BETTA FISH HELP!

[jacqueeeline]

Hmm so I have a female Betta fish, that is about 2cm!
& last Sunday (I believe?) It stopped eating its meals!

So I started to get really worried but I thought it was tired.
Hmm but it stopped eating and I got worried,
& I couldn't go out to the pet store for I had school, etc!

I looked up its symptoms yesturday for it looked like a pine cone!
& I searched for all its symptoms and learned it had "Dropsy"

So today I went out and bought it 'Betta H20' for the tank!
& I added 'Top Fin Betta Water Conditioner just in case!
I also added 'Maracyn-Two' for the "Dropsy" so yea!

But I'm really worried that I am too late, and yea! Agh;
It hasn't eaten in days and yea! ): AHHHHHHHHHH.

Hmm it seems lethargic at times, but swims happily at others.
Are there any suggestions on what I should do?

Do I feed it while It is in the medicine? Would it eat!
It says its a 5 day treatment but do I change water daily?!

& by the way it is in like a small container! Like 1/2 gallon!
(Sorry it normally has a large 2 1/2 gallon tank but for quarantine!

Sorry for the millions of questions! The medicine had no directions,
other than the back information! (Not very detailed, agh!)

So please any suggestions would help! I am really worried! ):

[okiemavis]

What are your water parameters? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and temp? Any chance for a photo?

[SinCrisis]

wow... that was... an extremely organized post, i almost thought u were writing ur problem in poem form. Anyway dont forget to change ur quarantine water frequently and make sure the new water is conditioned rite.

[jacqueeeline]

Hmm I have no idea about the ammonia and temperature, etc!
I believe I will get a water heater very soon though!

However I am presuming my water is at room temperature,
for I let it sit and wait before I put the fish into the water!

Okay so first I shall post some 'BEFORE' pictures from Digital Camera.
(Hmm tank shown is its normal tank, so yea!)







Now these are the "After" pictures taken on my IPhone!
Hmm sorry the quality of the pictures aren't that great!
(If you need clearer pictures, Hmm I can try and get some!)









So yea, you can't really see the pine cone like scales sticking out!
Hmm you can notice a very bloated stomach though?!

& the gils on the side are red, I was wondering if thats normal?!
It came that way! The 'Before' pictures were taken when I just got it!

And for a Betta Fish my size, I normally fed it 3 pallets 2 times a day!
(In 12 hour intervals) But should I feed it 2 pallets?!

I feel as though I fed it too much! Its in quarantine, but yea!
Any advice, or is it too late? ): (The truth I dont wish to hear!)

__________________________________________________ _______

EDIT:
Hmm sorry, I can't get the pictures to not just be links inside the...
"[img][/img]" tag! But all the picture links should work! Sorry;

[Little-Fizz]

I don't see the need for quarantine when the fish lives by itself anyways.

There is no cure for dropsy, but by adding epsoms salt it helps the fish to expel the extra fluid. And the fish can live a pretty normal life. It may be prone to more diseases later on, but you can save him for now.

If I was you I would put the fish back into his normal home and add 1/4 teaspoon epsoms salt per gallon of water.

You should pick up a liquid test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH. I recommend API. You should try and find the cause for your fishes illness, with dropsy its hard to tell and you may never know what caused it. But its possible you have poor water quality and it took a toll on your fish.

How often do you do water changes and how much water do you change?

[nav2008]

compared to the before pictures she does look a bit bloated but i have seen MUCH worse. you cant see the scales sticking up... i have several with red scales on their gills... what do you feed?

she looks pretty small, i would not feed her that much, maybe 2 pellets am and 2 pm? thats what most of my girls get, even one of my boys.

hikari betta bio gold and some other foods can make more red come out on your betta.

i have never experienced dropsy so i cant be much help other than food and such, im thinking you should have done a complete water change before putting a new fish in there though... good luck, hope you can help her :) shes cute

[jacqueeeline]

What is 'Epsom's Salt' exactly? & Where can I get some?
Hmm and is the 'Maracyn-Two' not helping at all than?

My fish hasn't eaten for almost a week, what to do about that?
I'm surprised it can last this long without doing so!

If theres no cure for dropsy, will the fish always be lethargic?
(Wow I have a lot of questions, sorry about that!)

& I have done my water changes 1-2 times a week,
And I changed most of its water like 8/10 of it, agh!

& am I supposed to add the 'Maracyn-Two' every day?!
It says use for 5 days, but do I change the water everytime?!

& what is an effective way to change the water?
Thank-You to everyone who read and answered my questions. (:

[Little-Fizz]

Epsoms salt is like a bath salt. You could get it pretty much anywhere, at a drug store... Walmart, zellers? It's always hard for me to recommend stores because I'm from Canada and half the time no one knows what I'm talking about

If this is in fact dropsy, then maracyn with do nothing. Its a kidney / organ failure. Your fish can get better but probably won't live to full life expectancy.

& I have done my water changes 1-2 times a week,
And I changed most of its water like 8/10 of it, agh!

Is this on the QT or the regular tank? If you have a 2 1/2 gallon tank then 2 50% water changes a week would be more then enough. I don't think you should even do that much, maybe like 35%. 8/10ths of the water is a lot and can be stressful to your fish and not good for the bacteria in your tank.

I wouldn't even bother adding the maracyn, its not doing anything anyways.

Well how are you cleaning the water? I would recommend a gravel vac but a 2 gallon is to small for that. But might be to large just to use a turkey baster.