Continuing Dropsy In My Betta

[LagerthaM]

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank?
5 Gallons

How long has the tank been running?
About nine months

Does it have a filter?
Yes, his tank has a sponge filter.

Does it have a heater?
Yes

What is the water temperature?
80 degrees Fahrenheit

What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
One male betta


Maintenance
How often do you change the water?
Once a week

How much of the water do you change?
25%-50% depending on my test results

What do you use to treat your water?
Tetra aquasafe

Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water?
I vacuum the water after feeding foods like frozen bloodworms and I vacuum the substrate twice a month.

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?
No, when I first got him I did not know what cycling was.
What do you use to test the water?
API Master Test Kit

What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

Ammonia: 1
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 6

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?
Twice Daily

How much do you feed your fish?
In the morning I feed him three pellets of betta food and in the evening I feed him either bloodworms or more pellets

What brand of food do you feed your fish?
I recently switched to Fluval Bug Bites and Omega One Betta Buffett, before that I feed Tetra betta pellets.

Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods?
I feed frozen blood worms

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish?
Over 3 years

How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?
About two weeks ago

In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
I was taking pictures of my fish when I noticed he was swollen and starting to pinecone. I immediately posted on here to double check my diagnosis and it was confirmed that he had dropsy. I started dosing with kanaplex.

Have you started any treatment for the illness?
Yes, kanaplex.

Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase?
No, not that I remember. I got him from Walmart when I was in High School and I didn't know as much about betta care then as I do now.

How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all?
He has swollen up, his appetite isn't as big and he isn't as active.

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
My betta Drogon has had Dropsy for a couple of weeks now. I treated him with Kanaplex as directed by the box until the max amount of time (1 week), left him alone for a few days, did daily 70% water changes and started treating him again on Wednesday. He is not doing any better, in fact I think he is doing worse. I don't know what to do or how to help him anymore then I have. Do you guys have any ideas or other medicine recommendations I can try?




Also, I am at work and can't post pictures yet, but I will do so when I get home. I linked below my first post that has pictures of what he looked like when I first noticed.
Help - Betta Looks Like He Might Have Dropsy

 

[FrostedFlakes]

Unfortunately dropsy can tend to be reoccurring which is another reason why some choose to euthanize. Dropsy treatment should be paired with Epsom salt baths to relieve swelling caused by fluid build up. If all treatment fails you may have to euthanize, unfortunately.

 

[LagerthaM]

Unfortunately dropsy can tend to be reoccurring which is another reason why some choose to euthanize. Dropsy treatment should be paired with Epsom salt baths to relieve swelling caused by fluid build up. If all treatment fails you may have to euthanize, unfortunately.

I have been thinking that may be what I will have to end up doing. Thanks for the advice.

 

[FrostedFlakes]

Dropsy is a tough thing to overcome, but some fish can pull through

 

[Crazycoryfishlady]

Epsom salt, Methylene blue, and kanaplex imo should be used all in one, and sometimes even coupled eith pshyical aspiration.
It is often caused by bacterial infection or parasites, which means you need to treat for an imfection and organ failure, not just for dropsy.
Some use a furan-2 mix, I used all things mentioned above including aspiration, and our nearly 3 year old betta lived another year after.
Get insulin needles from walmart, and look up how to aspirate a fish, you want to go away from the organs, but where swelling is worst.
Clove oil is used as an anesthetic and puts them out for 3-5 minutes while you do the job on some wet paper towels. You might not see fluid at first, but even a little bit helps him.
It can be difficult to do, and having a partner help you makes things loads better.
Kanaplex is good, but it causes kidney damage, which is why it asks you to take breaks between treatment, and that could possible be why he is doing worse, he may have damaged more organs during treatment.
So of course don't try that again.
If he is still alive and kicking, start him on 10 drops meth blue per gallon, a capful of hydrogen peroxide per gallon, and 1/2 tsp epsom per gallon. You can choose to do this as a 1 gallon bath and add the bath water directly to the tank after 15 minutes of him in it, or you can just add it straight to the tank at this point.
Bath water should be about 81-82 degrees, slightly warmer than the tank.
Even if he doesn't pull through, you are now equppied with the best most helpful information, and you can say you tried everything to help him.
Having clove oil for anesthesia is also beneficial because it can then be used for euthanasia as well.

 

[LagerthaM]

Hey guys. One of my Bettas started showing signs of Dropsy least week. On Saturday I started Epsom salt baths to try and help the swelling go down and then I plan to treat with Kanaplex. How long is the max time that I should do Epsom salt baths? Right now I do them every other day along with daily water changes of 50-90%. Is there anything else I can do for him?

 

[Repolie]

The max I would do in a day is 3 baths with 3 hrs in between each bath. Besides that method of treatment of epsom salt baths and Kanaplex, there isn't much more you can do unfortunately.

 

[LagerthaM]

Okay, thank you.

The max I would do in a day is 3 baths with 3 hrs in between each bath. Besides that method of treatment of epsom salt baths and Kanaplex, there isn't much more you can do unfortunately.