[DoberMom]

I pulled out one of my original girls out of the 29gal because she looked like she wasn't doing so well. I went and bought a hospital tank. It's just a one or two gallon but I put a heater in it and a thermometer. I also bought this stuff:

http://www.wag.com/fish/p/tetra-parasite-guard-8-tablets-116201?site=CI&utm_source=cse&utm_medium=cpc_W&utm_term=UPG-247&utm_campaign=googleproductlistingads&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=UPG-247&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw={keyword}

I followed the instructions and only put in one tenth of the tablet. I also put in some Epsom salt. I pulled another girl out of the tank because she looked bloated. She was acting fine but her belly looked grey. THEN I look at my tank and there are a few in my tank that look pretty crappy. :evil: SO, I put in three tablets and removed my shrimp. I don't like this

 

[DoberMom]

Housing
What size is your tank? 29 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 83*F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yes
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? 20 females

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? White worms (live), new life spectrum pellets, frozen bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? Every other day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 3 - 4 times a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime

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

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: .25ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
pH: 7.6
Hardness: ?
Alkalinity: ?

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? pale, bloated
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? lethargic, sitting at bottom
When did you start noticing the symptoms? today
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I have used tetra parasite guard and melefix in conjunction
Does your fish have any history of being ill? nope
How old is your fish (approximately)? 5 months?

 

[DoberMom]

Anyone have any ideas??

 

[DoberMom]

:frustrated:

 

[ravenwinds]

So...it is strongly recommended to not use any of the "fixes" as they have been known to cause Betta deaths....

Otherwise, I would probably try aquarium salt and or General cure....have you looked in the betta diseases and treatments Stickies...Darkmoon has a pretty extensive list of common illnesses....

Have you added anything new to your tank?
I know you said you did 50% water changes on 29g 3-4 Times a week...why? This is pretty excessive from norm...shouldn't your beneficial bacteria be up and running...maybe its throwing off equilibrium of tank(i have Natural Planted Tanks and this would effect water chemistry, equilibrium, and probably stress out my fish)...I am sorry, not trying to come off as judgemental.
Given what I said about water changes, I would probably do 100% water change and add aquarium salt at 1 tsp per gallon. If anything is new, I would remove it and quarantine it.

Sorry I don't have too many suggestions that you probably can't answer yourself...good luck.

 

[Tikibirds]

Parasite Guard removes external and internal parasites from tropical fish including flukes, internal worms, lice, anchor worms and flagellates such as hexamita or spironucleus associated with hole-in-the-head disease.

what leads you to suspect they have parasites? Being lethargic, color loss and bloated can be caused by a few things. When you say bloated - are the scales also sticking up like a pine cone?
Is their poop white and stringy?
These are females, right? Can they see any males?

I would either stop the melefix or be very careful with it. It can be deadly if too much is used. I think its a more concentrated version of betta fix and many people have reported death of their bettas from using it. It has a tree oil in it and that can destroy their breathing organ. However, alot of people claim its a miracle drug...be careful.

External Parasites
•Symptoms: You may see parasites (other than ick) or you may not. Pay special attention to the area around the gills and fins. May dart and rub against decor, lose interest in food, lethargy, color loss
•Treatment: Some parasites can be treated conservatively with Aquarium Salt. For salt treatments, treat as you would with Ick. If conservative treatment does not work or if you have extenuating circumstances then there are a number of medications you could use. API’s General Cure and Jungle’s Parasite Clear fizz tablets are both affective ways to kill parasites. Do not combine with Aq.Salt.
•Alternative Medicines: I like PP for all stubborn external infections. It has never failed me, but it should only be used as a last resort.

Internal Parasites
•Symptoms: Betta is losing weight but eating normally and acting lethargic.
He/she might dart or rub against decor.
•Treatment: These can be hard to fight and can get confused with the fatal disease Tuberculosis. Perform daily 100% water changes (if possible, for larger aquariums change 3/4). Make sure you carefully clean the gravel to remove eggs/larva. Aq.Salt does not seem to be affective against internal parasites. I find combining ES with an anti-parasite med is best. Treat with 1-2tsp/gal Epsom Salt combined with either Jungle’s Anti-Parasite Pellets, Jungle’s Parasite Clear Fizz tabs or API General Cure. PP is also effective against internal parasites.

 

[ravenwinds]

Darn...sorry, you're right Tikibirds...use Epsom Salts for internal...and I just had to do it recently.

 

[Tikibirds]

I've used it a few times for swim bladder issues.

 

[DoberMom]

You know, I wasn't really sure what was going on. There was a new decoration that was added and some spinach and a piece of cucumber that I had never used before. Usually I feed my otos lettuce instead. I did notice that there was a weird white/clear something growing on the new decoration. I wasn't sure if it was fungus or algae but it was also growing on the spinach. Oddly, the old decoration did not have anything growing on it. Since I first posted this, my sick betta has died. She definitely pine-coned. She is not the first I have lost to dropsy. She is the third so I know what it looks like but she wasn't bloated at all, just really pale and lethargic. By the time I noticed something was wrong with her, she was pine-coning. The other fish that I had in another hospital tank was fine but never stopped being bloated. None of my other fish have died so far. Everyone actually is acting normally and eating. But there are still a few of them that look really bloated. Since losing my 3 females to dropsy, I panicked at the first sign that something was wrong. I had been feeding my girls live bloodworms until I found out that they can cause drospy by parasites. I figured if one of my females died from it, they are all susceptible and is probably why they were bloated. I dosed the entire tank with ES, Melefix, and Parasite Guard. I know now that I shouldn't have used all of these methods at the same time but I was scared. Like I said, none of my other fish have died and no one looks sick. Should I still do a 100% water change?

 

[DoberMom]

BTW, I don't own any males

 

[Tikibirds]

Since I first posted this, my sick betta has died. She definitely pine-coned. She is not the first I have lost to dropsy. She is the third so I know what it looks like but she wasn't bloated at all, just really pale and lethargic.

I think most cases of dropsy are initially caused by an internal bacterial infection. Did you have them long?

Should I still do a 100% water change?

I am honestly not sure. Have you changed any of the water while using meds? I'm thinking you should at least do a partial change.

I know now that I shouldn't have used all of these methods at the same time but I was scared.

I think every one does that at some point. I lost a few soerity girls to some weird flesh eating bacteria. I tried EVERYTHING for them and nothing worked. it was like some weird, mutated form of columnaris.

 

[ravenwinds]

I would probably do a 100% water change, if for no other reason than to get rid of meds still in water( btw, I have freaked before too, and used multiple meds on my fish...an antibiotic, ES, and general cure...it worked for their internal bacterial inf.). I would also do it just to make sure that clear white fungus(probably) is out of the tank....probably not the culprit for recent dropsy cases, though...I have seen it on occasion when I have misssed removing some food overnight...a good cleaning and scrub down works well.
I am sorry for your loss.