will they "pinecone" with bloating too?

[harchambeault]

Well, Cutie isn't looking great. He is bloated for sure. I thought perhaps he was overfed. When I look at him from above he has some gills that look like the pineconing associated with dropsy, but only over his front where he is bloated. He swims around, but not like usual. I changed his water 50% yesterday, 100% today. He is also grey on the underside near his head, but eyes aren't grey,

We bought him from PetCo in May
in a 2 gallon tank.
Yes heater with water kept 80-82
no filter
do 50% and 100% water change once a week (although I've been travelling and he only got changed 50% once last week)
Feed flakes twice a day(BetaMin Tropical Medley)...just a pinch, and freeze dried blood worms about once a week
have well water, but I do put in water conditioner with stress coat

We are currently fasting him
I'm having trouble uploading pictures, but will try again
Thanks

[shellieca]

I think if his belly is protruding quite a lot it would make the scales on it pine cone a little. I think the pine coning most think is more of an all over thing. However I've never experienced it so I can't say for certain.

[harchambeault]

That's what I'm hoping, thanks for your reply. Poor little guy seems sad....

[teeneythebetta]

I've heard that bloating can cause pineconing only on the stomach. Although I can't tell you for sure if he has dropsy or not.

If it is just bloating, it's probably because you feed flakes. Flakes make it easy to overfeeding because they cannot be properly portioned out like pellets.
I suggest you get some frozen daphnia and give him that. It's a natural laxative.

Also pellets is a good choice for future diet. I reccoemnd new life spectrum brand. Omega one brand second best.

Can u post a picture so we can see what his bloating and pineconing looks like?

[harchambeault]

Where can I get frozen daphnia? When we got him in May he refused to eat for 5 weeks! We were sure he wouldn't survive, but then all of a sudden he started loving flakes so we stuck with it. If he gets through whatever this is I'll try pellets again.
I can't post pics right now for some reason (operator error I'm sure), anyhow, he is obviously bloated, and so far, only has a few gills "pineconing" right over his bloat. He appears uncomfortable, he's resting a lot and just kind of hiding in the corner. He has some grey under his chin (do they have chins?) and grey on his belly...he often turns grey when he's stressed during water changes. He was pooping yesterday, I haven't noticed it much today. We fasted him today. Feel sad for him...

[teeneythebetta]

I'm pretty sure either petco or petsmart will carry frozen daphnia, at my stores there's a freezer in the fish sections for stuff like that.

The grey is a little concerning, grey belly is a sign of dropsy, maybe it's just coloring?? O.o

If he looks stressed, keeping his tank light off for now might make him more calm... I hope he feels better soon.

What color is his poop? Is it the same
Color as his food?

[harchambeault]

It was his normal poop yes, pinkish like his flakes. Only saw some white stringy stuff today.

[teeneythebetta]

Originally Posted by harchambeault

It was his normal poop yes, pinkish like his flakes. Only saw some white stringy stuff today.

White poop too? Yikes. I hate to scare you but I'm beginning to think this is dropsy... I hope it's not though.


•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.

[harchambeault]

Thanks, will start this AsAp. Fingers crossed...

[Basement Bettas]

Originally Posted by teeneythebetta

White poop too? Yikes. I hate to scare you but I'm beginning to think this is dropsy... I hope it's not though.


•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.

Throwing a lot at this fish.. stringy poo is sign of hex.. internal parasite. Better to get some metronidazole in him if eating. Sprinkle on thawed blood worms and feed 2x day for 3-4 days. Take a few off and do again. Fish don't eat those jungle medicated foods so don't waste money there. And I wouldn't do the meds. You got gram neg and positve meds and have no clue they are even needed. Nuking him unnecessarily will just put more stress on him. Better off with the metro in the water as well.

Bloating not a good sign pineconing or not. Need to look along the spine. Chances are he is thin there because internal parasites got all the nutrition. Too weak from the starvation to handle crazy meds.