Dropsy in betta

well I just went to check on Julian and he has just developed dropsy I put him into the 2gal qt tank. He shared a tank with 3 Cory's, should I be worried about them? should I disinfect the tank? How do I disinfect the stuff I put in his tank? (i.e. his net, the python, etc..)

I also must add that I don't really see any pineconing, but the bloating is too extreme to be constipation.

 

Start treatment right away and isolate him. If it is dropsy, the sooner it's caught the better chances are for recovery. Unfortunately dropsy has a very low cure rate after the scales start pineconing but it's always worth trying. You could try the epsom salt bath to relieve the bloating (no more than 1/4 teaspoon per gallon) and keep a CLOSE eye on him while in the bath. Remove him at first sign of distress. Some Bettas have a bad reaction to it (Phlox nearly went belly up after 8 minutes) although from what I've heard, most will tolerate it. You can do this for 15 minutes twice a day. It is very stressful for the Betta but if it relieves the bloat it may be worth it. If he reacts badly don't try it again. Try to use a cup to scoop him out of the tank instead of a net if you can. It's less painful and traumatic.
I don't know what else to tell you except make sure he has clean warm water and no rough gravel. Use a bare tank or glass marbles as he may spend a lot of time on the bottom.  I hope he recovers. I'm going through a hard time now too with Phlox. I'm certain he doesn't have dropsy as his bloating has gone down with fasting but he still looks pathetic. Why do these sicknesses strike us all at the same time. It's so depressing.
Keep on eye on the cories and give them lots of water changes to prevent the bacteria from attacking them.
Try fasting Julian for two days and then feed only pea treats for a couple days. He may have a little constipation as well and with any bloating his digestive system will be stressed. Letting him clean out his intestines can only help him.

 

how do I disenfect my python?

 

There is a really messy product called NET SOAK that disinfects things that have a problem with being in bleach water like nets and such and will work with the Python too but will be totally messy as you will have to find a way to run it through and then rinse it thoroughly. You can also get an old pan and boil the equipment if you can find one big enough I would think. Just put something on the bottom of the pan so the things do not sit directly on the bottom of the pan (like a few old cloths) to keep them from melting. You may want to try this with something inexpensive first. There are alternative disinfectants that can be purchased at some veterinary offices if you check other than bleach that are not toxic to the fish.

Rose

 

If you don't have Epsom salt which I know that it suggests using it, but I would be leery using it. I used Aquarium salt and it will do the same thing the Epsom will do. I think it may be a little safer for Julian. It says to use 1 tbsp per 5 gallins of water. I think that's too much. Royell is ina 3 gallon and I put 1 tsp in, but it still may be a little too much even though the bloating was gone in just 2 days. I would maybe try putting in 1/2 tsp or even 1/4 tsp in and see if it helps. As far as Meds go the first week I medicated Royell I used maracyn 2. I dissolved 1 tablet in 10 oz of water and put 3 oz of it in the tank. It's 1 oz per gallon. The second night I did the same thing. The third night I did a 25% water change and repeated the same dosage. The fourth day the same thing again. The fifth day another 25% water change and the same dosage again. The sixth day I went out and bought Maracyn and combined them. I dissolved them in 2 separate cups, the same amounts as before. I put 3 oz of each med in the tank and I put 1/4 tsp of aquarium salt in the 3 rd day(today) after a water change. I continue with the same amounts and then on day 5 I will do another 25% water change and putting the same amount of each thing in the tank. Day6 if there is still little improvement I will put the carbon in and try Furan 2 or Quick cure and see if that helps. If you want you can go straight Furan 2 if you have any or quick cure because they both help with Dropsy or you can use the maracyns. Maracyn2 is specifically for Dropsy so I know it will help. It has helped Royell tremendously as wellas the aquarium salt.

