We have a positive outcome (so far) with a large shubunkin that developed dropsy. It appeared to be in a very advanced stage as her left side was totally swollen and all scales, except for those near the tail were standing out. We took her out of the pond and placed her in a small 10 gallon plastic rectangular tray and treated the water with salt and also Melafix by Fishcare of America. WE also soaked dry food for about 1 minute in some Melafix to treat her internally. We removed the fish and changed the water every 2 days, continuing to use the salt and Melafix each time, for 2 weeks. She continued to eat the treated floating food. By the end of the first week, you could see the scales and swelling going down. By the end of the second week, she appeared totally normal. We then removed her to a 50 gallon small above ground pond, continued the Melafix but not the salt. She looks and is acting totally normal now. We plan to put her back into the pond this weekend. I cannot say she is going to be fine but it appears that the infection is gone and hopefully she will be. In all my years of ponding, I have never saved a fish with dropsy before but this is the first time I have tried treating one this way.

Jan