10 Gallon Tank Possible Betta Dropsy

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 10G
How long has the tank been running? 3 months
Does it have a filter? Sponge filter
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 78
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)1 betta, 4 pygmy cories

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Weekly
How much of the water do you change? 40-50%
What do you use to treat your water? Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Yes

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? API kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.8
(I did a water change today)
Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?Once daily
How much do you feed your fish? Two pellets, 1 catfish pellet
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Ocean Nutrition betta pellets, Omega One catfish shrimp pellets
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? I feed frozen brine shrimp twice a week

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 2 months
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? 2 weeks ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
The betta is grotesquely bloated and lethargic
Have you started any treatment for the illness? I've fasted the tank for 2 days after giving a blanched pea
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all large stomach, lethargy, trouble swimming

I speculate he is eating the catfish pellets, but I do not want to rule out dropsy

 

For starters, it seems like you have an algae problem, which a magic eraser, frequent cleanings, and a little TLC can help. As for the bloat I wouldn’t have recommended feeding a pea as that is mainly used for goldfish bloat. I do recommend feeding daphnia, live or freeze dried, as well as doing an Epsom salt bath if his scales start pineconing from the dropsy. Remember that you must separate your fish from the others if you are going to do a salt bath. Cories tend to be salt sensitive. He is more than likely eating their pellets. Start cleaning out unwanted food faster before your betta gets to it. I also recommend a fast for your betta once a week, as he will probably never stop being an overeater. My betta is the same way with algae wafers, and is a total food hog. Daphnia and fasts helped a lot.

 

About the algae issue, I but a bunch of new plants in and all the dead leaves floated up and that's when the water turned green shortly after so I speculate that's why it's so bad. I have an overstocked 29 (5 cories, 10 Serpaes, 1 Bolivian Ram, and lots of baby swordtails) and am just considering moving the catfish away because I cannot stop the betta from eating the pellets. The lights are off so I'll have to check for pineconing. I'll also try and get some daphnia from my lfs. I have one of those "Dial-a-treat" wheels for bettas that has dried daphnia on there, will that work? Also about that algae situation, I'm considering putting a UV filter or a HOB with poly fill to clear the water.

 

I had a betta who got to an algae wafer. At first she looked like that, so I just assumed she was bloated and fasted her. She ended up having dropsy and she didn’t make it. Take bettafairy’s advice, but definitely be careful. Good luck

 

About the algae issue, I but a bunch of new plants in and all the dead leaves floated up and that's when the water turned green shortly after so I speculate that's why it's so bad. I have an overstocked 29 (5 cories, 10 Serpaes, 1 Bolivian Ram, and lots of baby swordtails) and am just considering moving the catfish away because I cannot stop the betta from eating the pellets. The lights are off so I'll have to check for pineconing. I'll also try and get some daphnia from my lfs. I have one of those "Dial-a-treat" wheels for bettas that has dried daphnia on there, will that work? Also about that algae situation, I'm considering putting a UV filter or a HOB with poly fill to clear the water.

The dried daphnia will work perfectly, feed 2 small pieces to him in the morning. He should start passing waste and the bloat will lessen. The algae bloom will go down with water changes.

 

About the algae issue, I but a bunch of new plants in and all the dead leaves floated up and that's when the water turned green shortly after so I speculate that's why it's so bad. I have an overstocked 29 (5 cories, 10 Serpaes, 1 Bolivian Ram, and lots of baby swordtails) and am just considering moving the catfish away because I cannot stop the betta from eating the pellets. The lights are off so I'll have to check for pineconing. I'll also try and get some daphnia from my lfs. I have one of those "Dial-a-treat" wheels for bettas that has dried daphnia on there, will that work? Also about that algae situation, I'm considering putting a UV filter or a HOB with poly fill to clear the water.

I looked at the betta from above and the bulged area doesn't appear to be pineconing (I looked up pictures and I assume that's when the scales jut out of the sides and make the bulge look like a pinecone from above). The bloated area was smooth but I will still keep a close eye on the fish.

The dried daphnia will work perfectly, feed 2 small pieces to him in the morning. He should start passing waste and the bloat will lessen. The algae bloom will go down with water changes.

I'm an obsessive thinker when it comes to my fish so I need to learn to slow down lol. I'll feed daphnia and fast once a week normally. What should I do about the catfish pellet?

 

I had a betta who got to an algae wafer. At first she looked like that, so I just assumed she was bloated and fasted her. She ended up having dropsy and she didn’t make it. Take bettafairy’s advice, but definitely be careful. Good luck

I looked at the betta from above and the bulged area doesn't appear to be pineconing (I looked up pictures and I assume that's when the scales jut out of the sides and make the bulge look like a pinecone from above). The bloated area was smooth but I will still keep a close eye on the fish.

I'm an obsessive thinker when it comes to my fish so I need to learn to slow down lol. I'll feed daphnia and fast once a week normally. What should I do about the catfish pellet?

My betta eats algae wafers a lot, and his bloat goes down with fasts and Daphnia. As far as the pellets id recommend feeding less, like one pellet per 3 fish. The bloat looks slightly severe but can still be treated. Keep monitoring but don’t stress the fish out. I understand how it feels to worry yourself to death over these little guys. You are most likely going to have to do an Epsom salt bath if the daphnia doesn’t cause him to poop.

 

I only throw in one pellet for the 4 catfish because they are so small. Because I have no spare tanks, how would I go about an Epsom salt bath. Would I drain some tank water into a plastic tub or something along those lines?

 

I only throw in one pellet for the 4 catfish because they are so small. Because I have no spare tanks, how would I go about an Epsom salt bath. Would I drain some tank water into a plastic tub or something along those lines?

Pure Epsom salt can be purchased at fish stores or online. Putting him in a 3 gallon hospital container like a plastic tub would work well. Create a bath by adding 2.5 teaspoons of epsom salt for every ten gallons of water in the hospital tank. (Lower the amount for less gallons) The magnesium sulfate in the salt draws the excess water out of the bettas body that caused it to swell up.

 

How long should I bathe him in said tub?

 

How long should I bathe him in said tub?

15-25 minutes : )

 

Alright last question I swear. Should I keep feeding daphnia daily until the bloating goes down, and should I do it every time he bloats? Also should I do a salt bath every time bloating symptoms show or just when it gets bad?

 

Feed daphnia for a day and then fast for a day. Alternate and monitor his bloat. Salt baths are only for severe bloat, and he seems to almost have dropsy. It’s better to start treatment early and get the waste out of his tummy.

 

Alright thanks a lot for the help!

 

Alright thanks a lot for the help!

No problem : )

 

I gave him a salt bath in a ~1 gallon container with about half a teaspoon of salt today, I also fed him some daphnia which he quickly spit out at first but then ate. I haven't seen an improvement in his bloat, and am wondering if I should do a salt bath daily or do it once and wait it out?

I examined his bloated area and noticed that a bulging out part was almost translucent, which leads me to believe it's purely filled with liquid because I could vaguely see light shining through it. I'm anxious and not exactly optimistic about his survival but I do not want to give up on him.

 

Try doing the salt bath every two - three days or if his condition worsens. You should only have to do treatment for a couple of weeks. I’m going through something similar, as I just took on a friend’s betta whose sick with fin rot, who I’m giving salt bath as well. It’s definitely a process but we can’t give up!