For the aquarium salt I didn't add more unless I did a water change. You don't want to overdose on that because he can have problems. I hope this helped a little. I figured I would add my advice since I am going though this with Royell and so far what I'm doing is bringing him back to me and to health. Good luck. Getwell soon Julian. I am rooting you as well as Royell. If Royell can come back from this you certainly can. Natalie

 

I really hope that Julian makes a quick recovery. Dropsy is such a horrible condition. I know you are taking as good of care of him as it is possible to. We are all rooting for both of you.

CherryRose

 

he seems to have a single pine coning scale :-\

I was using aquarium salt but I was told it would make it worse so I did an immediat water change.


do you think that salt can be used as a disenfectant? or can I just use dilluted bleach (I have cleaned many tanks like this) I will probly just fill my bathtub either way because the python simply won't fit into any pot or bowl.

 

Well, if only one scale is pine coning, he still has a good chance of recovery. It's good you caught this early.

I have also heard mixed opinions on salt but epsom salt is definitely better to use for dropsy.

I don't think salt would be strong enough to use as a disenfectant. I think diluted bleach would be better.

 

I don't think the aquarium salt is that harmfull to them as you think it is. I used it on Royell because I didn't have Epsom salt and he is still alive and doing very well. If he isn't that bloated though you don't necessarliy have to use it all. I only used it to get the bloating to go down because he was literally blown up like a balloon. It helped tremendously. What are you using to medicate him? Make sure it is a med that cures dropsy. Furan 2 and maracyn 2 both do that. Quick cure also helps with if it's bacterial which it probably is. Natalie

 

He blown up, but not drastic enough to slow him down all I have been using is tha antI bacterial medicine that I have.

 

Which med is that? Natalie

 

it is some offbrand.... I am beginning to think it's not dropsy tho... he seems to be getting emanciated..or maybe his stomach is so big it is making his body look small

 

Could it be Swimbladder disorder?

Rose

 

About the salt -
One thing you have to remember with salt is that it doesn't evaporate. It stays in the tank. So just make sure that it doesn't get too salty in there. They are tropical fish after all. Another thing you could do is check the salinity of the tank water and make sure its not too high. I personally don't have a salinity tester, but they can't be that expensive.


Good luck with your betta
~Hannah

 

I don't think so, I have had fish with swim bladder, he is swimming fine and his bulge doesn't look like it.

 

Can you post a picture of him?

Rose

 

when I get home tonight I will try to take a picture....my camera skills aren't very good tho.

 

well... there hasn't been any progress one way or another :-\

 

I would argue that no news is good news... It seems wonderful that Julian is still alive. What's his behavior like?

 

seems pretty normal. as soon as the file is done uploading I will post some pics and a video...I really hope he makes it :'(

 

(excuse the bad lighting please)

 

It doesn't look like swim bladder as he's swimming just fine. He does look quite bloated. Have you tried adding a little salt to the water? That seemed to help someone else here who had a Betta with Dropsy.

 

how much should I add to a 10gal?

 

Are you using Aquarium salt? I think if Iremember correctly the label say's 1 tbls per 10 gallons. I'm not sure. what does it say on the carton?I had Royell in a 3 gallon hosp tank and I used a tsp of it. Actually I think the dosage on it say's 1 tbs per 5 gallon. I would just dissolve 1 tsp of it in 10 oz of the aquario\um water and then pour it into the tank. I say use only 1 tsp because it's safer then a full tbsp. It should still do the job. I couldn't get a good look at him, but he didn't look that bad. Are his scales raised at all? Natalie

 

Have you tried checking him for internal parasites at all.  It really does not look so much like dropsy as just bloating and distention.  You could try the aquarium salt but do not start at a full dose.  I would say that Natalie's recommendation of a following schedule.

1 teaspoon per gallon of water (probably about 8 gallons in a 10 gallon tank) predissolved in a cup of water and added over a period of a couple of hours slowly to allow the fish to acclimate to the solution.  This can be increased over time to a 1% solution which is 10 times this amount but this should be done over 48 hours or so and diluted out should the fish exhibit ANY signs of distress. 

Personally I would not go beyond the first step if I decided to use salt at all.

