Medication/Treatment advice needed!

[mrfishybetta]

My betta, Mr. Fishy, has been constipated for a while now - almost 3.5 weeks! I haven't seen one poo in his tank and his belly is bulging, NOT hugely distended, but I am afraid that it will get to that point. He has had pooing issues since I rescued him but this is the worst it's ever been. (I tried the pea twice with no effect, and then was told that the pea could be the thing causing my problems, but it had worked before...) The odd thing is, his behavior, other than not pooing, is normal! He's responsive and active and certainly interested in food.

I received some advice about dosing his tank (1g temporary tank while a 5g cycles) with epsom salt. I am on day 5 of the 1 tsp/gallon immersion treatment, but it doesn't seem to be helping at all It was recommended that I dose him with epsom, fast for 3 days, feed him some frozen daphnia, then repeat if no effect. Today starts the second round of fasting, but I am approaching the end of the week-long epsom salt treatment and I'm not sure what to do now.

Should I up his epsom concentration a bit for these last 2 days of treatment?

Someone recommended that if the epsom and daphnia don't work that I medicate Fishy with API General Cure, which is an anti-parasitic. I have used an anti-parasitic on him before, months ago when he didn't poo for a week, but it didn't seem to do much (and this is where the pea did help). So I am hesitant on using an anti-parasitic again simply because it may be a waste of time (if that makes sense). Though it is entirely possible that he has a parasite now I suppose - but he isn't exposed to other fish- so I guess it could have come from me, though I am strict about washing my hands.

I read that Jungle Fungus Clear may be a treatment option as well, as it has antibiotics in it, and that his bloating may be due to an internal infection. He has an EXTREMELY mild case of what I suspect is fin rot, so Fungus Clear would help with that (I was using AQ salt but apparently that could also be the cause of his issues) as well as possibly fix an infection.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! I just want him to be ok!

Housing
What size is your tank? - 1g temporary (the one I rescued him in) while his new 5g cycles
What temperature is your tank? - Was at ~74, now at ~77 for the last 7 days (the only heater I have is in the 5g to grow bacteria, so I have a spaceheater heating the whole room to 80)
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? - No
Is your tank heated? - Yes, via ambient air temp
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? - None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? - He was on flakes, Omega One Betta Flakes and Tetra's Betta Flakes with little freeze dried bits of shrimp (?) before all this started
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 times/day, what to me looked like small amounts, before this issue. Now he alternates between fasting and frozen daphnia

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? - ~3 times per week, 1 25%, 1 50%, and 1 100%.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? - dechlorinator and a bit of AQ salt (which I have read can be contributin to his issues, so in the last 9 days I have switched him to plain water)

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: 0 usually
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: about 6, which is what he is used to
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? I can see that he looks more pudgy than normal, belly a little big/whiter than normal, NOT huge/distended, no pineconing
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? No
When did you start noticing the symptoms? He has had constipation issues since I rescued him, but only with the last 3.5 weeks has it been bad
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Fasting, then a pea, then repeat, fast for 5 days, and now for the last week have been feeding small bits of daphnia alternated with fastin. I'm afraid to feed him flakes or pellets in case he explodes
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Yes, he as had issues passing poops since I rescued him, but this is the worst it's been. The pea treatment always worked before
How old is your fish (approximately)? No idea, I've had him for about 3 months

 

[Matt68005]

Wow sounds like your a really good pet owner. I wish I had all the answers, but honestly the parasites (especially internal ones) are just beyond my comprehension. API General cure is Metronidazole + Praziquientel, which is an antibiotic that happens to kill internal gut bacteria and parasites. Praziquentel is for flukes and some kinds of worms. I been having problems with my guppies now for the last 6 months, its so hard to get rid of and we don't even know exactly what it is..... If you can find the General cure that might work, Sounds like either worms or Anearobic bacteria like aeronomoas.... but the only way to tell for sure would be under a miscroscope post mortum. So were both in the same boat, and I know its depressing, you are in this hobby for so long and you thinking, ahh fungus/mold, NO PROBLEM, bacteria NO Problem, External parasites, NO Problem, I can handle anything......then stuff that you didn't even know existed turns up..........it bites.

 

[mrfishybetta]

Yes it does! I love him so much! Just wish he could "talk" like a cat or a dog, so I could at least have some direction in which to go I may treat him with the antiparastic here in the future. *sigh*

 

[Matt68005]

ya,maybe just try the general cure. Metronidazole is 15 bucks a tiny little tube of powder, and it works best combined with prazipro, which is another 7 bucks, so just maybe try the general cure at petsmart for 15, You can also find dewormer Beneadazole (I slaughtered that spelling lol) for like 5 bucks but you gotta pay shipping. Maybe you could order it all at once cheaper from some online sight. My only concern is that a beta is air brether and he aint gonna get much if any of that general cure into his stomach. I suppose you could just try to find some metro powder online and mix it in with some bloodworms.....ive heard that's the best way to do it. Or order the metro flake.... idk im dealig with something similar and im at wits end even after using that drug several times, but no way to be certain both our fish got the same thing, but something tells me it is. My daughter's beta died from it, I managed to save all my Fancy goldies, but lost quite a few guppies. I suppose it could only be one of three things if its not constipation, Hexitima, worms, or Aermonoas bacteria...... sorry I am just thinking out loud, didn't mean to ramble on if im not certain.