Should I Be Worried?

[thegreatwhitewolf]

I have two problems with my fish, Axel. First, he won't eat. I think he might have eaten some blood worms I got him, but it's hard to tell. I have betta pellets from the store. And now, he's taken to swimming vertically, like with his head down. He'll swim normally for a while, then out of the blue, he'll start swimming vertically with his head down. Should I be worried? Is he going to die? What do I do?!

[Adastra]

Please answer as many of these questions as you can: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233 it will help us help you faster.

Does he seem bloated to you? The picture is a little fuzzy, but the fish looks a bit bloated to me. Are the scales on his body flat, or do they protrude at all, like a pinecone? The fish's body should be completely smooth with no scale definition at all. The head-down position is commonly seen in fish who have dropsy, so I just wanted to eliminate that as a possibility right off the bat.

[thegreatwhitewolf]

He died. :(

[karlhague]

Sorry for your loss.

It certainly looks like he had pineconed in that latest photo.

Dropsy is my vote

[thegreatwhitewolf]

Thank you. He only lasted a week. Not sure what that is, but is there a way to tell earlier so my new fish doesn't die?

[karlhague]

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hddropsy.htm

That link there can explain Dropsy Better than I can.

Sounds like he was already ill when you got him mate, not your fault.

[thegreatwhitewolf]

Thanks. Hopefully I'll have better luck with this one.

[karlhague]

Originally Posted by thegreatwhitewolf

Thanks. Hopefully I'll have better luck with this one.

Post pics when you get a new one please, I'd love to see him/her

[FuulieQ]

Just to make sure - you are using water conditioner, right? How big is his tank? Is it heated/filtered?

Is there anything that could have contaminated the water?

[thegreatwhitewolf]

Yeah, I'm using water conditioner. He's in a one-gallon tank. No filter, but I have a heater. It might have been contaminated.