[leedavidford]

Yesterday I noticed my female betta acting strangely. She was sat on her leaf gasping for air. I put a little food in her tank to see if it would interest her, it didn't.
I did a 50% water change (my tank is fully cycled)
Later that day she was facing diagonally down at the bottom and couldn't get to the top.
I took a water sample to my LFS and they said everything water wise is fine.
That evening I put her back on to her leaf so she could get breathe from the top of the tank.
This morning I found her at the bottom of the tank completely discoloured.
I have put her in a smaller container and floated it in her tank so she can get the the top to breathe a little easier.
Is there anything else I can do??

 

[leedavidford]

Forgot to say, she only has the red mark one side. From above the side with the red mark is swollen.

 

[Taeanna]

The severe discoloration and striping is a concern but the mark is an oddity that merits some careful handling.

if the mark is only displaying on one side there are two ways it could appear- severe trauma to that side that has caused her great pain OR an internal hemorrage that is causing her great distress.

For the time being I recommend keeping her in her smaller tank and if possible adding some epsom salts to the water to try and relieve any GIT upsets that may be contributing and keeping the tank lights low.

It is a tough call prescribing medication since she is not showing any of the usual symptoms for any particular illness...
Blood build up will be your key here, if you see extra blood pooling into her anal fin or spreading along her side you may be looking at septicemia- this will need antibiotics and fast if it is spotted.
The choice to medicate BEFORE you see symptoms will remain in your hands as her parent, but if you choose to begin or wish to have it on hand just in case I recommend tetracycline (I use blue planet brand myself but I am unsure if it sells in the UK- use a brand you trust).

 

[leedavidford]

Hey, thanks for your reply!
Well, when she first started acting strangely I thought she might have swim bladder because when she wasn't sitting on her leaf gasping for air she was swimming sideways and i could clearly see she was using a lot of energy to try and straighten up.
Like I said when I found her this morning she was down at the bottom of her tank unable to get to the top for air. Could the discolouration be caused by lack of air? I was also wondering if the red mark could be caused by her scraping against the gravel.
It's crazy how quickly she has deteriorated
As soon as I get a chance (I'm at work ATM) I will get her some antibiotics, just so I have it to hand. I really hope it isn't septicemia

 

[Taeanna]

Suffocation stress may have contributed to the condition yes, hopefully having herself in shallower water will help lesson that concern.

Keep us posted on how she goes. Fingers crossed!

 

[leedavidford]

Thanks. I literally can't wait to finish work so I can check on her!

 

[leedavidford]

She seems to be getting worse. With it being a Sunday by the time I finished work I was unable to get any medication :/
The red patch on her side is more swollen and appears to be pineconing.
This made me think she may have dropsy, but it's just the patch on her side pineconing, so I'm not to sure.
This time 2 days ago she was absolutely fine, she was jumping for her food and making full use of her tank, no signs of sickness or stress and now I'm pretty sure she is on her way out.

 

[William Zhong]

put your fish into a isolation aquarium, put some indian almond leaf, and salt(salt will be change by metlin blue). And remember the dosages, 1 indian almond leaf for 25 gallons. 1 gr salt/100 gr water

 

[Taeanna]

If only that spot is pineconing it points to an internal rupture. I recommend adding the medicine right away and crossing your fingers.

I will not lie to you, this looks bad, but since we cant scan her gut to see exactly what has caused the heamorrage we can only hope antibiotics will kill any intruders/prevent bacterial spread through the cavity.

Keep her lights off and her home as calm as possible to let her rest and devote more time to her internal battle.

 

[leedavidford]

Ok, so, she is in a hospital tank. The waters only a few inches deep, it was deeper but when she would go up for air she'd get halfway then drop back down.
I've added Epsom salt and I bought some antibiotics today (mardel maracyn 2) I'm just going to treat her with that now.
It's really not looking good though, the pineconing over the swelling is a lot worse, the scales are practically sticking straight out and blood has started pooling on her underside.
I can tell she's really suffering, she only moves to breathe.

 

[leedavidford]

On closer observation the pineconing is not just over the swelling, her whole middle section is pine coned now, everything below that has lost it's colour completely and her fins (especially tail) looks like it's disintegrating.....

 

[leedavidford]

Here she is now -

 

[Taeanna]

If I was to guess I am going to say that it looks like she has had a rupture internally. if you look carefully at your poor girl you can see that the pineconing is happening in the parts from the red mark and backwards but not forwards which shows either a toxic level of bacteria invading her bloodstream from a set point or a lack of consistent blood flow which is causing them to become paralysed. The fins are being ignored so her body will have some of her precious blood so they have started to fall apart.

I always hate to have to type this, but I am unsure as to her prognosis at this point...this is incredibly unique and her body may not even be capable of repairing the damage that is inside her. I have my fingers crossed she responds to the antibiotics, but if she does not you may need to look into humane methods of euthanasia- a fish that is paralyzed cannot swim and a fish that cannot swim cannot live.

 

[leedavidford]

I've just got in from work and she is even worse, her tail is completely gone. She can no longer swim at all so she can't breathe air from the surface.
The water she is in absolutely stinks as well, it was fresh this morning.
I've got a feeling I may have to use the clove oil I got today. I felt so guilty when I was buying it, I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this.
Is clove oil really the most humane way to put her out of her misery? I can't bare to see her suffer anymore and I don't want her to suffer when she 'goes'.

 

[Islandgaliam]

From what I have learned, clove oil is humane. So sorry about your lil girl. She is lucky to have someone like you

 

[leedavidford]

Thank you
I'm very attached to all my betta, is horrible seeing one suffer.

 

[KFoster]

You're doing what is best. Swim in peace, little lady.
And best wishes to you, leedavidford.

 

[leedavidford]

Thank you Kfoster.
Yeah it is for the best, I am sad that it has come to this but I'm glad she isn't suffering anymore.

 

[Willpagenz]

I've just read this and I'm nearly crying... So sad for your loss I really am...

 

[leedavidford]

Thank you. It was very sad, it all happened so quickly