Dropsy in sorority. what should i do?

[BlueBettaFlo]

I have a sorority with 5 betta in 10 gal aquarium.
yesterday, i discovered that one of my girls got dropsy
her tummy is bloating, and her gill's rose.

i'm afraid that her disease will affect the other girls.
i have do a 100% water change, but i'm afraid it'll be still contagious

what should i do?
please help, i really don't wanna lose my girls

[MrVampire181]

Remove the girls and keep them separated. Disinfect the tank by bleaching all plastic parts and boiling the gravel. Clean the tank with a bleach water solution. Rinse VERY well and set back up. Watch the girls. It would be wise to buy some antibiotics to treat it.

[ANHEL123]

Definitely separate them.
If you have hospital tanks i would separate them and disinfect main tank like MrVampire wrote with 10% of the bleach solution for a minimum of 10 minutes. But use bleach only for the tank not for anything else. Wash it really thorough(millions time) make sure there is no residue, wipe , rinse . Let it stay in sunlight for a few days to neutralize the bleach. Rinse it again.

Do you have live plants?

I really don't know about gravel. If you can boil it and than let it dry out. But don't boil it for long time, i read that explosion can happen. I personally boiled stones before for about 10 min. But please be careful.

Also i also agree about antibacterial medications. But also wondering if you can use Epsom salt instead of the medications. Don't know about that i wish someone know.

[BlueBettaFlo]

thank you, i'll try to do it :)

i have separated the girls;
maybe tomorrow i have to buy some bleach and some medicine.

actually, yes i have a living plants (and i'm afraid it was the cause of the bacteria), and i throw it right away after i discover the dropsy :)

[ANHEL123]

Usually when you buy live plants quarantine them. The same i would do with new fish.
I am personally using spider plant. If you have one at home. You really can use it.

To quarantine the plants put them in tap water NO conditioner for 2-3 weeks Some plant might die though. I know someone wrote wisteria died but sword and java lived.

[BlueBettaFlo]

Originally Posted by ANHEL123

Usually when you buy live plants quarantine them. The same i would do with new fish.
I am personally using spider plant. If you have one at home. You really can use it.

To quarantine the plants put them in tap water NO conditioner for 2-3 weeks Some plant might die though. I know someone wrote wisteria died but sword and java lived.

ah, okay. i'll do it next time :)
and is there any specific sign that the plant's not god for the tank?

[ANHEL123]

I was thinking, I don’t see how it possible him to get dropsy from the plants . I think dropsy can develop long time before the onset of that symptom.
I think it always possibility to have fish with dropsy, no matter how much good care you will give to your fish. That is why I paranoid to keep them together.

How often and how much you do water changes for your tank?

About plants.

I just ask someone on the forum about plants and there is the answer:
Signs of bad plants:

infested with snail eggs. A few are okay, but sometimes too many is bad!

black algae, or hair algae. This can prove dangerous to a betta, or any fish for that matter. my one female got snagged by it by her gill!

rotting roots: like any plants, aquatic or not, rotting roots is very bad, and the plant will produce more ammonia because it is dying.

brown leaves: some brown leaves are normal. All plants die and grow. But numerous brown leaves are bad.

Is fungus will die when you quarantine? I just don’t understand how it will die. I thought that fungus can survive without fish?

fungus CAN, however, leaving in a quarantine that is cold (under 75) the fungus can die. Same with chlorine in tap water - that can kill fungus (not 100% sure), but can also kill some plants.

Snails fall off and the eggs hatch and fall off. Those are not a huge concern however you wouldn't want to have hundreds.
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