Please please please help

1641 Views 56 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Romad, Nov 10, 2015

thegrkgirl

Discussion Starter · Nov 5, 2015

I think my betta fish has dropsy I am really not sure. His water is always clean and such. Recently about 2 weeks ago I changed his diet from pellets to mysis and daphnia. He has been bloated and now he is becoming to get discolored. Please dont tell me this is normal. I have before and after picture. I really hope someone can help me. I AM VERY DESPERATE. He has been buffed up for about 3 weeks now if not a little more.

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NickAu

· #2 · Nov 5, 2015

Hi

Lets see if we can help your fish get better, To be able to do that could you please answer as many questions on this form as you can.

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank?
Does it have a filter?
Does it have a heater?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?

Food:
What food brand do you use?
Do you feed flakes or pellets?
Freeze-dried?
How often do you feed your Betta? How much?

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?
What percentage of water did you change?
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
What additives do you use?

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.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
Is your Betta still eating?
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
How long have you owned your Betta? Was he or she a rescue?

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thegrkgirl

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 5, 2015

Hi

Lets see if we can help your fish get better, To be able to do that could you please answer as many questions on this form as you can.

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 5
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? Around 87
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? I dont know what this is
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? No

Food:
What food brand do you use? Mysis/Daphnia, before I used to feed him pellets.
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Used to feed pellets.
Freeze-dried? Currently the mysis is frozen.
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? Used to be 8-12 pellets a day, not every couple of days I give him some mysis or daphnia.

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? 30 % water changes once a week and full tank cleaning very 3 months
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Nope
What additives do you use? I used prime for the conditioner.

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.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

ALL SAFE. I check them daily.

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? 3-4 weeks ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Yes, I think he has gotten duller.
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? nope. just sleeps a lot
Is your Betta still eating? Yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? Nobody is helping me. I have changed his diet and started testing his water.
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No
How long have you owned your Betta? Was he or she a rescue? Not a rescue and for about a year.

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Overprotective Fish Lover

· #4 · Nov 5, 2015

Yes, I think that may be dropsy. I'm sorry that no one has helped you before...the Diseases forum has a lot of people who need help, and sometimes we'll accidentally overlook someone.

I would start treating with plain, unscented Epsom salt at 1 tsp per gallon, and I'd also order some Kanaplex too, or perhaps Maracyn I and II. Lower his water level so that he can get up to breathe more easily.

There's not much you can do for him other than that...just make him as comfortable as possible and hope for the best. Good luck; I hope he recovers.

thegrkgirl

Discussion Starter · #5 · Nov 5, 2015

Hey, thanks for responding. You have by far helped me out the most. I have many many questions so please bare with me.

Isnt epson salt bad? Thats what I heard. Do I just drop the tablespoon in the water? How often do I change the water?

These medications you listed, can I get them online?

Is he in pain or discomfort ? Will he die?

He been like this almost 3 weeks so I assume hes a strong little sucker.

Does he need antibacterial medication?

How much of the substances you listed do I give him?

Will he die ?

Also...He has plenty of air to breathe I make sure of that!

Please respond soon and thank you thank you thank you SOOO MUCH!!!!

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Nikki86

· #6 · Nov 5, 2015

I agree with Overprotective Fish Lover only thing I would add is 87 degrees is high even for bettas id slowly over a couple days drop his tank temp back to 78-80 degrees

Fenghuang

· #7 · Nov 5, 2015 (Edited)

thegrkgirl said:
Hey, thanks for responding. You have by far helped me out the most. I have many many questions so please bare with me.

Isnt epson salt bad? Thats what I heard. Do I just drop the tablespoon in the water? How often do I change the water?

Epsom salt is not bad, it's a fairly common and effective treatment to reduce swelling and bloating in both fish and humans. You absolutely want to make sure you get the regular unscented kind (it should say 100% magnesium sulfate on the bag or carton, nothing else; scented ones have added chemicals that can be harmful to your fish). Epsom salt can be found pretty much anywhere that has a pharmacy section (or maybe in the bath section sometimes). To prepare your Epsom salt treatment, you want to take a fish-safe container and mix 1-2 teaspoons of epsom salt per 1 gallon of clean water. Make sure the salt is fully dissolved in water before use. Add this salt-water mix to your old tank water (with the fish) slowly. You want to give him time to get use to it so you do not stress him out farther.

A lot of people recommend performing 100% daily water changes for sick fish, but I think you have to assess the situation yourself. Replacing all the water everyday might be too much stress for an already seriously weakened fish, so maybe you do not want to do that if your fish doesn't look like he'll be able to withstand it. You do want to keep the water clean though, so at least 25-50% daily.

These medications you listed, can I get them online?

Yes, you can get the medications online. Kanaplex is actually pretty hard to find in stores and most people can only get it from the internet. Maracyn I and II (you want to get both I and II which can be used simultaneously, or Maracyn Plus is a variety that contains both, for easier use) can be found in some LFS, but of course you can find it online. Ordering from Amazon or Ebay would probably be fastest.

Is he in pain or discomfort ? Will he die? He been like this almost 3 weeks so I assume hes a strong little sucker.

Unfortunately, yeah, he probablt is experiencing some discomfort. Dropsy is a serious condition. Dropsy itself is not really disease but a sympton of something else. The pineconing you see is often indicative of internal organ failure. In truth, it is not always easy for fish to bounce back after they show pineconing.

