Sick Girlie, Please help!

[callmeconfused]

Copper has looked a little bloated for several days. I have been feeding the girls very little every other day since I moved them into the big tank, because they got fed a bit extra when they got moved in and were all looking a bit plumpish.

Last night I noticed she was so pale, not her usual self. I also noticed she was pineconing. I immediately moved her to one of the 1/2 gallon containers I have on backup. I can't put her in QT because it's currently occupado.

Housing
What size is your tank? 25 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78*F
Does your tank have a filter? Yup, canister filter
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yup
Is your tank heated? Yup
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? 5 other bettas, 2 amano shrimp, and 10 Briggs

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? ATM betta flakes with a FD bloodworm every couple of days(none of mine will take bellets)
How often do you feed your betta fish? ATM every other day.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? ~25 %
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Start Right and Stress Coat. Oh, and Equilibrium.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Yes

Ammonia: .05ppm
Nitrite:0 ppm
Nitrate:5ppm
pH:6.8
Hardness: 75ppm(GH)
Alkalinity: 80ppm (KH)

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? She is extremely pale, very bloated, and her scales are pineconing.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? She is spending most of her time on the bottom of the tank/container
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Bloating~3 days ago, Paleness-yesterday morning, Pineconing- Last PM
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Aquarium salt, then I found out it's not that helpful. ( I need to get Epsom salt, but I want to see what else I need to pick up-hence the thread)
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Only had her about a month and a half.
How old is your fish (approximately)? She looks to be about 4-5 months.


Pics(these are the only 2 pics that weren't blurry)




This is what she looked like before:

[Oldfishlady]

If she is swollen to the point of pine-coning- she may be going into system shut down...You need to get her in a small bare bottom, clear QT container that you can float in a heated tank to maintain a temp if 76-77F range...the small containers that a lot of Bettas are sold in work great for this...

Get a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water and add 2tsp/gal Epsom salt and tannins (IAL or dried oak leaf) and use this pre-mixed treatment water for 100% daily water changes for 10-14 days....the faster you get her in this treatment water to better, however, once they pine cone....sometimes the out-come is not good...she needs dim lit quite area to decrease stress...cover the top of the QT with plastic veggie wrap to keep the air warm and humid for the labyrinth organ.....
Hold food for now and if you have access to mosquito larva this is what I would feed-3-4 larva 3 times a day starting on day 3, if not use frozen, not freeze dried..small amounts 2-3 times a day......proper and good nutrition is important for the immune response....

Good luck and keep us posted.....

[callmeconfused]

Thank You!

Got the epsom salt. If I put a cup of water outside for several hours, I'll have mosquito larvae. However, I know that mosquitoes around here have heartworms (I work at a vet's). But we only deal with cats, dogs, and the occasional horse. So...are heartworms dangerous to fish?

Almost forgot... The cups don;t want to float in my tank, and my breeding traps all let water to flow through. So, I slid her inbetween two of my smaller tanks, she's touching both tanks. The thermometer said her water is 76* (or 77, depending on who reads it). I have the lid on the container and it is very dark, since the lid blocks a lot of light. I did give her one of my smaller moss balls, as she likes to lay on them. It seems to comfort her.

[Oldfishlady]

I have never heard of heartworms being a problem for fish from eating mosquito larva.......I have fed larva for many years without issues and keep fish in container that has mass amount of larva too...

Your goal in the QT container is to try and keep the water temp at least 76F for treatment.........

How is she today....

[callmeconfused]

Copper passed away at 11:05 this AM. She was buried in my garden under a rosebush. I hope the other girls don't get sick as well.

Thank you for your help. I have to go to gainesville tomorrow, so I will be picking up an extra QT tank in case. I hope I don't have to use it.