I found that video fascinating! Thanks for sharing!

I will note that while he clearly had dropsy, it had not yet reached the "pinecone" stage. I think that's key here...as the consensus seems to be that once "pineconing" sets in there is too much damage to survive.

I am curious though - what if any treatments did you attempt before the aspiration? I know that if caught early enough - sometimes antibotics and epsom salt can work. Were these tried with no effect? Otherwise...I wonder if we as a community could try to come up with an idea on when this would be a worthwhile risk to take over the other approach.

 

I won't lie, that was quite fascinating. I'm amazed you actually cared enough for him to do this. A lot of people would probably have given up... It's really nice to see.

Good luck to Stuart! I hope he pulls through.

 

Very interesting. I hope I never have to do this; I would be terrified! But interesting to see that it can be done, and great that it helped your guy; he looked so much better after the procedure!

Greenap1es, I took a look at the other two threads he created, and it looks like this was definitely a "last resort" situation.

It was crazy to see how much fluid you drained too. Gross! I've never seen/dealt with a collapsed swim bladder; how do you know that's what he has? How does it affect him? Are there any special things you have to do because of the collapsed swim bladder?

Sorry for all of the questions, I'm just...fascinated by this.

 

@ GreenApp1es: I did the gamut before.. epsom salts, antibiotics, etc to no avail.. he just steadily got more fluid filled.

@ LolaQuigs: his swim bladder is collapsed because he has been negatively buoyant for 4 months.. he either can't control getting air in his swim bladder or the organ has literally "collapsed" and thus he can not fill it. From what I have read it's not ideal, but bettas can still live decent lives if their swim bladder is not functioning properly.

Thanks to all for the support.. I've gotten a couple of comments on youtube already that seem perturbed that I would actually attempt this. The only thing I regret is that I wish I wore surgical gloves.. other than that I'm really happy I did it.

Just to be clear.. we did it out of love and desperation. I was ready to immediately euthanize him if something went awry.

 

Wow! He looks lots better after you did it. I don't know that I'd have the nerve to do such a procedure, but kudos to you for doing so and recording it so that others can see that it is a possible option.

 

That's very touching how you went through all the risks and effort to save his life! I hope he does well

 

i am fascinated and grossed out, that was a lot of fluid! and how good he looked after the procedure

i have a question, if the procedure lasted longer, how is it possible to keep the guy from suffocating outside of the water?

 

Are you sure you got your measurements correct? You stated that the first injection removed 10ml, the second 50ml, and the third 10ml. This adds up to 70ml, or over 1/4 of a cup.

While I do see why this was attempted and that you are obviously very loving and cautious, I have to be honest- don't get your hopes up, and for other readers, don't get your hopes up that this is a treatment for dropsy. In most cases of dropsy the cause is organ failure causing fluid retention- this procedure will have relieved the pressure in internal organs which is a great thing and may extend his life, but it will not repair the organs that were the initial cause of the condition. If he is not able to now overcome the underlying cause, there is still a good chance he won't make it. I feel like such a downer, but I also feel as though it is appropriate to be frank about an illness that is so difficultly and rarely cured- there certainly are some cases where euthanasia is an appropriate and the most humane course of action, though that is up to the owner.

Definitely keep us updated.

 

Matt,

Thanks for responding.. you are correct! I just assumed the unit of measure on the syringe was mL.. it's actually some smaller unit to accurately measure insulin. With that being said.. the amount of fluid was actually .5 ml. I have updated the youtube video description.

I agree 100% with what you are saying.. I'm not trying to present this as some cure for dropsy, as the underlying issue causing the fluid build up could still be there.. but if I venture to guess, this procedure is at least making him more comfortable, and is relieving stress on some of the compromised systems of his body.

I only hope his organs are not too far gone.