Need Help Treating Dropsy in Betta! Please!

[venymae]

Hey all,

I think cute fish has dropsy and I'm SUPER worried. Please help me!
When we first got him he has roughish scales, so I didn't think it was pineconing, but he has not passed stool, and he has developed the other classical sign, a giant swollen belly. At fist I just thought he was constipated because -no stool. So we fasted him for a day and then fed him a de-shelled cooked pea. (He enjoyed that) However, this morning he is not active, clamped fins very bloated belly and still rough scales (not really pinecone).
I read a lot of places to add salt, 1tsp per gallon, dissolved first.
Do I add that all at once, or gradually?
What Kind of Salt?
What else can I do?

This is my 2 year old sons love fish, and he's very upset that cute fish did not come up to greet him and eat his pellets this morning.

Cute fish is housed in a heated (76F), filtered, 5 gallon tank and is a cherished member of our house. He is fed 3 pellets in the morning and 3 at night. I did a 50% water change as soon as I noticed he was doing poorly, just to make sure the water was good.

 

[venymae]

Update: since I wanted to treat fast
I dissolved 1tsp of sea salt and added it to his tank.
I switched out the heater from my ten gallon to slowly raising the temperature in his tank.
Added an airstone
Went to the grocery and got magnesium sulfate salt (Epsom) and added 1 tsp, dissolved first

He is not looking good, swam to the surface only to slowly sink down again, now he is just resting in his castle. Not sure what else to do. I know this has a high mortality rate, I am very torn up about it, as I think he might have had it since we got him and I just didn't realize it! I keep his tank very clean and it was established when I got it and has had regular water changes (20% every other day because even though it was established for 2 years now, according to previous owner, it did not have a filter, so I put one in and just wanted to be safe.)
Ugh. Even just some sympathy would be welcome at this point. I feel like crap.

 

[bkiggy]

Dropsy or pinecone is almost always fatal unfortunately. Epson salt is good to use it will help him poop ! If you want to try to treat with antibiotics Myrcin2 is what to get
50% water changes every day and keep him warm
Not much else you can do ;(

 

[venymae]

Well, an update. Dropped his water lvl down as he looked like it took a lot of effort to get an air gulp. Salt is all the way put in now at 1tsp/gallon. Treated the water with an anti-bacterial tab (water is nice and green now) after taking out my carbon filter. Still has heater/filter/airstone and most of his decor (I took out the ones I didn't want a green tint on) He is not eating, his bloating may be down slightly(?), and he is still simply resting on the bottom of the tank. I think now it's just the wait, unless anyone else knows of something...? I've read so many articles today on dropsy and I feel discouraged, but at least he is not looking any worse. I'm a little nervous adding the meds because I feel they are hard on fish.

 

[venymae]

I am pretty sure cute fish passed away as I don't see gill movement. My son keeps asking me why cute fish won't swim around, and when I told him cute fish might have died he told me, "No, no, no, no. no!" and wagged his finger at me visibly upset, though I'm not sure he fully understands. I feel like I've swallowed a ton of bricks.