I think my betta is dying

[Erin Sweeney]

Hi! I have a betta fish that seems like it has been sick for months now and he finally has stopped eating almost a week ago. He sits at the bottoms and does nothing, he could be in the same spot the entire day and not move once. A while ago he had fin rot which seems to have stopped spreading but it was horrible.. he lost so much of his fins and now he doesn’t spread them out at all. I just don’t know what’s wrong with him. I’ve done water changes, I’ve done small doses of aquarium salt, i’ve tried Furan-2 over the a few months to try and help him. Now it looks like his eyes are going 2 different directions, something is clearly wrong with his eyes if you see the pictures and he’s lost a lot of color. I’ve attached photos of him right now and the tank that he’s been in and a photo of him when i first got him. I had fake grass at the bottoms but took it out when he had fin rot and didn’t want him to tear his fins on the grass, he never goes inside the pineapple and never sat on the suction leaf I had up higher so I took it out. His tank is 3 gallons with a filter and heater. I feel like he might have dropsy because he looks a little spiky but then again, i can’t tell.

 

[JuiceBox52]

He probably has dropsy. What are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels? How often do you do water changes and how much water do you change each time?

 

[Erin Sweeney]

He probably has dropsy. What are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels? How often do you do water changes and how much water do you change each time?

I don’t have a test kit to check, I can get one tomorrow though if he makes it through the night. I just feel like he is so sick and won’t come back from this. I try to change it once a week but that doesn’t always happen and I’ll do about a 50% change.

 

[JuiceBox52]

I don’t have a test kit to check, I can get one tomorrow though if he makes it through the night. I just feel like he is so sick and won’t come back from this. I try to change it once a week but that doesn’t always happen and I’ll do about a 50% change.

I'm afraid he likely wont make it

 

[Erin Sweeney]

I'm afraid he likely wont make it

that’s what i think too but i figured i would ask in case someone might know anything to help him. i just feel so bad because he is suffering

 

[JuiceBox52]

that’s what i think too but i figured i would ask in case someone might know anything to help him. i just feel so bad because he is suffering

Sadly there is not usually a cure for dropsy, especially when it's bad.

If you have clove oil you can put him in a cup and add drops of clove oil to put him to sleep. Or you can take him out, gently wrap him in a paper towel and whack him in the head with a spoon to put him out of his misery. I'm sorry

 

[Barry Tetra]

Do 75%daily water changes, add pool salt, rocksalt or aquarium salt at dose rate of 2 table spoon per 20 liters of water.

 

[EllRog]

Sadly there is not usually a cure for dropsy, especially when it's bad.

If you have clove oil you can put him in a cup and add drops of clove oil to put him to sleep. Or you can take him out, gently wrap him in a paper towel and whack him in the head with a spoon to put him out of his misery. I'm sorry

I'm sorry, I understand the severity here and it is a heart breaking time. But the last part of this comment destroyed me

 

[JuiceBox52]

I'm sorry, I understand the severity here and it is a heart breaking time. But the last part of this comment destroyed me

I have never been able to bring myself to use that method

 

[EllRog]

I have never been able to bring myself to use that method

Na, me neither, I dont have the bottle for that. I try and save chicks that have fallen from nests and field mice that have lost fights to cats!

 

[Mr Tomato]

Hi! I have a betta fish that seems like it has been sick for months now and he finally has stopped eating almost a week ago. He sits at the bottoms and does nothing, he could be in the same spot the entire day and not move once. A while ago he had fin rot which seems to have stopped spreading but it was horrible.. he lost so much of his fins and now he doesn’t spread them out at all. I just don’t know what’s wrong with him. I’ve done water changes, I’ve done small doses of aquarium salt, i’ve tried Furan-2 over the a few months to try and help him. Now it looks like his eyes are going 2 different directions, something is clearly wrong with his eyes if you see the pictures and he’s lost a lot of color. I’ve attached photos of him right now and the tank that he’s been in and a photo of him when i first got him. I had fake grass at the bottoms but took it out when he had fin rot and didn’t want him to tear his fins on the grass, he never goes inside the pineapple and never sat on the suction leaf I had up higher so I took it out. His tank is 3 gallons with a filter and heater. I feel like he might have dropsy because he looks a little spiky but then again, i can’t tell.

Hi.. how old is the poor critter. Maybe there's a possible answer in the question.

 

[dmpfishlover]

Hi! I have a betta fish that seems like it has been sick for months now and he finally has stopped eating almost a week ago. He sits at the bottoms and does nothing, he could be in the same spot the entire day and not move once. A while ago he had fin rot which seems to have stopped spreading but it was horrible.. he lost so much of his fins and now he doesn’t spread them out at all. I just don’t know what’s wrong with him. I’ve done water changes, I’ve done small doses of aquarium salt, i’ve tried Furan-2 over the a few months to try and help him. Now it looks like his eyes are going 2 different directions, something is clearly wrong with his eyes if you see the pictures and he’s lost a lot of color. I’ve attached photos of him right now and the tank that he’s been in and a photo of him when i first got him. I had fake grass at the bottoms but took it out when he had fin rot and didn’t want him to tear his fins on the grass, he never goes inside the pineapple and never sat on the suction leaf I had up higher so I took it out. His tank is 3 gallons with a filter and heater. I feel like he might have dropsy because he looks a little spiky but then again, i can’t tell.

I would not be inclined to think that he has dropsy, as his abdomen does not really look very extended (at least from what I can tell in the pictures). Dropsy is not actually a disease, it is a condition where the abdomen fills with fluid and swells, and it is usually a symptom of another underlying condition such as an internal bacterial or parasitic infection or poor kidney/liver function. So dropsy is not incurable... most of it's underlying conditions are treatable if caught soon enough and treatment provided (with the exception of kidney/liver failure). I would look into the possibility of an internal infection. What does the fishes poop look like? (if this hasn't already been brought up?) Also, the fact that there is something affecting his eyes, could be indicative of some kind of brain infection.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

The betta likely won’t make it...

It seems it has fin rot and dropsy.

The best thing you can do for it now, is to euthanize it. That is the most humane thing possible at the moment.

You can either use clove oil, or wrap it up in a napkin and give it a sharp, quick knock on the head with a spoon, or a metal pole.

 

[dmpfishlover]

I agree... I think that regardless of what the poor little guy has, he is pretty far gone based on the pictures, and that euthanasia would probably be the most humane thing right now.