Huge blister on betta

[Omseramo]

Symptoms: my betta has a huge marble sized blister on the left side. It's almost translucent. She was quite lethargic but has been more active lately. She eats and poops. She has been hiding in the skull a lot or behind the filter and in the plant. Not normal. She seems to swim fine.

tank size: 5 gallons heated and filtered with No tank mates except a live plant that has been there for a year.

I change 25% of the water every week.

Parameters:
I have the dip strips.
Nitrate 5
Nitrite 3.0
Hardness- very hard
Ph 7.2
Alkalinity 80
Ammonia ideal
I realize the nitrite is high and I believe that is in relation to my treatments. When this first started the parameters were all in normal ideal ranges.

I will say that I believe this started around Christmas. I was very sick and her tank was not properly cleaned for about a month. The bloating started around then. Initially I thought she was constipated. Stopped feeding for a few days then resumed and she was pooping. The bloating turned into a blister and kept growing in April and I decided it was dropsy related to an intestinal infection. I gave her one dose of praziquantel in a hospital tank and I began dipping her in baths twice a day with methylene blue, salts, and kanaplex. I also gave kanaplex in the hospital tank after a water change from the praziquantel. After about 10 days of that treatment I took a break for a week and put her back in her tank. Then I began dipping and used kanaplex and nitrofurazone in the tank again. I also gave her metroplex in her food. Yes I realize I've made a hot mess with the tank and I am sorry. I should have posted earlier in a forum but I thought I had it figured out. I'm just trying to help her get better. Please help.

 

[ChloesQuestions]

It appears to be dropsy, dropsy requires quarantinement. You must act ASAP otherwise it may die.
Dropsy: Dropsy is not a disease, but a symptom of a bacterial infection. It surfaces as a swollen or bloated condition where the fish’s scales stand out like little pinecones. This is a serious infection and unless appropriate treatment is administered, the afflicted Betta may die.
Treat it if you can!
Treatment and info on dropsy: http://www.bettafishcenter.com/Dropsy.shtml

(I know you treated it but it is still there apparently, act quick and good luck)

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Nitrite is at 3?!

That's the biggest issue right now. You need to do a massive water change and I mean massive.

Add some epsom salt to the dip in an attempt to bring the swelling down.

 

[Omseramo]

I did a 50% water change and an epsom salt dip for 15 min- she seemed to like it- no signs of stress. Thank you both for your help- anymore suggestions?

 

[NickAu]

Ammonia ideal

Have you got the actual numbers?

 

[HarpyFishLover]

I don't think this is dropsy. Usually dropsy is symmetrical and the scales look like a pinecone when you look at the fish from the top. I would say lymphocistus (is that how it's spelled?), but this looks a lot different from the lymphocistus I have seen. It might be something similar. I could try Googling it, since people haven't really been all that helpful...

Edit-- After a bit of Googling, I think it's either a swim bladder issue or a tumor. It looks more like swim bladder. Definitely not dropsy, because his scales are not raised. Hopefully somebody with more expertise can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Omseramo]

Have you got the actual numbers?

I believe it to be between 0 and .25 ammonia.

 

[Omseramo]

I don't think this is dropsy. Usually dropsy is symmetrical and the scales look like a pinecone when you look at the fish from the top. I would say lymphocistus (is that how it's spelled?), but this looks a lot different from the lymphocistus I have seen. It might be something similar. I could try Googling it, since people haven't really been all that helpful...

Edit-- After a bit of Googling, I think it's either a swim bladder issue or a tumor. It looks more like swim bladder. Definitely not dropsy, because his scales are not raised. Hopefully somebody with more expertise can correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks I will do some research on lymphocistus and swim bladder. It's nice to have other people look at it and steer me in a direction I haven't looked yet

 

[Essjay]

I don't think it is lymphocystis. I've had a betta with that and your fish looks nothing like mine did. There are photos of my fish in this thread for you to compare http://www.fishforums.net/threads/is-this-lymphocystis.441031/

 

[Omseramo]

The blister has not really reduced in size and she remains the same. Any other ideas? Could this be a tumor? I have been doing 25% water changes every other day- parameters are all fine except the alkalinity is a little high.