Deathwatch - Update

[eudielynn]

I posted last week about my betta Jericho having some sort of problem with something hanging from underneath his gills one day that disappeared and then returned only to disappear again before I could determine what it was. He was also having long stringy white poo, as well as one of my gouramis. I made changes to their diet and gave them several extra feedings of peas. The gourami showed immediate improvement and has had no other problems. I kept an eye on Jericho and did not notice anything else under his gills, but it became obvious that he was not eating. He has always refused peas, but would eat pellet, flake and bloodworms.

Friday I took him back out of the 20 gal he "lives" in and put him in my 1 gal tank because he seemed very lethargic and looked funny. He seemed to be slightly swollen behind his gills. I fasted him Friday and then tried a pea on Saturday. He wouldn't touch it. I tried another one on Sunday, and again yesterday. He still won't touch them. He is swelling more and more every day. Now one side has swollen much larger than the other and he has started having labored breathing. The area around the gill on the side where he is most swollen is blood red, but only on the one side. He is also loosing color taking on an almost gray shade. I tried giving him pellets this morning to get him to eat something, but no go. He has also not had a poo since at least last Friday.

I am positive he is not eating or pooing because the tank he is in has nothing in it and is very easy to check. He is still swimming normally, although very slowly.

It's breaking my heart to see him slipping away like this, so I thought I'd come back with him again and see if there might be any other ideas or suggestions.

Thanks.

 

[Joby]

Oh bless his heart

Aren't bloodworms supposed to help with constipation you could try him with those but he doesn't sound good

sorry, but I have absolutely no idea what you can do for him

 

[50000_tears]

i used to have problems w/ gus when he got old he never refused food at all (he was my little piggy he ate everything except flakes since he was slow and couldent catch them even peas i only have had a few that eat those (Amy ani and gus ani loved them to shed chase them!) when they get old its not a fun experience . Gus was most likley 6 when he died (my mom agreed he wasnt young when she bought him from walmart ) he was very old and he loved me and if you show them you love them they live a long time mine live longer if i show them love and gus knew ,i belive he died of old age or salt over dose (i regret using it i could still of had him now ! he would be 7 reaallly soon (the 30th)) his birthday in 1999 ..so his rescue day is the date so it would be 5/30/1999(mabye 2000). i am sorry i cant help but if you think he is going give him the most love you can.

 

[BettaMomma]

I'm sorry to hear about his condition. Poor little guy.
I know exactly how that feels - you feel completely helpless and it's crushing.

The bloodworms and other foods - without peas to help them move through - *could* all just be piling up inside and causing this problem. Would it be possible for you to find some daphnia? I think it comes in a few forms - dreeze dried, frozen, etc. I would see if you can find some frozen. That's supposed to be a good constipation aid. Most lfs have it, and I've seen it in little freezers at PetSmart before. Just call around to see.

I hate to bring up the "D" word, but it's possible it could be the start of dropsy. The main signs of it are hiding, not eating, swollen body and/or red spots. If that is the case, at least you're in pretty good shape for treating it because he hasn't started pineconing yet, so the chances of curing it are much better at this stage.

If he were mine, this is what I would do:
Pick up some Daphnia, and give that a try. Also (if you don't already have one) pick up an eyedropper so you can squeeze it out right in front of him. Get him a floating live plant (if you don't already have one) so he can beach himself up near the top and not stress to swim up so much. Pick up some Maracyn 2. Get him started on that right away. M2 is also very effective in enticing fish that won't eat to eat again, and for dropsy.

One other option for you is to start calling around to nutrition stores to see if you can get ahold of some colloidal silver, 500 ppm. I just ordered some of it and it's en route to me. That stuff is supposed to work miracles.

Good luck to you and him.

 

[eudielynn]

Joby - I did try bloodworms, he has always eaten them well, but wouldn't touch them the last week or so. Thanks for the suggestion though.

50,000 - You must have loved Gus and given him a great home for him to live that long. I got Jericho in February (Walmart rescue) so I don't believe he would be more than a year or so old. I am showing him all the love I can, but I'm just not ready to give up on him yet.

BM - I'm sure my LFS would have daphina, they seem to have just about everything else I need. I even got them to start carrying blackwater extract. I'll stop on the way home and get some. I will check on collodial silver, don't know if they could order it for me, but it's worth a try. I know GNC here carries it but in a minute dosage. I put a piece of floating plant in the top for him and stuck his thermometer that he sleeps on inside the small tank. I just kept the bottom clear so I could check for food and poo. I really do belive it is constipation, but he just can't seem to get things going and won't eat the peas.

Just thought of something. I had added a few more ghost shrimp into the tank right before all of this started and I have since found several pieces of carcasses floating around in the tank. Didn't think a lot about it since they shed their skins and you do find strange pieces sometimes, but I wonder if Jericho could have been killing them and eating them and now is paying the consequences.

 

[SarahBravo]

If you can only find the low dosage Colloidal Silver it's still worth getting - I just dumped the whole bottle in Bob's tank and it helped him. If you think it may be bacterial I'd certainly try silver and either Maracyn 2 or a combination of MAracyn 1 and 2.

Hope he gets better.

 

[BettaMomma]

Eudie - the shrimp could definitely be the problem.
I'd certainly give the daphnia a try and see if that helps. He could just feel miserable - imagine if you'd eaten something that's that big in comparison to your body.


I'd still think about the colloidal or maracyn 2, too.

 

[eudielynn]

I'll get the Maracyn 2 at the LFS also, I have Maracyn, but not Marycyn 2. Son is going to the mall tonight and will pick up some collodial silver for me at GNC. Just hope I can get this cleared up for Jericho. He looks so pitiful. I know it's his belly that's swollen, but I swear it looks like he has the mumps.

 

[BettaMomma]

Yeah- they look so pitiful when they don't feel well. They stare at you as if theyr'e pleading with you to make them better.

It's so hard.

I think you should be able to get him to pull thru just fine - I have a feeling!

 

[eudielynn]

Thanks, I hope so. Little Hunter here at work doesn't understand why Mom isn't feeling much like playing today. I've had my mind on Jericho all day, but I'll make it up to Hunter tomorrow.

 

[BettaMomma]

Really, really - I tend to think it is related to those shrimp.



And with everything you're working on for him, he's got a VERY good outlook.

 

[eudielynn]

Well, I tried the daphina last night but he wouldn't touch it, I also tried another pea, then I went to the epsom salt dip. He is so lethargic now he barely even tries to get away when I take him from tank to tank. This morning he might have been a little less swollen, and there was definately something resembling poo, but really big, hanging off of him. I was so happy for him, but then it disappeared. It didn't drop off, I triple checked. All I can figure is it went back up inside him. The bottom of the tank is totally clear, it's not on the thermometer or anywere on the floating plant. I gave him another epsom salt dip this morning. He is just drifting at the bottom of his tank.

I also did a water change and vacuumed the gravel in the big tank and found more half eaten ghost shrimp. Since he has not been in the tank in almost a week and I have already cleaned it once before, I know he did not get them. It must be one of my gouramis or the frogs.

I was holding off on the collodial silver because I didn't want to do to much to him at one time, but I think I'm going to put it in tonight. I'm off tomorrow, so I'll update again on Monday. Hopefully I'll have better news.

 

[BettaMomma]

Yeah, hoping for better news.