[algaebetta]

Hello, I just joined this forum so forgive me if formatting is off, but my betta Algae has been bloated on one side for 2 weeks now. I am stumped as to what it could be and very worried, he has been my best friend for two years.

I have completed 7 days of fasting with him, 3 days fast, one day of frozen daphnia, 3 more fasting days, another day of daphnia. Epsom salt baths everyday for 15 minutes. This didn’t seem to help. He’s in a planted, cycled, filtered, heated very established 5g tank alone. It’s hard to tell if he poops because it’s heavily planted but I haven’t seen him poop.

I also completed a round of kanaplex in case it was a bacterial infection. His lump only seems to be getting slightly worse but not better, however it’s starting to turn white.

Here is the fact sheet

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 5
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes, non adjustable
What temperature is your tank? 80°
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? No

Food:
What food brand do you use? Hikari Bio-Gold, soaked in garlic and Vitachem every day
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? Bloodworms once a week as treets
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 5 pellets twice a day

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Once a week
What percentage of water did you change? 25%
What is the source of your water? Tap, dechlorinated
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Vacuum 1-2 times a month, dip the rest
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? API Stress coat and Seachem Prime. Also Vitachem vitamins once a week

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: between 0 and 5ppm
pH: I’m using api freshwater master kit but I think the pH solution may be old or faulty. I took three readings, one said 7.6, next said 6.0, third said 6.6…. This has been happening for a while. NYC tap water is usually 7.2 and there are no hardscape materials like rocks that change water chemistry in the tank that I know of.
Hardness (GH): no ability to test, NYC tap water if that helps
Alkalinity (KH): same as above

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? Two weeks ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Lump forming on one side near his belly, growing slightly larger. Losing color in the area.
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Seems more lethargic, but he has been slowing down for the past year, I figured from old age. I think his fine may be clamped but I’m not sure.
Is your Betta still eating? Yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? Fasting, epsom salt baths, 1 round of kanaplex. Explained further above
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? He had a long fight with SBD about 6 month ago that resolved itself with frequent water changes and adding garlic and Vitachem to his diet
How long have you owned your Betta? 2 years 2 months
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? No

Here are some pictures in sequential order, from when I first noticed to now.

please let me know what you think, and thank you so much for reading this and trying to help him

 

[Rose of sharon]

Hi,

So sorry that your little boy is sick!

His eye even looks a bit swollen on that side of his body in the 2nd pic.

You are already doing everything that I would recommend. The only other thought would be to try a combination of antibiotics to see if that will help. You can dose both kanaplex and maybe something like maracyn 2 as a cocktail. Just be careful with the amounts. Kanaplex can be tough on their kidneys, and once they begin to shut down, there is nothing that can be done. That leads to dropsy, which is almost always a fatal condition.

If he will continue to eat, then I would feed him sparingly instead of withholding all food. His immune system needs nutrition in order to function well.

I would keep his water super pristine. I recommend doing small water changes every other day - something like maybe 20%. If he isn't too stressed, I would continue with the epsom salt baths, maybe every other day, if not to help him poop, then to help relieve the swelling, even if it's just a little.

I don't mean to discourage you, but unfortunately, in my experience, every single time this happened to one of mine, they eventually ended up developing dropsy. Bettas now are so genetically weak, that this seems to happen more and more, especially if they come from a big chain pet store.

I hope that I am wrong, and that he bounces back!!!! Maybe someone else has better advice!

Good luck with your little boy!!!!

 

[algaebetta]

Hi,

So sorry that your little boy is sick!

His eye even looks a bit swollen on that side of his body in the 2nd pic.

You are already doing everything that I would recommend. The only other thought would be to try a combination of antibiotics to see if that will help. You can dose both kanaplex and maybe something like maracyn 2 as a cocktail. Just be careful with the amounts. Kanaplex can be tough on their kidneys, and once they begin to shut down, there is nothing that can be done. That leads to dropsy, which is almost always a fatal condition.

If he will continue to eat, then I would feed him sparingly instead of withholding all food. His immune system needs nutrition in order to function well.

I would keep his water super pristine. I recommend doing small water changes every other day - something like maybe 20%. If he isn't too stressed, I would continue with the epsom salt baths, maybe every other day, if not to help him poop, then to help relieve the swelling, even if it's just a little.

I don't mean to discourage you, but unfortunately, in my experience, every single time this happened to one of mine, they eventually ended up developing dropsy. Bettas now are so genetically weak, that this seems to happen more and more, especially if they come from a big chain pet store.

I hope that I am wrong, and that he bounces back!!!! Maybe someone else has better advice!

Good luck with your little boy!!!!

Thank you so much for the response.

Ive started feeding him more the last few days, and noticed that increases the amount he is bloated for a day, then it relieves after fasting/daphnia. I’m not sure if there’s anything to make of that.

In your experience, how long did it take to develop into dropsy and do you think euthanasia would be best or is there a chance he can bounce back?

It stinks that I can’t determine the cause of this problem. I left Algae with my partner as I went away for 2 weeks and I came back to the swelling. No idea if it was overfeeding, water issues, or just bad luck.

 

[Rose of sharon]

I always say try to save the fish. If he is eating, or interested, or swimming, or doing anything that bettas do, then he has a will to live.

From my experience, it can take up to a month, or more, for them to go fully into dropsy, and get to the point where it is either necessary to euthanize, or they pass on their own. When I see them really struggle to breathe, then that's when I euthanize because I know it won't get better at that point. Also, when they just flat out refuse to eat for days and days, that is another sign that it's time. But each case is different, so it's hard to say exactly.

If he goes from eating, to bloat, to getting better with fasting, then maybe he will just have a chronic case of bloat. Hopefully it's not an infection, or any type of organ failure. If that is the case, then you can nurse him along. It will take some effort on your part, but I once kept a betta with a permanent swim bladder injury alive and thriving for over a year after his injury. And he struggled to swim, but he lived a nice little betta life with some modifications to his tank, feeding, and water change routine.

The absolute honest truth is that bettas are so over-bred now, that they have lots of genetic weaknesses. You know what you are doing, and you are doing a good job from what you have said. It's like they can't take the least little thing without it becoming a major issue.

If he were mine, I would just make him comfortable, treat him, and do whatever needs to be done, even if it means going through the cycles of fasting and feeding. Keep him warm, and keep his water pristine. He may surprise you, and do really well!