Aequora
Fish Fanatic
My largest female Betta was starting to get egg plump this week and I kept up her usual diet of pellets/Betta friendly tropical fish pellets/a few blood worms every now and again and then the weekly pea + a day or two of fasting. I’ve done this routine for nearly half a year with her and the three other Betta she shares a community tank with.
About Wednesday, I specifically searched for her to see how she was coming along with her big belly. In the past, she’d get so swollen with eggs one couldn’t help but feel sorry for her as they watched her try to swim around the tank without looking like a mac-truck making wide turns. But on this past Wednesday (10/8) I noticed she was starting to get stocky. Assuming that maybe she was getting a little TOO much to eat, being the biggest and feistiest female on the block, I skipped forward to a day of fasting to see if things would clear up on their own-as they always had. The next day, she was even stockier and now she appeared slightly swollen all the way around, so I pushed forward her pea day and she gobbled up a half of one without hesitation. When she swam in circles-thinking I would feed her more-I noticed how splayed her scales were. It wasn’t normal.
I’m pretty sure my girl has a developing case of dropsy. I know what the end results will most likely be, but I moved her to a hospital tank regardless to get her out of whatever conditions were causing the problem. I have read so many conflicting opinions and advice about how and what to treat with. Epsom salt, no Epsom salt; aquarium salt, no salt. All-around Ich remedies and even suggestions to use Maracyn, Maracyn-Two combined. Honestly, I don’t know which set of advice to follow. I would like to do my best to save my poor fish until I see that she is clearly suffering and her quality of life has diminished. She’s still very active, she’s still eating as voraciously as before, her scales are a bit raised, but when I look for the jagged outline alone her back-I can just barely see any indication of scale problems. She hasn’t developed any sores, no signs of popeye, no fin or swimming problems. She’s no sluggish then she’s always been.
She's currently in a semi-shallow bare bottom hospital tank. Water parameters are in the clear. I’ve place a heater and a small air stone in with her and I do daily water changes between 15-25% depending on how the water looks-it appears she's shedding something, but I'm not sure what it is. Kept the bottom clear of substrate so I could see if she excreted anything
Either way, I was wondering what you all had to say about the matter. I’m aware some people would rather just euthanize the fish and avoid the hassle, but I would like to avoid that until it’s proven there’s no clear chance hope.
About Wednesday, I specifically searched for her to see how she was coming along with her big belly. In the past, she’d get so swollen with eggs one couldn’t help but feel sorry for her as they watched her try to swim around the tank without looking like a mac-truck making wide turns. But on this past Wednesday (10/8) I noticed she was starting to get stocky. Assuming that maybe she was getting a little TOO much to eat, being the biggest and feistiest female on the block, I skipped forward to a day of fasting to see if things would clear up on their own-as they always had. The next day, she was even stockier and now she appeared slightly swollen all the way around, so I pushed forward her pea day and she gobbled up a half of one without hesitation. When she swam in circles-thinking I would feed her more-I noticed how splayed her scales were. It wasn’t normal.
I’m pretty sure my girl has a developing case of dropsy. I know what the end results will most likely be, but I moved her to a hospital tank regardless to get her out of whatever conditions were causing the problem. I have read so many conflicting opinions and advice about how and what to treat with. Epsom salt, no Epsom salt; aquarium salt, no salt. All-around Ich remedies and even suggestions to use Maracyn, Maracyn-Two combined. Honestly, I don’t know which set of advice to follow. I would like to do my best to save my poor fish until I see that she is clearly suffering and her quality of life has diminished. She’s still very active, she’s still eating as voraciously as before, her scales are a bit raised, but when I look for the jagged outline alone her back-I can just barely see any indication of scale problems. She hasn’t developed any sores, no signs of popeye, no fin or swimming problems. She’s no sluggish then she’s always been.
She's currently in a semi-shallow bare bottom hospital tank. Water parameters are in the clear. I’ve place a heater and a small air stone in with her and I do daily water changes between 15-25% depending on how the water looks-it appears she's shedding something, but I'm not sure what it is. Kept the bottom clear of substrate so I could see if she excreted anything
Either way, I was wondering what you all had to say about the matter. I’m aware some people would rather just euthanize the fish and avoid the hassle, but I would like to avoid that until it’s proven there’s no clear chance hope.
