Female bettas have dropsy

[Kari]

I didn't look closely enough at my female bettas when I was trying to figure out what's wrong with them. I noticed my red female was really bad off, took her out of the tank, and have noticed that part of the bloated look was due to the scales sticking out. I think she may have already died. I took out the other sickly looking female, and her scales are sticking out as well, and she's still alive...PLEASE! If you think you can help with some advice, I really REALLY want to save her!!!!

 

[Kari]

My red female is dead The blue one is hanging in there at the moment, but her scales are sticking out and her breathing is labored. The third female betta isn't showing any symptoms, and seems to be fine at the moment, so I've left her in the tank. In the last week, the only things that have really changed is that I've done a major water change in the tank when I took out the glass deco beads and added the regular aquarium gravel. I also put a conch shell in there for the bettas to hide in. I soaked the conch shell AND the gravel in water treated with Aqua Safe for at least 24 hours before I added them. I'd done about a 80% water change this time because the water was so horrible after lifting the glass beads out. I'd taken all the fish out while I was changing the gravel out, so they weren't caught in all that muck. Scarlett had been one of the healthiest seeming fish I'd had, and she's the oldest betta I'd had...she was also my favorite female, and now she's gone...RIP

 

[Devilishturtles]

Sorry to hear about your betta.

I'd get some anti-fungal meds asap, for the still living female. Dropsy is hard to cure at the pineconing stage, so don't feel badly if she passes. Treat the whole tank, as dropsy is the side effect of an infection that is in your water. It is spreadable. I've used Jungles Fungus Clear Tablets, or Fungus Eliminator, to cure dropsy.

Good luck.

 

[Kari]

Thanks Devilishturtles

 

[bettacove]

Sorry to hear that
i hate dropsy, so far i havn't been able to save a fish yet with it

 

[No Doubt]

This isn't in the Unhealthy Fish forum because...

 

[An t-iasg]

Moved to the Unhealthy Fish forum. Also, it's helpful to have all the dropsy-related posts in one forum to make it easier for others to search.

Kari, sorry to hear about your bettas A few of my bettas have died of dropsy. Some died quickly and others have hung on for days. IMO, dropsy may be from a bacterial infection, a tumor, an organ or kidney failure -- it's just hard to tell. My bettas that died of it were over a year old.

I've tried antibiotics and anti-fungal with no success. I've also tried Epsom salt, 1/8 teaspoon per gallon, to draw out the fluid, with absolutely no luck.

I agree with Bettacove -- I haven't been able to save a betta yet that has pineconed.

The last betta that I had that died of dropsy, I tried the Jungle Fungus Eliminator on him. Four days of that didn't help, so I put him back in his tank to live out the rest of his life. He died about four days later.

 

[Kari]

Wish me luck, I can't not TRY to save her, so thanks for the help Sorry for starting on the wrong forum :?

 

[Kari]

Question...I got the frozen peas, but I was wondering if I should feed her the anti parasite food instead? Then I thought about the fact that the parasite food is really hard, and might be what impacted her to begin with, maybe blocking an intestine or something?

 

[An t-iasg]

I would feed the sick betta (if she will eat) the peas. Give some to the healthy betta too. Peas can help prevent constipation/bloat from becoming a problem. A few of my bettas died from dropsy -- they had nice long lives, and they were fed peas every week. I think it's a good preventative measure but sometimes in the end, the betta may still succumb to dropsy. No one is saying not to treat...I treated my last betta to die from dropsy even though I knew the likely outcome.

The antiparasite food is pretty big for a betta. IMO, I wouldn't worry about it now, but you'll have to cut it smaller for the bettas. Make it the same size as their pellet food and they should accept it. Soak it in a fish-only cup with tank water for 2-3 minutes before you feed it. I soak the Hikari betta pellets in tank water for 2-3 minutes, and I soak the freeze-dried food for about 1 minute. Soaking the food first will also help with bloat problems -- sometimes dry food can swell in the fish's stomach.

Good luck, and don't worry about the particular forum. The topic was easily moved.

 

[An t-iasg]

Kari, I just remembered something. If you have Kanamycin (Aquatronics brand) or Kanaplex (Seachem brand) of antibiotics, you can feed them to the fish. Put some pea pieces or pellet or freeze-dried food in a cup of tank water and add one of the powdered meds mentioned above. Soak for 15 minutes and feed to the fish.

I did try this and had no luck either. Dropsy can have other causes than bacterial, so this may or may not work. It didn't for me but it's something to try if you have the meds, or keep in mind for future reference.

 

[Kari]

Thank you SOO much! I've graduated a little bit...I put my 5 gallon tank back together to use as a quarantine tank. I figured her chances of survival were even worse by just sticking her in a small bowl, so I went out and got the things I needed to set the 5 gallon back up. I'm just gonna let her rest without eating tonight, and I'll try the peas in the morning. I don't have those meds right now, but if she can hang on for a few more days til I can get some, I'll probably try it. I also got some Epsom Salts, and am going to add that as well. You're not supposed to use both Epsom Salts AND aquarium salt, are you? I'm not planning to add aquarium salt, but if I should, let me know.

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm glad you were able to get a tank together for her! Yes, let her rest tonight and try feeding the pea tomorrow. I wouldn't use aquarium salt at the same time as epsom salt.

Kanacyn (Aquatronics brand) may not be available anymore. Some people may have a few capsules left or an lfs may have a few packages; I've called a few places, and tried a few online sites and I can't find it anymore. I just sprinkled a "pinch" into the cup with the food.

