Debbie N

I noticed my Betta has stopped eating and looked swollen. I did some research and realized he fit the description of having Dropsy (pine cone scales). I have done one-5 day treatment with Maracyn 2, did a 25% water change and started on the 2nd treatment. Although he started eating the next day after starting the first treatment and the swelling has gone down, he still looks far from normal and now his eyes look cloudy. He also has stopped eating again. Today is Day 10 of treatment! Any suggestions as to what else I can do to help him?

LZ Floyd

Greetings Debbie and welcome to fishlore.com.

I personally have no experience with dropsy in Bettas. What I know I've learned here. Dropsy is seen as a symptom of another disease, whatever that disease is. It is the internal buildup of fluid. You may have some success in relieving this buildup by giving your Betta an Epsom Salts bath, or adding Epsom Salts to the tank the Betta is in, if no other fish occupy the tank.

To get a better understanding of amounts to be used, search this site using the terms "dropsy" and "epsom salts."

I wish you luck with your Betta. -Mike

Tazmiche

Hi Debbie, i lost my girl to dropsy a couple of weeks ago so i wish you LOTS OF LUCK. It is reported that fish never recover from it but i remember that one fishlore person had their betta survive so i'd never give up hope.

Try Mikes advice, search this site and read answers to your posts guys here are great.

I'd do a bigger water change personally. Sending your betta love x

COBettaCouple

welcome to fishlore and i hope we can help you & your Betta out. It's remarkable that your Betta responded to Maracyn-2 after reaching the pine-coning stage so he must be a very strong Betta. I think he's got a good chance of responding to stronger meds. I'll post links to the products and hopefully you'll find them at local pet stores or fish stores.

I think Maracyn Plus would be a bit stronger than Maracyn-2:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...33&pcatid=4833

Stronger still would be Furan-2:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...27&pcatid=4827

The strongest would be Kanaplex:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/m...-kanaplex.html

As mentioned, dropsy is not a disease itself but a symptom of another problem. Some things that aren't meds but you could add to the water to help him are:

Fish Protector (add daily):
http://www.petmountain.com/product/m...protector.html

Vita-Chem (add daily):
http://www.petmountain.com/product/w...reshwater.html

I would recommend treating his water with a water conditioner called Prime:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/w...nditioner.html

Keep his water as clean as you can. You could do a 50% water change before switching to a stronger med and feed him 3 small pellet-sized pieces of a thawed & peeled frozen pea in the AM & PM every few days instead of his regular food.

The epsom salt bath can sometimes help alleviate bloating caused by dropsy sometimes, but carefully follow the procedure and if your betta reacts negatively to the salt bath, take him out and back into clean treated water immediately.

That's about all that I can think of to attack the Dropsy and conditions causing it. We wish you the best of luck with him and I really think he's got a good chance of getting better with how he responded to Maracyn-2.

lili70

I think this reply is the best I ever saw. I says everything that actually works for very sick fishes.
I tried Maracyn Plus and Furanase on my betta and he took it well. I would try half dosages if it's a neon (based on my experience).
L

LZ Floyd

Tank Buddies Fungus Clear has the same med in it as Furan-2, if you decide to go that route. -Mike

Debbie N

My thanks to everyone for their helpful advice. It is so nice to find a site where people really care about their fish! I moved "Flame" to one of those 1 gallon tanks with the air stone in the center, filling it with bottled drinking water. I added Epsom salt and the next morning he was very lively and eating well. I have access to Kanamycin sulfate at work so I brought it home and dosed him with 12.5 mg. The info I found said to do it every 48 hours for 10 days, with a 25% water change before each dose. I really have high hopes he will make it! I have added a picture of him when he was well and a second of him now.

Attached Images

	Flame1.JPG (71.6 KB, 7 views)
	sick Flame.jpg (155.3 KB, 9 views)

Tazmiche

Debbie, fantastic news!!! This is a great site, such support and yes we all truly care about our fish. We support each other when needed and understand the bad times. Of course we are all barking mad!!

No question will ever be too small, many of us are still newbies at heart. This is how we all learn. BTW my mum's Betta is called 'Flame' too!!!! aka 'Flambo'!!!

Tazmiche

Wow! Flame looks like my boy 'Spot'!!!!

lili70

Bravo ! My best wishes to Flame.
L

LuvaBetta

YAY for Flame! He's a beautiful boy, Debbie. I'm always thrilled when a sick one gets better because they're SO small, and can't tell you where it hurts...

Drea

Yeah Dr Debbie! Keep up the great work, you're betta will be fine by the looks of him. Thanks for the pics. I had a betta that looked just like him for 4 years.

COBettaCouple

Sounds like you're taking great care of him and i hope it won't be long until we see him doing better and over the dropsy.

Debbie N

Flame is still hanging in there. He is eating but still looking so pine-conish. I suppose if the treatment takes 10 days, I'll have to be patient for results. Either way, I will let you know how it all turns out.

0morrokh

You could try giving him a bath in a concentration of 1tbsp per gal of epsom to start, for up to 30 min. Helps get down the bloating.

Debbie N

Omorrokh, thank you so much! I will try that and let you know if it helps.

0morrokh

Just watch him carefully because it has been reported that Bettas reacted negatively to epsom. I've never had a fish react to it but keep a close eye on him.

Also when you move him to the from the tank to the bath & then back to the tank, catch him in a cup and let the water mix before releasing him. This prevents shock if you were to just net him and dump him right into the bath.

Assuming he is ok with them, you may need to do an epsom bath every day for a week or two to notice a difference.

COBettaCouple

true, some react violently to it and have to be taken out immediately, but most will be good bettas about it.