Betta

[Pado]

I have a two year old Betta that became ill last week .... I have had him two years in an Eclipse 12 Gallon tank ... only other occupant is a snail. Water conditions are all fine according to my tests ...

Nitrate/Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
pH Level 6.8 - 7
Temp turned up to 82 degrees from its regular temp of 80 degrees.

His stomach is bloated, he is not eating and stays hidden on the bottom of the tank, coming up only for air ... his scales appear to be raised ( to my eye anyway ) so sounds like Dropsy from what I read on the Web.

I have been treating the tank with Maracyn-Two for the past 4 days ... one more tablet left to give tomorrow to complete treatment. I have also added Epsom salt to the tank as suggested on a Betta Site I visited.

He has not gotten any better with treatment so I am assuming he may not recover from this as I understand Dropsy is almost always fatal.

Does anyone have any idea how long Dropsy takes to kill a fish ... It has been a week now and I'd hate to think it will drag out much longer for him.... or any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[gadazobe]

Sorry to hear about your betta. It is possible to cure fish with dropsy. 2 years is a good age for a betta and I hope you succeed in curing him. I can't help with an answer to your question - sorry

 

[Pado]

Thank you gadazobe for your reply. It is good to know it is possible to cure Dropsy... your response was appreciated.

 

[big G]

sounds dodgy! i had a 8 month qld beta individual character , sadly was forced 2 flush him along whith various others due 2 90% pos dropsy infection. my local trop fish ex advised this saying "if its swollen and its scales are peeling up theres no return and if ya waite till it bursts the bacteria/virus will b released in 2 cycle and it could b bad" so im sorry but prepare 4 the worst. a red eye tetra was my first 2 pop and id say it took about 5-10 days