Hello, all. My FBT swelled up a few days ago. This has happened before and gone away, though not to the extent it is now. It's gotten worse and I compare his appearance to a ping pong ball with legs! I've been feverishly searching the interwebs and read hundreds of pages on it and from what I've found, it sounds like dropsy. The trouble is, all these sites fail to mention what to do about it, other than take to an exotics vet, which isn't an option for me. I don't want to just watch him die, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

I picked up some maracyn 2 today, which is for treating dropsy in fish. I read on one forum that it was used with some success, but I'm looking for more ideas. I perused all 22 pages of this forum and read that honey might help, so I've just added some of that to his water as well. His energy level seems to be ok, and I believe he has eaten. I've got him in a smaller quarantine tank. I read that someone actually tried lancing her FBT and draining the fluid from its abdomen, followed by antibiotic baths, which worked. I fear doing this myself, though, as there was little detail as to how she went about it exactly and it sounds very dangerous.

I've been to 5 different pet stores, checking all the shelves for something that sounded helpful but came up empty. Despite his bloat, he seems otherwise healthy. That may sound odd, but I mean he looks good, his eyes are not cloudy, he doesn't limp or act lethargic or weak, seems active and seems to be eating. I just fear his condition will worsen and I'm at a loss for what to do next.

Any suggestions are very welcome.