Sick Betta

[PhishyPhriend]

My betta Starbright is not doing well at this point. He's always been a sickly little fish, but I've been able to keep him alive and happy. For the past couple of days he's been hiding, and when he came out, he wouldn't move for love or money once he found a nice place. Today I cleaned his 5 gallon tank, and when I placed him in his little cup to get a closer look at him, I could tell that the scales on his back were just slightly raised, so I examined him closer and was able to see that it was his whole body. I've moved him into my hospital tank, and dosed him with Maracyn II, is there anything else I can do? or do I just leave him and hope for the best?

I would try and post pictures but the raise is so slight that I doubt it would show up on film.

Any help or advice would be great. Thanks.

ETA: He's under his bridge on the bottom of my 1 gallon hospital tank and isn't swimming, so he can't get to the surface to breathe the air, will he be OK staying in the water? or do I need to lower his water level? In his 5 gallon tank he had a plant that he lay on to be near the surface, should I add in one of his tall plants so he can reach the surface?

 

[Forestpisces]

Hey sorry about your little man, your doing everything right so far try posting in the emergency forums or searching dropsy in the search tool

 

[Antigone]

Dropsy is quite often a viral infection, which means raising the temperature and waiting is all you can do. Epsom salt will help bring down the swelling and relieve some of the pressure causing the bloat and scales to raise.

 

[loraxchick]

epsom salt baths do draw out the fluid buildup. there is a recipe somewhere on the forum so do a search. i cant remeber for sure what it was.
i would defo put his plants in with him. take out his castle. as long as he has a hiding place(plants) hell be comfortable. and the plants will help with ammonia buildup too. less water changes, stress to him, redosing etc.
dropsy is from any number for factors so i wouldnt suggest doing anything with the temp. if its bacterial, would make it worse/faster acting.
keep medicating for his full round of antibiotics and try the epsom salt bath. you can find these (epsom salts) really cheap at any pharmacy or supermarket.
is he still eating?
all the best

 

[PhishyPhriend]

I've been searching for the epsom salt recipe for about an hour, I can't find any recipe that says the same thing. In the emergency section there was a site that Wilder posted that said 1 teaspoon per gallon for the permanent home and 1 tablespoon per gallon for a bath, but everywhere else I've seen it says something completely different.

He can't seem to come up to the top of the tank, but I fed him yesterday and he gobbled it right up. I'm treating him with Maracyn and Maracyn 2, but it's not looking good, he's barely moving, I'm not expecting him to live through the night.
I'm completely gutted, I've been doing research for hours, but I can't find anything that agrees on treatment!

 

[Forestpisces]

Go with wilder that woman is never wrong.

 

[lilacamy931]

Wilder is definately the resident expert, try PMing her if want to make absolute sure. It may be worth lowering the water a little for easier access to air but unsure how others think with this? (Mainly because already not large body of water and also unsure how it will affect with adding medication).

 

[PhishyPhriend]

Well, my little guy made it through the night. I was terrified I'd come down to find that he'd died. It's not looking good though, he just lays on the bottom of the tank not moving. His gills move so little that the only way to really tell he's alive is if I move the tank a bit because than he waggles his fins. He still has his color so far as I know, but he'd a very light color and sorta odd-looking so it's hard to tell.

Would lowering the water help him breathe a little better? I could probably finagle out the appropriate dosage of medication. I have had an air stone running in his tank since I placed him into it.

 

[lilacamy931]

one concern is if it hasnt the energy to reach the water surface he might drown, just be real careful with the medications and keep close eye on him, glad he has pulled through the night, fingers crossed for you

 

[loraxchick]

i would use Wilder's 1Tbsp/gal bath and see if that helps. you can leave him in there for up to 30 minutes. do this twice a day.
you were absolutely right in adding the airstone. always increase aeration when using meds.
it is good that he is still eating. very good. how long have you been treating for? meds generally have a curve until they start to show noticeable improvement.
i want you to understand that in a LOT (most if i could be so bold in saying) cases of dropsy, dispite our best efforts, the fish wont pull thu...but keep looking up and continue treatment. you could lower the water level if he is finding it difficult to get to the surface. do you have any plants in there(prob mention this but i forget )...they will give him something to rest on near the surface and make him comfy.
i would also suggest leaving the tank lights off or covering the tank with a cloth to darken it and lower stress from outside sources. sometimes a little peace and quiet will do wonders!
keep us updated. sorry your search as i suggested was a little frustrating and time consuming.
all the best!

