NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[Pointy_kitty]

my neighbour had a betta which he had no idea how to take care of,
he had it in a small jar which he changed about once a month if the little fish was lucky!
after a year the fish went from a brilliant blue/jet black to a dull blue/grey
so he finally gave it to me
i had no room in any suitably tanks so i did put him in a bowl (don't hate me! )
i have been changing it regularly, and doing everything possible to get it bright and healthy again (proper diet, cleaning, plant and house and a tiny bit of salt to heal its tiny scrapes)
i've had it for 3 weeks now and it has had little appetite.
i did notice when i got it that its scales looked a bit rough but not potruding
yesterday morning i checked and it lookes like a little pineapple!
i was so upset, so i changed the water, added a bit of salt and about 4 drops of melafix (dropsy can be cause by bacterial infections)
then, due to the fact that you guys have been saying that this medication is too pungent for bettas, i took procations and added a tiny air pump i found for a 3 gallon

i did all i could and i know its pretty much fatal but have any of you found a miracle cure???

please say yes i feal as if i did this to him!

 

[Flowerpetal]

I'm so sorry If it is dropsy it is almost always fatal. You can try tetracycline antibiotic, but I don't know how much that is going to help. It's a terrible fish disease. Make him comfortable and keep him in clean water. Again, I am sorry.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

it is dropsy for sure
i guess i will have to lie to my neighbour (he's only 12) and tell him that his fish died of old age
you see,
he got it as a gift, but like alot of kids that age (not all) they don't really handle even the slightest bit of responsability that well (its like a chore)
he's a good kid and he did look a little like he was gunna cry when i scolded him the first 10 times when i saw the conditions of the water (i felt bad) but he still just refused to take proper care of it
its sad

and if there are any kids on this forum around that age i'm not labeling you as lazy
maybe it's my town but ALOT of kids here want pets and don't take care of them!
Its a shame that the majority of these people are arount 10-15 so they are making that age bracket look bad!

 

[Flowerpetal]

My son wants a betta, and I won't let him have one yet. He is 14 and it is hard enough just to get him to take out garbage let alone change betta water. Yeah, telling him it is old age will soften the blow just a tad I hope. Still is sad. Great try at trying to save him. Least you can say you tried your best.