Beta bloating and raised scales.

I have started to progressively decrease the number of betta pellets I feed him. I used to feed him six now he is down to two a day. But his bloating still persists. I noticed today one side of his belly is slightly more bloated than the other and there are three raised scales on the underside. I hope this is due to too much eating as he started munching on plants, but I don't know if it is dropsy or how to treat this problem. For now, I just give him one pellet a day, but I will not feed him tomorrow and for the next 4 days. Is there any way to approach this to make the scales go back and make the bloating go away. I don't know if I should rely on just fasting or add something like aquarium salt or anything that can help.

 

The raised scales is slightly alarming. Its hard to tell what the issue is without a picture, but if it’s just constipation feeding a pea and fasting are supposed to be good solutions to that. If it is dropsy (usually it’s more than a few raised scales and more full out pineconeing) you may want to try salt or antibiotics, but definitely don’t treat anything unless you are certain. I’d give him a half of a pea after a day of fasting and then maybe fast for a few more days and see what happens. If it is getting worse it may be dropsy, if it gets better it was likely constipation which is pretty common with pellet feeding.

 

The raised scales is slightly alarming. Its hard to tell what the issue is without a picture, but if it’s just constipation feeding a pea and fasting are supposed to be good solutions to that. If it is dropsy (usually it’s more than a few raised scales and more full out pineconeing) you may want to try salt or antibiotics, but definitely don’t treat anything unless you are certain. I’d give him a half of a pea after a day of fasting and then maybe fast for a few more days and see what happens. If it is getting worse it may be dropsy, if it gets better it was likely constipation which is pretty common with pellet feeding.

It's not full-body pineconeing. Taking a picture of him is hard as he moves. But from a rearview that left side looks heavier and more bloated than the other side. This is the best I could do for a picture of the side that is more bloated. Now I wonder if adding aquarium salt would be good for a laxative or does it have to be epsom salt? He is a weird one, he does not eat anything other than betta pellets. I tried feeding him other variety of foods to no avail.

 

My betta has a swollen abdomen that is probably due to a parasite. One side is more swollen and "heavier" than the other. I see him laying down for long periods of time and he is not in the mood to play.. Yes, I play with my fish and give him attention daily. It has not gone away even though I fast him and give him Epsom salt baths. It did subside a little for two days, but it returned the same even though I cut the food. I cannot order API general cure until next month and no store in my city has API general cure.. Yes, that is crazy. Is there any way to cure it using other means?

 

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My betta has a swollen abdomen that is probably due to a parasite. One side is more swollen and "heavier" than the other. I see him laying down for long periods of time and he is not in the mood to play.. Yes, I play with my fish and give him attention daily. It has not gone away even though I fast him and give him Epsom salt baths. It did subside a little for two days, but it returned the same even though I cut the food. I cannot order API general cure until next month and no store in my city has API general cure.. Yes, that is crazy. Is there any way to cure it using other means?

If it is a parasite, it won’t be resolved with epson salt, it will need actually medication. Is there a reason you can order general cure? There are other medications that can treat parasites. Can you post a photo?

 

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If it is a parasite, it won’t be resolved with epson salt, it will need actually medication. Is there a reason you can order general cure? There are other medications that can treat parasites. Can you post a photo?

Too late, my buddy is gone. The medication was not available and the orders will take two weeks. He just died. He is gone.

 

Too late, my buddy is gone. The medication was not available and the orders will take two weeks. He just died. He is gone.

Aww I’m so sorry

 

You can find the same ingredients in other products for humans, birds, etc.

But there's a decent chance it was a bacterial infection so they wouldn't have had any effect anyway.

 

I didn't stock up on medication. I should have known better. When I had goldfish many years ago I was totally careless. They had no filter, no prime, only flakes and a water change every 3 months and they lived a good 5-10 years. I swear, those were hardy fish. So now that I provide all sorts of food, have filters, test the water, and do water changes every 7 days.. I am annoyed that I have losses due to bacteria or parasites. The differences between dropsy and an overfed fish are hard to tell, especially when they don't have the spikey scales. At first, I thought he was just constipated, it happened before and resolved on its own. When I cut the food and he kept swelling that's when I thought there is a serious problem. I went to order the medication but it was out of stock or delivery dates were a week or two later. It happened so quickly that I couldn't say if it was overfeeding or dropsy as I usually give abundant food. Also, he would not eat anything other than betta pellets which made me think he was just constipated. I will just medicate my fish and I will also medicate any fish buy from now on to be on the safe side. I have lost quite a few fish from disease to take any more chances.

Are there any medications that will also help me clean the tank itself? I mean ever since I had fry, I suspect something is wrong with the 5.5 gallons. It has been suffering from problems such as dark green algae, dirty water, bubbles from the gravel. It gets messy so fast and it is such a pain to clean. I have to do double the water changes to keep it clean and still. The only thing I can do is replace the gravel, but that won't do anything since I already replaced it and whatever bacterium or parasite is responsible will colonize the new gravel.

 

I didn't stock up on medication. I should have known better. When I had goldfish many years ago I was totally careless. They had no filter, no prime, only flakes and a water change every 3 months and they lived a good 5-10 years. I swear, those were hardy fish. So now that I provide all sorts of food, have filters, test the water, and do water changes every 7 days.. I am annoyed that I have losses due to bacteria or parasites. The differences between dropsy and an overfed fish are hard to tell, especially when they don't have the spikey scales. At first, I thought he was just constipated, it happened before and resolved on its own. When I cut the food and he kept swelling that's when I thought there is a serious problem. I went to order the medication but it was out of stock or delivery dates were a week or two later. It happened so quickly that I couldn't say if it was overfeeding or dropsy as I usually give abundant food. Also, he would not eat anything other than betta pellets which made me think he was just constipated. I will just medicate my fish and I will also medicate any fish buy from now on to be on the safe side. I have lost quite a few fish from disease to take any more chances.

Are there any medications that will also help me clean the tank itself? I mean ever since I had fry, I suspect something is wrong with the 5.5 gallons. It has been suffering from problems such as dark green algae, dirty water, bubbles from the gravel. It gets messy so fast and it is such a pain to clean. I have to do double the water changes to keep it clean and still. The only thing I can do is replace the gravel, but that won't do anything since I already replaced it and whatever bacterium or parasite is responsible will colonize the new gravel.

Can you share a photo of the tank? Might be able to make some suggestions for keeping it cleaner

 

Can you share a photo of the tank? Might be able to make some suggestions for keeping it cleaner

1) 5.5 gallons last week after water change and maintenance (yes the algae on the plants cannot be scrapped).
2) 5.5 gallons today, a week + 1 day later.
3) 20 gallons last week after water change and maintenance (notice same plants, no algae).
4) 20 gallons today, a week + 2 days later.

The only issue I have with the 20 gallons tank is vacuuming the chewed up plants at the bottom every week + 1-2 days. The 5.5 gallons tank is a whole other story. The algae that accumulate on the plants is ridiculous even if I cut off the power for 12 hours. The algae on the glass as well. The plants suck up so much "dirt" if you beat them with a stick it will make the whole tank cloudy.

Betta photos

1) Alive a week + earlier.
2) Death photos. The swelling was not apparent from the front or side of the fish. You could notice the big difference from the rear view of the fish and ofcourse when flipped over.