Betta with dropsy, any ideas?

Ok so I got a betta with dropsy. Symptoms and treatment started last Thursday, and there has been little change since then. Initially I noticed mild bloating, clamped fins, and pineconing on the bottom on his stomach. He also had white stringy poo. Because of this I treated for parasites along with antibiotics since that’s most commonly the cause of dropsy, just in case.

he’s gotten somewhat more active, however he hasn't gotten much better after a week. Still the mild bloating and pineconing, and clamped fins. I’m also starting to notice his spine beginning to curve. He can straighten out but more often he goes a bit curvy.

Ive been using kanaplex and general cure, along with epson salt baths. I would expect to see more improvements by now. Any ideas?

Other info: lived in a 10 gal planted tank, parameters were 0,0,5, he’s less then a year old. Temp at 79, sponge filter. He’s being treated in a 5 gal bucket with a heater and sponge filter from his tank.

 

I don’t have much experience treating dropsy so I’m not sure what to recommend outside of what you’ve already done. I’ve heard a lot that once they pinecone it’s too late, hopefully it’s not true for this little guy. I haven’t been on this forum in about a year so I’m not sure if any of the old people I remember will respond so I’ll tag someone who I think could help and give this a bump-
AvalancheDave

 

If you're using liquid carbon/liquid CO2, most of those contain glutaraldehyde which has caused dropsy in several cases.

The next step is antibiotics. I would switch to ciprofloxacin or increase the dosage of Kanaplex which is under-dosed 17-fold. Yes, the dosage of kanamycin is 17-34 times less than what's recommended by veterinary literature.

The metronidazole in GC is under-dosed by 4X so you could up the dosage there as well.

The last and best option is to look for a vet.

 

His main tank was low tech, no Co2. Just thrive fertilizer. I also never used flourish excel in that tank either.

I tried calling a vet, unfortunately my closest exotic vet that takes fish is booked out 2 weeks for even urgent cases. Not to mention it’s over $100 just for a appointment and mandatory water testing. He cost me a pretty penny, but not quite that much.

I will increase the doses and look into trying a different medication. Hopefully I can wipe it out. He was supposed to be a breeder but I think that ship has sailed. I’m just hoping to get him back to good health so he can live a few years.

 

Well I had to go home for thanksgiving and I ended up bringing him with me. I bagged him and traveled with him in an insulated box. He was bagged for a total of like 3-4hr. I was worried it would be too hard on him and make it worse but somehow he’s doing better actually. I’m not going to shop treating him yet but I think he may end up pulling though.

 

He’s back in his tank and doing great!