Zorro is dying :(

[crowntailqueen]

My male betta Zorro has been very lethargic in the past 2 days. He used to swim around the tank but he has been hiding in his cave and is swimming funny too. Every time he stops swimming, the fin part of his body starts to drop and he becomes vertical in the water. He's been trying to fight it off but today I noticed that his scales are starting to spike up.

Please help. I did a 25% water change yesterday. What should I do?

Housing
What size is your tank? - 2.5 Gallon
What temperature is your tank? - 77 degree
Does your tank have a filter? - Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? - it's open from the top
Is your tank heated? - No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? - None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? - pellets, dried shrimp, blood worms
How often do you feed your betta fish? - once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? - once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? - 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? - water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? - No

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? - scales starting to spike out
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? - used to be active, now lethargic and hiding
When did you start noticing the symptoms? - 2 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? - Added epsom salt to water
Does your fish have any history of being ill? - no
How old is your fish (approximately)? - 6 months

[lelei]

Omg, I wish I could do something for ya, but there is more experienced people who have dealt with these things that might help you I have heard OFL (old fish lady) if you PM her Private msg she will respond..try that.. goodluck..I hope all goes well:)

[vaw103]

Is his belly bloated? The scales spiking out sounds like Dropsy to me. I lost a platy to it about a month ago :/

[ZackyBear]

Pine-coning scales ('sticking up') Is a sign of Dropsy. You should start treating him immediately.

Dropsy
•Symptoms: Your betta will have a bloated belly and raised scales. They will look like a pine cone. This is usually a fatal disease caused by an internal bacterial infection resulting in internal organ failure but many have had success bringing fish back when treated quickly.
Early Symptoms: Swollen eyes (important), Gray belly (important), Clamped fins, Lethargy. If your fish has swollen eyes and a gray belly, I suggest that you treat it for Dropsy.
•Treatment: If you spot the early signs of Dropsy then treat him/her with ES at 1-2tsp/gal and Jungle’s Anti-Parasite pellets while performing 100% daily water changes. It helps to increase the temperature to 84*F. If he/she has begun Pineconning then do the full course as described below:
Performing daily 100% water changes. Increase the temperature to 84*F. Add 1-2 tsp/gal Epsom Salt. Use API General Cure OR API Erythromycin OR Maracyn II and/or Maracyn for best results. Feed something containing Metronidazole, for example, Jungle’s Anti-Parasite pellets. If caught early, Dropsy is curable.

Keep us posted!

[crowntailqueen]

Yup, from the symptoms it seems like dropsy.. Gray belly, raised scales, lethargy, clamped fins....

I did a 100% water change, put him on Maracyn Two treatment (the box said 2 packets per 10 gallon, Zorro has a 2.5g tank so I put in half a packet) and also added some API Stress Coat..

[vaw103]

Good luck! I hope he recovers!

[crowntailqueen]

Seems to be doing better today... He was a little bit more active than before.. came out of his cave to say hi to me this morning...

But his scales are still spiked.. going to do another 100% water change today with treatment..

[lelei]

I hope your fishy is doing better, it's soo strange, all these fish diseases, and things that affect the health and lives of our fish..and suddenly they get sick..and we don't know why?..it sux..I think I may just get some of those meds, just in case, after hearing about ich..and sbd..now dropsy..didnt even hear of it until now..

[vaw103]

Yeah, it's scary And the really scary part about it is that we don't find out about a disease until our fish get it. I had no clue what dropsy was, I even remember googling "Why does my male platy look pregnant?" and didn't figure out that it was dropsy until I read the back of a maracyn 2 box that I was buying for my betta