 

[Kari]

I'm so irritated, being in this half horse little town! Their local lfs is Wal-Mart. Petco is the closest lfs, and it's a few towns away, and they don't even have what I need! The junior heater that I got at Wal-Mart yesterday doesn't work worth a hill of beans, it might as well not even be in the tank! The closest lfs that has the stuff I need is all the way in Indy, and I can't get there until this weekend...5 more days. Marina's still hanging in there at the moment, but her breathing is more labored this morning. I unhooked the bubble curtain that I had in the qt tank, it seemed to be too much movement in the water for her. I'm going to try the peas in just a bit, for ALL the fishes. I have a question about that...why do you have to take the shells off the peas, just out of curiousity? I mean, the shells don't seem thick enough to keep them from getting the good stuff inside, and I wouldn't think the shell would be something they couldn't digest. When I give them the peas, I'll take the shell off first, but I was still wondering about that.

 

[Kari]

Well, I just ordered a different heater and the Kanaplex online, they should be here in a few days. I WAS able to find kanacyn with some searching, but the price for shipping was more than the price of the medication, so I opted to go with the other med. If I'd been able to find a decent heater through the same site that had the kanacyn, I'd have gone ahead and done it, but they didn't have the kind of heater I needed for the smaller tank. I can post the link for the kanacyn if anyone would like to have it though

 

[An t-iasg]

all the way in Indy, and I can't get there until this weekend...

I can't get to Indy until September

Seriously, I hope your trip to Indy is successful and you can find what you want. I understand your frustration. My lfs is almost an hour away, or I order online. One time a heater broke on me and I had no spare (lesson learned ) but it was a Sunday and I called and begged him to stay open until I got there.

That was a good move to unhook the the bubble curtain. She will probably be happier now. The pea shells are kind of tough for a fish. I left a little piece on by mistake and the fish spit it out. I don't know of any fish that would eat the pea shell. When I had a pleco, I gave him veggies all the time, and I always peeled the pea before I dropped it in for him too.

I would like to know where Kanacyn is available! The problem is, I don't know exactly when this brand stopped being made, so I would be concerned about getting a med that was close to expiring. But maybe it's still good -- you would have to be able to call and ask.

 

[Kari]

Kanacyn is available at www.foryourfish.com, and there was another one, but I can't seem to find it now :? The water temp in the tank seems to be raising some, so maybe the heater is working after all. I still want the other one I ordered. The one I have now has no controls whatsoever. You just plug it in, nothing to change it if it's too hot or isn't hot enough. The one I've ordered has a dial control for that. I have a couple silly questions, btw. You said boil the peas for 4 and a half minutes in the microwave, right? But does that mean you set it for 4 and a half minutes once it starts boiling, or just stick it in the microwave for 4 and a half minutes reguardless? I can't remember the other question at the moment, but I'm sure I'll be back again before the day's out anyway

 

[Kari]

Oh yeah...the epsom salt. Do I only add that with water changes, or do I add it daily or what? Also, how often should I do water changes in the qt tank, and what amount of a water change should I do when I do it?

 

[Kari]

One other thing...is epsom salt safe to use with Jungle's Fungus Clear fizz tabs? The tabs are all I have available until I can get to the pet stores in Indy this weekend. I intend to get the fungus eliminator then. Can you use Kanaplex and fungus eliminator together?

 

[An t-iasg]

Do you have a thermometer for the tank? I have one that stands up on the bottom of the tank. It's visible in some of my gallery pics. You can also buy floating ones, or ones that you attach to the side of your tank with a suction cup, or ones that stick on the outside of the tank. I use the stand-up thermometer inside the tank to look at for a quick reading. Once a week or so, I use a digital thermometer to verify the temperature. I've seen expensive digital thermometers on aquarium websites, but I just got my thermometer in a kitchen store. I labelled it so that it's the "fish-only" thermometer.

About the peas: I fill the fish-only glass measuring cup with about 1/2 cup of tap water, put the frozen peas in, and put in the microwave and set for 4 1/2 minutes. The water doesn't start boiling right away, but I don't bring the water to a boil without the peas. I just put the peas in and then set the cook time for 4 1/2 minutes. When the microwave beeps, I take the cup out and pour some of the hot water off, and add some bottled water from the frig to the cup. This cools the peas faster and stops the cooking so they don't become too mushy. Then when they're cool, peel the skin.

About the Epsom salt: If you've added 1/8 teaspoon of Epsom salt per gallon to try to draw out the fluid, then only replace what you remove at a water change. For your 5 gallon QT tank, I would change a half gallon of water a day, and just put a pinch of Epsom salt into the new water. If you have an ammonia test, and the ammonia gets high, change one gallon of water a day.

About the meds, I would not use the Jungle fizz tabs with Kanaplex or Jungle Fungus Eliminator. For your male bettas, I think the Fungus Eliminator would be the best choice. For the female bettas, I would use the epsom salt to try to draw out some bloating, then do a water change of about 2 gallons and try some Kanaplex in the water. OR you could continue the epsom salt in the water if it looks like it's helping, and just soak a pinch of Kanaplex into some food and feed it that way. I wouldn't mix Kanaplex and Fungus Eliminator in any of the fish bowls or tanks.

I remember from a post above that you have conch shells in the female betta tank, right? Is this an artificial decoration from the lfs or an actual shell from the ocean? I would be very hesitant to put something into a freshwater tank that was from the ocean. The minerals and salt content could leach into your water slowly for a long period of time. How slowly and for how long? That's hard to answer. It could be that the leached minerals would reach a dangerous level to FW fish several years after their normal lifespan. (hope that makes sense!) Or the dissolved minerals could raise the pH or hardness rather quickly. I do not think this is the cause of your problems now, but I still wouldn't keep that shell in the tank unless it's an artificial decoration. It's too hard to tell how much it's actually leaching into the water and possibly causing stress.