CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

My husband and I recently bought a 90 gallon tank (cichlids). We are having a problem that could be diagnosed as Dropsy or Bloat. Im not sure what is causing this or how to treat it. We bought an antibiotic OTC, but Im reading this can be caused my improper diet...Any input of this topic would be appreciated as we are very new to this! Thank you, Andrea

HI and welcome to the forum.

Dropsy is a symptom caused by many reasons. Bloat again is a different problem. One of the big problems in keeping fish, is correctly diagnosing a problem, with no input from the poor ill fish.

Dropsy, usually presents as a bloated fish, that when viewed appears to look like a pinecone. Its scales will be sticking out.
In bloat the fish will usually appear just in the abdominal area.

With dropsy, diet is usually not the cause. However in bloated fish it can be.

In order to help us, help you narrow down the possible problems, it would help if you could tell us the type of fish you have. Some types are more prone to some types of ailments than others.
Also your water quality test results, and your feeding and clean regiments, too.