Mix 8 teaspoons of aquarium salt in 8 ounces of water.

Hour 1- 2  give 1 ounce of the 8 ounces of water (1 teaspoon per ounce) into the tank every 15 minutes and halt at any time he is in distress and do not go further and take saltwater out of the tank by at least 50%.

If there is any chance of either internal or external parasites, I would use Parasite Clear Tank Buddies by Jungle Labs. They work on either type of parasite and are fairly mild on sick fish.

Rose

 

none of his scales are raised, he is just very bloated. I haven't seen any signs of parasites but I guess it wouldn't hurt to medicate for them just in case.

 

How is Julian faring? We lost my wife's beloved Super Mario just last week to dropsy.. hit so fast, he was gone in about 1 day.. I'd sure love it if some sort of real working meds for dropsy (at the pineconing stage) would get developed. Part of it was our ignorance I think, but we're working on learning all we can to be better Betta parents.

I hope Julian has recovered by now. Good luck.

 

his stomach is huge. He spends all day hiding behind his plants, only coming out when I approuch the tank. I have contemplated euthenasia but I just don't know.

 

his stomach is huge. He spends all day hiding behind his plants, only coming out when I approuch the tank. I have contemplated euthenasia but I just don't know.

Poor little guy, I know it's hard to see them feel bad, but hopefully he'll pull through - they really are tough fighters when it comes to things like this. Has he shown any pineconing of his scales? (If you have a handheld magnifying glass, that's what we use to check scales) Does he eat the peas that you feed him? Did the salt treatment or Parasite Clear have any effect, even temporary? When he swims, is he level or does he seem tipsy?

 

how is he doing?

 

My friend (the one who started me on fishkeeping) had to leave her betta at home after the christmas holidays. She got home 3 days ago (reading week break right now) and Fernando was lathargic, his fins were tattered, and he appeared constipated. He was at the time in a bowl in their kitchen (room temp roughly 20*C). She called me and asked what to do. From the symptoms I said it sounded like fin rot, so I told her to move him to the warmest room in the house and try to get his temp up. (Her appartment doesn't need a heater since the ambient room temp is like 30*C so she hadn't thought of it when she brought him home with her). She did and it sounded like he'd improved. However she just told me on MSN that now he's pineconed.
I don't know much about Dopsy (googling as you read this) but please help! Maybe i'm wrong (nothing would make me happier!).

 

I thought I read somewhere that there is no cure for Dropsy?
I hope I'm wrong...

 

I think you might be right. I can't check my aquarium bibles b/c they're in the city.

 

From what I remember reading, there is no cure for dropsy. I sure hope that is not the case.

 

Once they pine cone it's usually too late. I've heard of people trying Kanamycin but I don't know the success rate with it.

 

epsom salts good or bad?
I've found two contradictory links about that.

EDIT: NEVER MIND I FOUND THIS (I advise EVERYONE to read it before adding salt to a tank)

 

When Prissy was ill I tried epson salts baths. They didn't hurt her. She had a tumor, so it didn't help either.
If your friend decides to try, here's what I did.
Epsom Salt bath:
In a seprate container use 1 Tbsp per gallon of water
Leave the Betta in the bath for 15-20 minutes. Make sure the water is as close to the temp of the tank as possible to avoid shock.
You can do the baths twice a day.
They can be very stressful. If the Betta shows signs of distress remove him from the bath.

Tell your friend good luck, I hope it helps.

 

Thanks Lucy
I hope it helps as well. He's her Baby.

 

If your friend can get Kanamycin (Kanaplex) it claims to treat both popeye and dropsy.
I couldn't find it around here.

Interesting link, Red. I hadn't come across that in my research. I resorted to the epsom salt baths because nothing was helping Prissy. There's a lot of contridictary info on it.

 

Thanks Lucy I'll pass it along to her.

I just found the link. I think that it's really interesting but I think that my friends gonna try that salt b/c she wants to do "something". She won't be able to get meds ect. until tomorrow at best.