One betta from new sorority pineconing but not acting sick.

Hi all. I added 5 female bettas to my established pygmy cory and green neon tetra tank. I watched them carefully the 1st 3 days on day 3 I noticed the largest of the girls looked like her scales were lifting. She was swimming around and breathing normally, doesn't seem particularly stressed and was least involved in the early chasing out of the girls.

29g tank, parameters are pH 7.5, ammonia 9 nitrite 0 nitrate 15, 79°F, stocking 17 Green neon tetra 17 pygmy corys, blue dream shrimp, ramshorn snails. It's well planted with a deep substrate and it runs stable with me doing a 30% water change every 2 weeks. I was planning on doing 25% every week after adding bettas.

I've moved the pineconing betta to a 1.5g hospital tank with airstone, 78° and aquarium salt (3/4 tsp). I did this last night and this morning she looks about the same. I've added a pic from today after she spent 12hrs in the hospital. I'd really appreciate if anyone has had any experience with this. I've had some people say pineconing can happen from over eating or being full of eggs. Her body shape doesn't look much different from when I got her on Thursday

 

Well, is she swollen? If shes swollen, then it could of course just be overeating or eggs.
You already added her to a hospital tank and added salt, so the next step is to feed fresh, high quality foods, keep an eye on her, change her water, and treat with antibiotics. Sometimes the illness is so far in, that the successful treatment rate is low, and treatment might even cause more damage, damage to the kidneys that includes. I don't think it's too late for her though. If she isn't severely bloated, then it's mild, or slowly progressing. I once read that a combination of Mardel’s Maracyn and Maracyn-Two can either help either ease or cure it. My friend used kanacyn though, so I don't know what is more efficient. Kanacyn is said to be very strong, and cause possible side effects of additional damage. Try soaking pellet food in a mixture of tank water and antibiotic and then feed it to her. This can be done instead of package directions, and might help heal faster.
Whether or not you decide to treat her or not, it is extremely important that she is comfortable. Ensure the water is roughly 80 degree F, and is lowered to around 4-5 inches. Also make sure there is no substrate, and plenty of live or velvety soft fake plants in her hospital tank.
Many medications will cause oxygen to be strict, so the air stone you mentioned is a great idea. Aquarium salt (you mentioned already applying) will help with bloating (1/2 tsp per gallon), and release some of the built of fluids causing bloat. In the end, is she badly bloated, or mildly?
All my luck!

 

Well, is she swollen? If shes swollen, then it could of course just be overeating or eggs.
You already added her to a hospital tank and added salt, so the next step is to feed fresh, high quality foods, keep an eye on her, change her water, and treat with antibiotics. Sometimes the illness is so far in, that the successful treatment rate is low, and treatment might even cause more damage, damage to the kidneys that includes. I don't think it's too late for her though. If she isn't severely bloated, then it's mild, or slowly progressing. I once read that a combination of Mardel’s Maracyn and Maracyn-Two can either help either ease or cure it. My friend used kanacyn though, so I don't know what is more efficient. Kanacyn is said to be very strong, and cause possible side effects of additional damage. Try soaking pellet food in a mixture of tank water and antibiotic and then feed it to her. This can be done instead of package directions, and might help heal faster.
Whether or not you decide to treat her or not, it is extremely important that she is comfortable. Ensure the water is roughly 80 degree F, and is lowered to around 4-5 inches. Also make sure there is no substrate, and plenty of live or velvety soft fake plants in her hospital tank.
Many medications will cause oxygen to be strict, so the air stone you mentioned is a great idea. Aquarium salt (you mentioned already applying) will help with bloating (1/2 tsp per gallon), and release some of the built of fluids causing bloat. In the end, is she badly bloated, or mildly?
All my luck!

She doesn't look particularly bloated. She is the largest of the females I got but her body looks normal, no bulging anywhere. I can post more pics but I had to leave the house for a few hours. It's so strange because she seems to be acting normal, aside from her scales sticking out.

I have been fasting her since yesterday but I have frozen daphnia to feed her.i ordered some Kanaplex also but wanted to do the salt 1st. I'm stumped, I've had 2 fish pinecone before and they were very clearly suffering and had been sick for a few days prior, death happened within a day or 2. This girl is just chilling.

I can never get videos to work here but I'll get pics from a few angles later on.
Here's some pics from the 13th & 14th, her body shape is the same as now as far as I can tell. I'll add some later to compare her shape

 

Hmm...she looks mildly bloated, but it could just be over eating or eggs.
(Horrible betta parenting, so don't judge, I already know...)
I took a whole block of blood worms, put them in a glass sauce cup, and -forgetting the laws of physics- floated it for defrosting, in my most aggressive eating female betta's tank! I left to go do something, and when I came back, she had nipped it so it tipped and dumped in her tank. 30 blood worms, and no one's lying when they say that bettas will eat themselves to death. She at 10, and i panicked, scooped her into a cup, and picked out every last worm. SHe was HUGE! I was gonna cry, since she is my favorite rescue. SHe was pineconing, and could hardly swim up to the surface. After a week, she was back to her normal weight, and is still alive today. So, in the end, I can't exactly determine what's causing the pineconing, but I still think it's fluid build up. Treatment's the same.

 

Hmm...she looks mildly bloated, but it could just be over eating or eggs.
(Horrible betta parenting, so don't judge, I already know...)
I took a whole block of blood worms, put them in a glass sauce cup, and -forgetting the laws of physics- floated it for defrosting, in my most aggressive eating female betta's tank! I left to go do something, and when I came back, she had nipped it so it tipped and dumped in her tank. 30 blood worms, and no one's lying when they say that bettas will eat themselves to death. She at 10, and i panicked, scooped her into a cup, and picked out every last worm. SHe was HUGE! I was gonna cry, since she is my favorite rescue. SHe was pineconing, and could hardly swim up to the surface. After a week, she was back to her normal weight, and is still alive today. So, in the end, I can't exactly determine what's causing the pineconing, but I still think it's fluid build up. Treatment's the same.

Omg thats quite the story! Haha, I usually grab a little tank water and put the cube in there and place the cup on the tank light, they are a little warm. I have been giving them small pinches of flake a couple times a day when I 1st put them it, she's a fast fish and maybe she did over eat. I'm gonna keep her in the temp tank for a while to watch her, daily water changes and salt. It she gets worse I'll use one of my meds. I'll try some daphnia tonight and see if she poops. I haven't noticed and poop in the her tank yet.

 

Yes, stringy or no poop, is a sign of bloat or constipation. Definitely keep an eye on her.

 

Just checked on her, she looks a little slimmer now, still spikey scales tho. One side maybe a little more distended but could be a trick of the light. Hard photographing a white betta on white background I've heard daphnia is like a laxative so I'll probably give her a little tonight. I've attached some pics I just took and the last one is from earlier today where she looks wider, again nit sure if it's the lighting. Thank you so much for your support, I was panicking!

 

Of course! Always nice helping out a fellow betta owner!
Again, the pineconing still doesn't look too severe, but keep an eye out for progression.
And yes, she does look slightly less "fat".
I still suggest Maracyn though. It's specifically formulated for dropsy/pineconing.