Betta With Huge Belly, Lump On One Side.

[Raticataticus]

Fred's belly is huge as you can see from the picture. It has been like this for a while and I have made a post about him before but didn't get many answers so I've decided to post it in this section. Both sides are wide, but the side that you can't see in the picture has a lump poking out as well. Does anyone know what's wrong with him?
 
He is eating well, swimming around and otherwise seems fine aside from being a little pale. His poop is a little bit lighter in colour and somewhat white and stringy.
 
Any ideas?
 
I have already tried feeding peas and fasting him. 
 

 

[Ninjouzata]

Poor guy! I'm not sure exactly what could be wrong.. White stringy poo usually indicates internal parasites IIRC.
 
How long did you fast him? What is the temperature of his tank? What have you been feeding/how much?
 
Can you fill out THIS information please?
 
Hopefully someone with more experience comes along soon.

 

[Raticataticus]

Tank size: 8 gallons-ish
pH: 6.7?
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: should be low, just did 90% water change.
kH: Not sure
gH: Not sure   
tank temp: 26 celcius 
 
Only recent additions to tank are plants. It's just Fred in the tank, no friends. I do a water change once a week depending on how bad the nitrate is, usually about 50%. I fasted him for about a week. He eats 3 pellets once per day, sometimes he gets peas.

 

[ReiRei]

From personal experience, this looks like Dropsy in my opinion. Our betta contracted it a month or so ago, and unfortunately he didn't survive it.
If it is dropsy (and please, don't just trust my advice on this, I haven't been fishkeeping as long as other members on here.) as far as I know, there isn't a treatment for it - as dropsy is a symptom for a underlying illness.
 
Quick question:
Are his scales flat? Or do they appear to be pineconed? (sticking up)

 

[Raticataticus]

From personal experience, this looks like Dropsy in my opinion. Our betta contracted it a month or so ago, and unfortunately he didn't survive it.
If it is dropsy (and please, don't just trust my advice on this, I haven't been fishkeeping as long as other members on here.) as far as I know, there isn't a treatment for it - as dropsy is a symptom for a underlying illness.
 
Quick question:
Are his scales flat? Or do they appear to be pineconed? (sticking up)

 
I think if it were dropsy he would be dead by now. His scales are flat. The only place where he is fat is his belly, the rest of his body is normal.

 

[betta fish]

He is a very sick fish 

to me it looks like either a tumour or internal parasites, have you tried treating with an anti parasitic med perhaps? I personally think he may be too far gone to save though.

 

[Raticataticus]

He is a very sick fish 

to me it looks like either a tumour or internal parasites, have you tried treating with an anti parasitic med perhaps? I personally think he may be too far gone to save though.

 I can't find anything around me. Everything seems to be prescription only or you can't get it in Australia.
 
I did go to the local pet shop and ask someone though, she said that it is not unusual for bettas to develop a strange belly shape and she kind of hinted that it was due to poor breeding practices.

 

[looking-glass]

i think if it was dropsy his scales would be sticking out more whats his diet? could it possibly be constipation? some shelled peas would solve this, soaked in garlic as well they would help treat any internal infection

 

[Alasse]

 

He is a very sick fish 

to me it looks like either a tumour or internal parasites, have you tried treating with an anti parasitic med perhaps? I personally think he may be too far gone to save though.

 I can't find anything around me. Everything seems to be prescription only or you can't get it in Australia.
 
I did go to the local pet shop and ask someone though, she said that it is not unusual for bettas to develop a strange belly shape and she kind of hinted that it was due to poor breeding practices.
 

There are internal parasitic medications available in Australia, and you can get them at most pet shops or at a lfs

 

[Raticataticus]

 

 


He is a very sick fish 

to me it looks like either a tumour or internal parasites, have you tried treating with an anti parasitic med perhaps? I personally think he may be too far gone to save though.

 I can't find anything around me. Everything seems to be prescription only or you can't get it in Australia.
 
I did go to the local pet shop and ask someone though, she said that it is not unusual for bettas to develop a strange belly shape and she kind of hinted that it was due to poor breeding practices.
 

There are internal parasitic medications available in Australia, and you can get them at most pet shops or at a lfs

 


Got names of any?

 

[Alasse]

Waterlife Sterazin
 
Big L, a pig and poultry wormer can be used to treat internal parasites
 
These are a few options....
 
Or you can just drop into your local vet and pick up something from them, no different than buying from a store

 

[Wildbetta]

Dropsy does not always show raised scales or cause a fast death.  Some fish live with dropsy for a good while before finally succumbing to whatever has cause it.  
 
Unfortunately this boy looks like he either has a tumor or has dropsy.  Either way I do not know if there is really anything much you can do for him at this point.  You could add epsom salt to his tank to see if it will relieve the swelling any at all which might give him some relief.