punkrockviolet5

Poor Chopstick! His scales are sticking out and his fins are falling off! What the heck?? I put him back in his old tank, in a baby fish net, so maybe he can get better, but he just sits at the bottom. Is his new tank not filtering the water good enough? He looks AWFUL!!!! (and I feel terrible!)

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

OMG! Im sorry that im not able to help because i dont know anything about health problems but good luck with him! I hope hes alright!!! Miley

Phloxface

It sounds like he has dropsy, the most dreaded of fish diseases. I lost 3 fish to it. Sadly, by the time his scales are sticking out it means it is already too late. They usually die within a couple days.

After he passes you need to thoroughly sanitize the tank and all contents (probably throw out gravel... no way to really sterilize it) and any equipment you used for him like filters and nets. Throw out filter media. It is slightly contagious but a good cleaning of everything and a few days left to dry should make it safe for a new betta.

So sorry about your little guy. I went through it three times and it's a terrible death to watch.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

Im so sorry!!! Miley

Chief_waterchanger

I disagree with Phloxface. If you bake the gravel in the oven for about 15 minutes at 200 degrees farenheit it should cure it. (Make sure you preheat the oven fully first.) That should kill any bacteria (good and bad.) Also, a 5% bleach solution (1 cup bleach per 19 cups of water) for the equipment should work nicely. Best of luck in the future, and on the bright side, you're a better fishkeeper for having experienced the disease firsthand, even if it sucks to have to learn it that way.

Tom

So sorry to hear about your fish getting sick.
Tom

Phloxface

I have read many times you should NEVER bake gravel, especially epoxy coated gravel. Gravel only costs a couple dollars. It isn't even worth the effort it would take to clean and bake it!
Don't clean a filter with bleach. You can't completely submerge the whole filter to soak in dechlorinator. It's not worth the risk of any bleach remaining. I just rinsed my filters in hot water and they were fine. Tank can be washed with water and a little bleach (just make sure it is not scented bleach) and then rinsed VERY well and filled up and left to soak overnight with a LOT of Prime conditioner, then rinsed very well again and dried and left dry for a couple days. Never wash plastic plants, heaters or ornaments with bleach. Just wash well with hot water and leave dry for a few days.

COBettaCouple

is chopstick still eating? the best thing for him now would be shallow water and stress coat or meth. blue if you have it to make him more comfortable. There is one med you might find locally that could help, but honestly, i don't know if it's too late or not: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113021

hopefully it would help him out though.. these bettas can surprise us with how strong they are. best of luck with the little guy.

armadillo

Just a point of clarification. Dropsy is not a disease, but the symptom of a disease. Actually, it's the symptom of many possible diseases, not all of which are fatal. That's the good news. The bad news is that if it is a symptom of fish TB, you do indeed need to disinfect your tank/decos/gravel, etc. Some people actually just throw the lot away. Other symptoms of TB are bent spine, pop eye (one or both eyes), or belly sunken in. I believe there are other symptoms, even. What I mean is that TB is a tricky one to ID, and that there are other, less severe, diseases with which dropsy appears. Am hoping that Chopstick doesn't have TB.

How is he?

punkrockviolet5

I think its time to say goodbye to lil Chopstick tonight. He's not even eating anymore. We'll take him to the "Porclein Waterslide" and let him ride it to the Big Fishbowl In The Sky. Now that I know how sick he is, I just can't watch him suffer like this. Pieces of his fins are floating around in his net and he is almost lying down. He looks miserable and I will not force him to suffer. *sniff* He is not doing well at all. Man, do I feel bad!! Is it something I did?? It was just he and 1 platy in a 5 gal tank, but I don't think the filter was very good (maybe it was his sickness making the water so cloudy?) and I'm returning the whole tank. How could I have avoided this? I have had Bettas forever and never had this happen! I'm devistated. Poor Chopstick.

Being that I have no idea how he got it and how it can be avoided, I'll have to do some research on Drospy now. I KNEW I should have had him immunized!! just kidding.

I will not be reusing any of the gravel, nor putting it in the oven. Isn't there a coating on stuff like gravel that will emit toxins when you heat it? Just a thought. I could be way off.

I may have a problem, though. I put him in the 10 gal with my 4 platies (he's in a breeding net) cuz the water wouldn't stay clean and he looked so ragged. Are the Platies in danger of contracting Dropsy, too?? Oh, sigh... I hope not... I just named my newest one.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

Oh im so sorry!!!!

Miley

nmwierman1977

You may want to remove him andput him in something else. Do you have another tank? If you don't have another tank maybe a bucket that hasn't been used with detergents or other products. Put a heater in it to warm the water a bit. This is only if you intend on helping him. If you intend on euthanizing him which it sounds like you plan too, I wouldn't flush. They sell euthanizing products. Flushing him is inhumane when he's still alive. Go out and by a euthanizing product.

AS far as cleaning his tank. When Royell died of Dropsy, I cleaned everything with vinegar. It's much safer and just as affective as bleach. You can clean the heaters with it too, along with the decor. If Iremember correctly I poured a cup of vinegar in the tank and filled the rest up with hot water and I just let it sit overnight.I even put my net in there. I threw the gravel out. I never even replaced the gravel. To me gravel is just a waist of money, cuz whenever they get sick you have to throw it out and replace it.

After everything was done soaking I rinsed everything 3 times and let it dry. I just let it air dry and left it for 3 days before I filled it back up.

I am very sorry. Dropsy is one of the worst illnesses to experience with a fish. Natalie

Phloxface

Please don't flush him alive! He won't die right away and will suffer even more while he slowly suffocates in the filthy pipe. Not to mention how frightened he'd be.

punkrockviolet5

I didn't realize they don't die right away! Now I feel like a jerk. I won't flush him. Promise. I wouldn't want him to think I don't love him!! I'm gonna miss the heck outta him and his purty little self.

What is the euthanizing product called? I'll pick it up on my way home. He is really suffering already and trying to get him healthy would only prolong this, and may not work anyway. His sweet Spirit needs to be free. *sniff* Had I caught it a few days ago, when he was still eating, I may think differently but now he's just too far gone. Thinking about this makes my insides hurt.

Will my other fish be ok?

nmwierman1977

The product is called Euthanase. It's clove oil. It will help him die in a more humane way and will reduce suffering. Natalie

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

Thats good that your not going to flush him (alive) Im so sorry you have to euthanize him!!!!! Miley

armadillo

Guys, please. Dropsy is not a disease, it's a symptom. Please PunkViolet look it up to see what sort of disease your betta is likely to have (dropsy can be a sign of many diseases, not always TB). Maybe it's a disease that can be target-cured.

punkrockviolet5

I read the article Isabella posted in the Freshwater Disease area. It was really insightful. I'm realizing now, I think he may also have finrot. His bottom fin looks like someone cut it off with scissors, and the pieces are floating around the tank. They do not look torn. For the dropsy, it says I can put him in an Epsom Salt 'bath' and watch him for a couple of weeks to see if he improves. Since I have to order the clove oil online, I will be doing this tonight, to help ease his suffering. If he improves, he goes back into a new tank. If not, I'll be better prepared for his humane departure.

You guys are all awesome. Thanks for helping me and caring about my little Chop-chop.

PS - I just ordered the clove oil. Thanks for the link nmwierman1977!