 

[PhishyPhriend]

I placed 2 small plants in there and lowered his tank level to 1/2 gallon, which means I had to take out the airstone. He still won't come to the surface, like he doesn't know it's there. I helped him up with a net to see if he would rest on one of the plants, but he just sank back down. I started treating early evening yesterday, and he'd been looking poorly for about a day before that. I know that the odds are not good for his survival. He didn't eat yesterday, and I haven't tried to feed him yet today. I'll get a towel to place over his tank. Thanks for the help.

 

[loraxchick]

keep offering food. take out anything uneaten after about 15 minutes.
top the tank back up. one gal. is not a lot of water and waste will build up quickly let alone half gal...and it is much better to have an airstone in with him.
keep the towel over him. have you tried epsom salt baths?
poor guy...doesnt sound too good but dont give up on him. if you are able to instead of redosing every day all in one go, do a 50% water change, redose at half the norm for the 1gal dosage twice a day. will help keep ammonia down
what sort of tank do you have him in?
keep us posted.
best of luck!!!

 

[PhishyPhriend]

I'll go top up his tank again and replace his air stone, if I think I can, he's looking really bad and hardly moving at all, so I'm trying not to jostle him or upset him too much. I gave him 2 epsom salt baths today in the 1tbsp per gallon mix for 30 minutes. He's nowhere near as pineconey as some other betta pictures I've seen, and he still has all his color, but it doesn't look good.
Thanks for the help, I'll keep y'all updated.

 

[Syphoniera]

Bettas are surface breathers, gaining some benefit from their gills, but dependent on being able to reach the surface for air.
Personally, I'd lower the water level to the point where he could reach by standing on his tail, and give him that much chance.

If he's always been sickly and nervous, (typically a sign of toxicity/parasites of one form or another) there's a good chance internal parasites may be involved - although it doesn't sound good for the poor little thing, and I'm sorry.

The people recomending Wilder couldn't be giving you better advice.
I'd post in the emergency section, if I were you, and the best of luck.

I lost a betta with similar symptoms to an encysted parasite some time back - 2 bought from the same place, actually, although with different symptoms - along with 2 of the other fish exposed, with the parasites bursting directly out through the various fish's bodies after death.
The other 2 improved with Prazi treatments (I was lucky to get any - don't think it's sold in Canada anymore, but might be wherever you are?) but the one had sustained internal damage leaving one side of its ribcage looking caved in and was later lost, although the other seems to be doing fairly well.

Unfortunately, if it should be parasites, if the internal parasite load is too high, treatment may do more harm then good as the dead worms will poison the fish.

However, that's only one possibility, and I do hope the little guy pulls through.

Edit: I'm so sorry about your boy.
But you're right; sometimes Clove Oil is the only humane solution...

 

[PhishyPhriend]

He's still alive this morning, but it's really not looking good. I don't think I can lower the water enough for him to reach the surface because he doesn't move, ever. He's really suffering and I'm going to try and pick up some clove oil just in case. I'm now 100% sure it's dropsy, he fits all the descriptions and pictures I've seen to a T.
I wouldn't say he's always been sickly, but he's always been one of those fish that gets bloated if eats just one smidge to much, and the nervousness comes from the fact that in the current household there are 4 cats that try to peer at him, (although he's in a cat-free zone, cats don't understand the word 'No.')
I doubt we have Prazi treatments down here, the USA never has anything good like that, but I'll check it out.

Thanks for the help.