Female Betta With Dropsy

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I've posted this in the emergency section as well as it may get looked at more but I thought I'd post it in here as well for everyone to see and possibly help

Original post Here

It looks like one of my female bettas has dropsy

She is bloated and has slight pineconing. I’ve been thinking she hasn’t been acting her normal self for a day, but there were no symptoms, however yesterday morning when I got up to say hello she didn’t come to see me, I thought it was odd and thought sometimes they don’t always come to see me in the morning, so I left her until I came in from work; when she was sitting on the gravel, so I took her out and she is separated.

She is now in a 1.5 gallon filtered tank alone, temperature is around 25 celsius.

Stats:
0ppm Ammonia
0ppm Nitrite
And approximately 5ppm Nitrate.

I added a little myxazin (spelling? – the stuff that turns the water blue anyway), and a quarter tea-spoon of Aquarium salt.

I tried to give her a little pea to eat; which she did eat.

I don’t know if she is just bloated or has dropsy.

This specific girl generally scavenges her food off the bottom of the tank so I don’t know if she has picked up a bit of dodgy food; or if something else has caused it.

Should I keep trying to feed her pea, or should I starve her to see if it is bloating/constipation? What else can I do to help my lil girl along?

 

[loraxchick]

i always suspect constipation with any sort of bloating and lethargy before dropsy. dropsy is not as common as it is made out to be and really no treatment if it IS true dropsy. so treat as if severely constipated (and in theis case as its a female very eggy on top of it).
constipation can also cause pineconing if really bloated. id suggest no food for three days. then bitof pea and fast for another day. epsom salt dips in a mixture of 1 teaspoon/gal for up to 30 mins up to 2X a day. should help dra w the fluid out and help poo if constipated.
have you seen her poo recently? what did it look like? any chance of a pic of her condition?
all the best!
keep us posted.
cheers

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

severe constipation can cause pineconing. never give up on the fish! they can suprise you. so i dont suggest thinking about euthanizing. have you seen him poo? what did it look like? any chance of a pic?
epsom salt baths at 1 teaspoon/gal. leave in the bath for up to 30 mins 2X a day. will help draw fluid out and help poo. also advisable treatment for dropsy so killing 2 birds with one stone (and only recommended dropsy treatment IMO as usually dont respond to meds for true dropsy).
best of luck
cheers

There is no way I am giving up on her; she is still semi-active and hungry so I'm hoping it is constipation. I'm so determined because she is "miss-unpopular"; I think she is really pretty but no one else does (she is this colour here).

I've not seen any poo; I wouldn't have seen it in the main tank anyway as I wouldn't have known whos was whos; but I have black gravel in the tank she is in now so I'll be able to see easily.

I'll definately try the salt baths. I'll do it as soon as I get in, and then quickly before bed again; I know it won't be long between baths but I want to try and get caught up asap.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

She is still with me , she’s had two Epsom salt baths now . This morning she swam away from the net and actually showed interest when I ‘woke’ her up this morning. Hopefully that is a good sign.

Next Question; I’m fasting her for 3 days and then in Friday (day 4) I will feed her pea. I’m just wondering after that should I feed her normally again or should I fast her again, or try her with pea again?

 

[loraxchick]

give her the pea and fast for another 2 days. after that, very small amount of food. try to stay away from dried foods like pellets or freezedried if you can (a few flakes would be best as they dont swell like pellets), or 1 or 2 bloodworms. then dont feed her again for a few days, all the while keep using the dips.
what is the ratio of salt you are mixing for the dips? should be around 1 teaspoon/gal.
all the best
cheers!

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I was using half a teaspoon per half gallon (purely cos my conatainer I've been putting her in is half a gallon) lol.

I never give them freezedried food but I do give them pellets. I do have a tub of betta flakes but no one has liked them so I'll try her with them , I have blood worms on the go for my newts fairly often as well .

 

[loraxchick]

ratio of salt is fine. so keep that mixture.
the problem with pellets is that we as keepers plop them in the water dry (generally speaking). the fish eats them. have you EVER seen how large they get when they swell?? and folks feeding 4-5 at a time every day. thats too much food! their stomach is only as large as their eyeball. so 1-2 pellets every OTHER day is plenty!!! any more and youre asking for trouble due to their short (meat-eater) digestive tract. thats why they are so prone to bloat and "dropsy" (90% of the time its constipation thatis labeled dropsy in bettas- can also cause pine-coning and death. sad really). i always use flake as staple food with bettas as it limits this problem).
if she is hungry, she will eat the flake. its gotta smell just like pellets (all made from the same stuff just looks different). you could try soaking the flake in bloodworm "juice" to entice her to eat them. flakes dont swell like pellets when added to the water. just go soft. limits the digestion problems that flake and freezedried foods can and do cause. i have no idea why most folks are so adamant about only feeding pellets..and specific brand of pellets at that??? flake is better staple for a lot of reasons. just my two cents.
best of luck with her. please keep us posted.
cheers

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Well her shape had changed this morning; can't tell if it's better or worse but I thought she looked a little smaller this morning anyway. I've been making sure to get up earlier and give her a bath before I go to work lol - needless to say I'm tired!

She is now swimming away from the net when I go to get her and she is moving around a little but still not much.

She can have some pea tonight (I'm quite excited to see if she wants it).

I can buy the flakes in my LFS but I have to get the pellets online so it would be easier if they'd all eat flakes. I'll try the other girls with flakes and alternate it more. They do get frozen blood worms or brine shrimp (or both) once or twice a week as well.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Sadly she died during the night.

Friday she was a new fish; swimming around with loads of energy. Saturday she was a little "tired" but still had loads of energy to swim away from the net; Sunday the same - however by this point I knew she wouldn't survive. I decided I'd finish up the salt baths yesterday and then see how she was today and then do the kind thing. I'd have put her down yesterday - however she had loads of energy to swim away from the net so I was hoping she'd be ok, even though I knew she wasn't.

I'm disappointed she died and that I couldn't save her; however I am pleased as she is no longer suffering.

R.I.P Dee .

 

[Loops]

RIP, Sorry to hear that xx