Dropsy symptoms

Hi everyone,

My 1 1/2 year betta has constipation/bloating due to overfeeding (He was taken care of by someone else while I was away for a weekend). It's been about 2 weeks since, and I've been feeding him 2-3 pellets every other day. Last week I started doing 50% water changes every 2 days, and his health has been very slowly declining. At the start, there were almost no symptoms, except for a larger-than-normal belly. After a day or two, he started refusing food. After that, he just overall started being more lethargic and hiding in his favorite sleeping place behind a log. Now, there is very slight pine coning, and all the previous symptoms are still present. The difference today is that I found him resting on top of the heater (it has a small platform) slightly tilted, as if he is trying to lay down on his side. I'm afraid that he has gotten dropsy.

I've been trying to keep the water clean, feeding him less, and keeping the environment as stress-less as I could get it. He lives in a 5-gallon filtered and planted tank that has indian almond leaves. Is there anything else I could do? Should I try fasting him for a longer period of time? I've heard of the peas-method for constipation and bloating, but some people say it doesn't help. Any help is appreciated.

 

can you fill out the emergency template please?

bettas don't digest plant matter (e.g. peas) very well, daphnia would work better for bloating. do you have a picture of him from the top?

 

Let's also add dropsy is a symptom, not a disease in itself. It's rather a symptom of a bacterial or fungal infection, usually the former.

 

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 5 gallons
How long has the tank been running? About 2 1/2 years.
Does it have a filter? Yes.
Does it have a heater? Yes.
What is the water temperature? 78-79
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
Betta, an adf (the other passed away and I cannot get another, but cannot find anyone else to take him), and 3 nerites.

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Once a week before, now every 2 days
How much of the water do you change? 50%
What do you use to treat your water? Top Fin conditioner
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Vacuum the substrate, but these more frequent water changes have just been just the water changes to not stress him out too much.

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? API
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
pH: 7.6

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Currently once every 2 days
How much do you feed your fish? 2-3 pellets
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Omega one pellets.
Do you feed frozen? When I'm feeding the adf blood worms, sometimes I give 1 or 2 to him.
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 1 1/2 years
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? 2 weeks ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Bloating mostly, refusing food
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No. I've just increased water changes and giving less food.
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? More lethargic, slight pineconing.

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)
(explained in post above)

 

can we have a picture from the top please? so we can tell if it's dropsy or not.

 

He’s not looking very good. After 5-6 days of doing water changes, he isn’t getting better. He hasn’t eaten in about 5 days, but his belly is still bloated. I’m not sure what to do. Here’s a picture:

 

you will need to do epsom salt baths, though i think he's too far gone. sorry

 

Update: He's still hanging on, and still swims around, though not as often as he used to. Today I noticed that a long stringy poop is hanging from his body. Its coloring makes it look like a dull bloodworm hanging from him. Is this a good sign that he's at least pooping? Does he have parasites?

 

parasites are long stringy and white poop

 

What a beautiful blue boy!

The epsom salt baths will help with the fluid retention. (1 tablespoon per gallon for the bath - use epsom salts with no additives, no scents)

If you can can get some kanaplex and furan-2, I would recommend dosing him with both meds in an effort to combat the underlying infection.

If he continues to decline, and starts to have breathing problems, I am sorry, but I would recommend euthanasia at that point. (you can use clove oil for this - if you need instructions, you can search the site for those). I hope it doesn't get to that piont!

I might take him out of the 5 gallon, and put him into something smaller in order to medicate him, and so it won't affect your snails or the adf.

Sending good thoughts your way!!!!

 

For the last few days he actually seemed to be getting better, in the terms of more swimming and actually trying to eat, but last night he really took at turn for the worse, and his coloring became lighter (due to stress?). His fins were also becoming blackened at the edges, and it was fin rot at its worst.

I don't really think that the epsom baths would've really helped, since netting him out into a different container might have been stressful. I did try dosing him with a light dose of aquarium salt, since I have used it before for fin rot, and have heard it could help with constipation.

Unfortunately he passed away today. He lived a pretty rough life with recurring fin rot since the time he came home from the pet store. I'd like to think that I tried my best with giving him a good life.

 

i'm sorry i'm sure he had a great happy life with you

 

For the last few days he actually seemed to be getting better, in the terms of more swimming and actually trying to eat, but last night he really took at turn for the worse, and his coloring became lighter (due to stress?). His fins were also becoming blackened at the edges, and it was fin rot at its worst.

I don't really think that the epsom baths would've really helped, since netting him out into a different container might have been stressful. I did try dosing him with a light dose of aquarium salt, since I have used it before for fin rot, and have heard it could help with constipation.

Unfortunately he passed away today. He lived a pretty rough life with recurring fin rot since the time he came home from the pet store. I'd like to think that I tried my best with giving him a good life.

So sorry!!!!