Extremely Sick Betta! HELP!

[michelle504]

I came back from vacation over Christmas break to a very very sick Betta. I just got home yesterday and of course the person who was taking care of him does not recall him ever being sick when they had seen him. I am not sure how long at all he has been sick.

Doing research I found he might have Dropsy. He has a bloated belly, and the pine cone effect. He is also pale instead of his usual bright orange and lethargic at the top corner of his tank.

I went to my lfs and they told me to get Erythromycin and start treatment ASAP after a water change. I did a water change and did the dosage required. It says to do more dosing every 24 hours.

When I got home from work his condition worsened. He is still breathing but very slowly. I don't want him to pass away but I feel it's almost unavoidable at this point because he just looks so bad and I don't know what else to do for him other than medicate and pray.

Please help if possible!!!

 

[librarygirl]

Oh no. Sorry about your fish. I don't know what else to add other than try the medications and keep him calm and keep his water as clean as possible. I hope he gets better.

 

[blackmolly]

if he's too far gone, you may want to consider putting him down. put a bag of water in the freezer just long enough for it to get a thick crust of ice over it. crack the crust and drop in the fish. death is painless and instant.

 

[Fishie]

Ouch sorry hope he get better!

 

[michelle504]

blackmolly: I was really considering it but when I did research on the subject they said anything using extreme hot or cold was inhumane... So I didn't know if I should use that or not...

 

[Zagz]

Dropsy is very difficult to treat. Are his scales pineconed away from his body?

If so a humane method is to put the fish into water with some clover oil and then freeze the fish. The clove oil puts them to sleep first.

 

[michelle504]

where can I find clove oil? I've been calling stores to see if they have any but I hear it's in eye medication? The only one I found was olive and clove oil so I did not get it since it's for human hair or something like that.

And yes, his scales are slightly raised. I've read that once you notice this sign it's usually too late

 

[Zagz]

Try your local pharmacy for the clove oil. Many people use it as well to relieve tooth pain.

 

[michelle504]

will it just be actual clove oil or within another medicine? because I tried walmart and could not find any.

 

[Zagz]

I've only ever gotten clove oil. Not sure what the other oil would do. If you have a larger pharmacy near you it would be more likely they would carry it.

 

[michelle504]

okay thank you for your help. unforunately I won't be able to grab clove oil until after work tomorrow i'm going to hate doing it but at least i know he'll be in better condition instead of slowly dying a painful death

One more question: are live plants susceptible to the bacteria that causes dropsy? or aquarium equipment? i have a community tank that I use a gravel vac on for both and don't want to transfer any bacteria. i soaked everything in untreated water and have not used it on my healthy tank as of now

 

[Zagz]

Plants are unaffected, however you would need to disinfect the gravel vac if you use it in the sick tank. Just to be safe. Dropsy is an illness caused by other factors.

 

[blackmolly]

i would suggest a hydrogen peroxide dip for the plants, then a thorough rinse. for the filter and siphon i would use a diluted bleach solution and then thoroughly rinse them as well.

 

[michelle504]

zagz & blackmolly: okay. will do, thank you so much for all the help.

and the hydrogen peroxide dip and rinse will allow the plants to be placed in my community tank? I don't think I'm gonna get another betta until after i move..

 

[Hholly]

Sorry about your fish.

 

[blackmolly]

as Zagz stated, it's not required, but it'll knock anything bad in there off of them and pretty much ensure them to be safe in the community tank and give you peace of mind. just be sure to rinse in warm water after the dip to get all the chemicals off

 

[Alyxx]

If you still haven't found clove oil it is what comes in those little toothache kits. It may only say clove oil in the ingredients list. Also, fair warning- try not to spill it, the smell never goes away. My bathroom drawer still has a mild clove odor months after the bottle we have for toothaches spilled. If you decide to euthanize, be sure to add enough to really put the fish out, if not he may wake up and stress out. I hate to hear about fish with dropsy, in my opinion it is the worst disease to have to treat simply because it looks so bad and is nearly impossible to treat once the pine cone effect kicks in. I fought dropsy unsuccessfully in an African cichlid a few years ago, it was really rough on me seeing him like that.