I have some female bettas in my fifteen gallon aquarium. A few weeks ago one of the biggest ones started to get a big tummy. I thought it was just eggs or something, and since she was acting normal I ignored it. But yesterday she died, her stomach was so big I couldn't believe it. Now today, one of my others is starting to get a slightly big belly compared to the rest. Is it eggs? Are they sick? Why are none of my other fish sick if it's a disease? HELP!!
Housing
What size is your tank? 15 gallon
What temperature is your tank? About 22 degrees Celsius (room temp).
Does your tank have a filter? Yes - 40 gallon HOB.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No.
Is your tank heated? No.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Honey gouramis and cory cats.
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Frozen blood worms and brine shrimp, they occasionally nibble on algae wafers as well.
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? Around 20 - 30%.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Conditioner.
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No.
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Large tummy, raised scales.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Has not changed.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A few weeks ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No. HELP!
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No.
How old is your fish (approximately)? Juvenile.
Unless the tank is cycled, Id up those changes a bit. Also, remove the fish that are ill. Cats dont like salt, Im pretty sure, and are sensitive to medicines, so either QT them, or QT all females.
Are the scales raised profusely? Like a pine cone? This is a sign of dropsy, which is not a disease but a symptom of another or a combination of diseases.
This has been going on for a long time, I see.
Hold off on feeding them for at least 3 days. See if their stomach goes down and look for poo. It should be a brownish tan blob or like a cinnamon roll. White and stringy is a sign of parasites.
I used epsom on my fish because he ate too much one day, though the treatment for it in this case would be different..
I cant remember the dosing regimen, but until someone comes along who does, this is advice straight from OFL:
"If it is swelling, dropsy, swollen eyes...etc.....use Epsom salt 1tsp/gal for the first 2 days and increase to 2tsp/gal on day 3-10 along with 100% daily water changes"
It works well, and I would do this as well as fast the fish. Use unscented epsom.
That's the numbers off my testing strips, I am not sure what they mean, anyone who can inform me would be helpful! Besides the numbers, these strips have "safe, ideal, harmful, stress" etc. on them, and they are all in safe zones.
As to the live plants, five java ferns, two African swords, and one that looks like an aloe vera plant (I don't know what it is called but NO it is not real aloe).
There are three cory cats in the tank, one honey gourami and three female bettas. There were five bettas but two have died now and there were two gouramis, but I have one in QT and will be moving him to a different tank if he doesn't get sick in QT.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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