Dropsy, average length of symptom before death

[nunuchan]

My betta had been swollen (for the majority of the time I had him but most severely at the end) and had been pineconing for about a month before he died. I've been lurking and I've noticed that most betta don't seem to last more than a week with dropsy and oftentimes it seems to appear overnight (?) and that it's super-fatal because of this.

• For those of you that have had betta die of dropsy, how long did they have the symptoms (pineconing, swollen body, etc) before their death?

[metalbetta]

I've lost several of mine to a secondary onset of dropsy after being infected with columnaris for some time... The length of time they experienced symptoms varied with all of them. I'd say true dropsy will kill within 24 hours to 2 weeks after pineconing.

It's pretty much the fish equivalent of organ failure, and since they're such small fish, fluid retention is going to appear quickly. I can't imagine it's a very peaceful way to go... Two of my girls lasted about two weeks with raised scales. In hindsight I probably should have put them to sleep. It was horrible to see them go that way. The other two (that passed away just a few days ago) were gone within 48 hours of getting it. I've also seen cases of fish pineconing for like a day, and then recovering immediately. It's a strange disease to say the least...

[rb500]

When I lost Pheonix to dropsy, he took about a week to die, if I remember. He was my first, and I hated that he had to suffer for that long. A month seems even worse!

[Oldfishlady]

Dropsy is a symptom not a disease.... cause of this symptom can vary........most common are bacterial, viral, internal parasite, tumor related....usually once you see dropsy the fish is going into system failure...some fish can last a month or longer all depending on the cause, secondary issues and treatment.....once they go into system failure it is usually fatal and just a matter of time before they die.....and if the fish is suffering.....you need to do what is right by the fish....humane euthanasia......its cruel to allow an animal to suffer long term....once everything has been tried....... because you also don't want to give up too soon...... as some causes (rarely) the fish can recover........the selfless act of the hobbyist to end its suffering should be carried out and only the hobbyist can make this selfless decision......to do what is right by the fish.....