs is round but her scales stay flat. Constipation and general bloat swell the belly without the raised, pineconing scales that mark true dropsy.
Species most at risk
Species that catch this most often, or that need a gentler treatment:
Frequently asked questions
Direct answers to the questions search engines and AI assistants surface most often about this species.
Can dropsy be cured?
Sometimes, if caught before the scales pinecone and the internal infection is treated early. Once the fish is fully pineconed, recovery is rare.
Is dropsy contagious?
The dropsy itself is not, but the poor water or stress that caused it can affect other fish, so check your conditions.
My fish is round, is it dropsy?
Only if the scales stand out like a pinecone when viewed from above. A flat-scaled round belly is more likely eggs or constipation.