I bought a betta because he had fin rot, but could he be developing dropsy too?

[charlitfc]

Hi there,

As the title suggests, I saw this little guy in a fish shop, in a dirty tank full of dead mollies. He was incredibly underweight but still really energetic and I couldn't just leave him there to die. He's got some fin rot that I'm trying to tackle with aquarium salt and melafix, but I'm not seeing any improvement yet. He's eating well, and I'm feeding him a little every two hours to try and get his weight up. I noticed his belly is starting to bulge a little, and I'm wondering if it's dropsy or just his digestive tract getting used to eating properly.

 

[FishkeeperLinz]

Hi there,

As the title suggests, I saw this little guy in a fish shop, in a dirty tank full of dead mollies. He was incredibly underweight but still really energetic and I couldn't just leave him there to die. He's got some fin rot that I'm trying to tackle with aquarium salt and melafix, but I'm not seeing any improvement yet. He's eating well, and I'm feeding him a little every two hours to try and get his weight up. I noticed his belly is starting to bulge a little, and I'm wondering if it's dropsy or just his digestive tract getting used to eating properly.

Every 2 hours? You're overfeeding him. If you needed to feed him up, better to feed 3 times a day or so.

It's ill-advised to buy a fish from a tank with dead or dying fish in it, although I understand why you did. I would have informed the shop assistant and advised them that the Betta needs treatment. What country are you in? In Britain, I believe it's illegal to knowingly sell sick animals anyway. I'd have to look it up.

How long have you had him?

 

[Essjay]

I would also stop using Melafix. It contains aromatic oils which can mess with the labyrinth organ so shouldn't be used in tanks containing bettas or gouramis. (Pimafix and Bettafix, which is just dilute Melafix, shouldn't be used either). Salt is the best treatment for finrot.

 

[Colin_T]

Just do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for 2 weeks. This will keep the number of disease organisms in the water low so the fins can heal.

Add 1-2 heaped tablespoons of salt for every 20 litres of water. Keep the salt in the water for 2 weeks. This will also reduce the number of disease organisms in the water.

The fish probably has a fat stomach because you are feeding it a lot. I would feed 2-3 times a day for a couple of weeks and use a variety of different foods.