The good news is, your boy is not yet showing severe pineconing from the pictures. It still looks rather mild, rather than the sharp completely standing on their end scales of it in the later (and almost certainly fatal stages). You do want to act fast and get him treatment quickly.

Does he need antibacterial medication?

Yes, that is what the Maracyn and Kanaplex is for.

How much of the substances you listed do I give him?

Whatever meds you chose to get him will have clear instructions for dosage on the package.

Also...He has plenty of air to breathe I make sure of that!

The suggestion for lowering the water line is for two reasons: 1) you won't have to change as much water and 2) your sick fish might be too weak and lethargic to swim from the bottom to the top of a fully filled tank, so you'll want to make it as easy as possible for him.

Please respond soon and thank you thank you thank you SOOO MUCH!!!!

Another thing I would add to their suggestions is Indian almond leaves or (might be easier to obtain quickly) dried oak leaves. Take some of these and just put them into your tank. The IAL/oak leaves will slowly release tanin which helps reduces stress. They also have a mild anti-fungal effect.

thegrkgirl

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 5, 2015

Oh sorry about that. That was my mistake. The tank is set to 78 degrees. I just checked.

thegrkgirl

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 5, 2015

Thank you so much for your helpful response. He has been like this almost a month and I am quite surprised he is still alive. Also, he was a bit pinconed yesterday but today his scales arent popping out the way they used too. He has changed a bit colour I am assuming due to the stress.

Nikki86

· #10 · Nov 5, 2015

thegrkgirl said:
Oh sorry about that. That was my mistake. The tank is set to 78 degrees. I just checked.

I was hoping that was the case but just had to make sure lol

thegrkgirl

Discussion Starter · #11 · Nov 5, 2015

yeah my bad!! he has me so worried im like blah lol

Mousie

· #12 · Nov 5, 2015

Dropsy is a symptom and can be caused by many different things. It could be bacterial (many different causes to this as a bacterial infection), it could be organ damage, or it could be organ failure.

Maracyn 2 - Minocycline is pH dependent (meaning it does not work unless specific pH parameters are met), and will be toxic past the expiration date. Never use this if dropsy is suspected as it's hard on the kidneys and can cause severe kidney damage.

Maracyn - Erythromycin works better when mixed with other medications, but I don't recommend doing so unless you know for 100% sure which medications can be safely mixed. Do not mix with Tetracycline.

For dropsy it is generally recommended to perform daily 30 minute temporary baths in a 1 quart container of dechlorinated water, Methylene Blue, and Kanamycin.

If you can get medicated food treated with neomycin that will help, too.

Betta prefer temperatures ranging between 75F to 86F. It is best to slowly lower temps to 75F if a bacterial infection is suspected.

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thegrkgirl

Discussion Starter · #13 · Nov 5, 2015

Okay so here it is, I found the epson salt at my local pharmacy unsented YAY for that. I checked amazon. They did not have karaplex plus but they did have kanaplex with 4.5 stars out of 5. In addition I found maracyn 2. the first one they call it is maracyn oxy thats how it is called. Should I order or three or would you like the links to look at the them yourself?

thegrkgirl

Discussion Starter · #14 · Nov 5, 2015

Moussie: you are basically telling me to do nothing as for all the advice they gave was bad.

Mousie

· #15 · Nov 5, 2015

thegrkgirl said:
Moussie: you are basically telling me to do nothing as for all the advice they gave was bad.

It was bad. And I did give you recommendations for medication. Please read my post again.

thegrkgirl

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 5, 2015

Your advice isnt even thorough. I dont even understand it. I cant change his water every 30 minutes and I dont know what food you are talking about either. I have searched but no luck.

Mousie

· #17 · Nov 5, 2015

thegrkgirl said:
Your advice isnt even thorough. I dont even understand it. I cant change his water every 30 minutes and I dont know what food you are talking about either. I have searched but no luck.

Excuse me, but I was quite clear. I said; temporary 30 minute bath in a 1 quart container. I said absolutely nothing about changing his water ever 30 minutes.

Everyone here on the forums excel in one area or another. My specialty is fish illness and medications. I know my stuff, and I am always thorough and very clear in my instruction.

Look back at some of my recommendations. You'll find one member in particular that I gave recommendations to, and the following day he took his dog to the vet and asked about his fish. The vet told him to medicate with the same medications and temporary bath that I told him to do.

People asking for help are in no position to be rude to those giving freely of their time to offer assistance with their sick animals. I don't deserve to be treated that way.

thegrkgirl

Discussion Starter · #18 · Nov 5, 2015

I dont even know what that "temporary 30 minute bath in a 1 quart container" is.

I dont know what a temporary bath is, I have never even heard of it or the food you want me to use for him. I dont find you clear. Sorry.

Mousie

· #19 · Nov 5, 2015

thegrkgirl said:
I dont even know what that "temporary 30 minute bath in a 1 quart container" is.

I dont know what a temporary bath is, I have never even heard of it or the food you want me to use for him. I dont find you clear. Sorry.

If you don't know what something is, then be polite and kindly ask. Don't alienate the person trying to help you.

Get a 1 quart container. Add dechlorinated water. Add methylene blue according to the directions. Add kanaplex according to the directions. Add the fish. Let the fish sit in the container for 30 minutes. Put the fish back in the tank.

Neomycin medicated fish food http://bfy.tw/2dyT

VivianKJean

· #20 · Nov 5, 2015

as for medicated foods, you can also soak bloodworms or mysis shrimp in Kanaplex and feed them.

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