bloated, lethargic betta

[indrani987]

I've had a tank for about 6 months now. 10 gallons, 1 betta, 3 zebra danios, 1 snail, 1 african dwarf frog. They all seemed very healthy and happy, I do partial water changes every week. All of sudden, with no signs of sickness yesterday morning, one of my danios was dead by late afternoon. it was really pale and looked like it's stomach had been eaten out (I'm guessing my other fish did that, after all when I found it my snail was working on it), but no obvious signs of sickness. Everyone else still seemed very healthy and happy.

Then this morning, my Betta, who is usually very active, was very lethargic. I isolated him, and his belly looks unevenly bloated - his left side is bigger. The scales still look normal - they had looked paler in the tank, but I think it was just the lighting. Also, on the bloated side it looked like maybe there was something white sticking out, like a scale, but once I removed him, all the scales looked normal color, etc. What could be going on with my tank?

Thanks for your help.... ~indrani

 

[Allivymar]

What are the water parameters indriani? Is always the first place to check when problems arise. Also, have you added anything new to the tank recently?

About your betta, I'm wondering if its a tumor. It could be constipation or dropsy, but usually the swelling is even and not one sided. Just in case its constipation, and if he is still eating, try a pea. It has a laxative effect for fish. Epsom salts (not aquarium or table salt) also can help reduce swelling in both constipation and dropsy cases.

 

[indrani987]

the water ph, ammonia and nitrate/nitratre are normal. No added fish.....maybe it is a tumor or constipation. thanks, i'll try to feed a pea...

 

[indrani987]

Abscess?

Okay, an update on my betta and hopefully some more advice!

My betta is still in a separate, half gallon container. He is still lethargic, and the left side of his belly is still more swollen than the other. Now when I look at him from the top, it seems his scales might be very slightly raised due to the swelling.

I tried feeding him bits of a shelled pea, in case it was constipation, but he refuses to eat that (or anything else), and he's still not pooping.

I'm thinking it might be a tumor, cyst or an abscess.

1) Is there anything I could possibly do for this?

2) If it continues to grow, how can I know when he might be in pain? I'm worried that if it doesn't respond to treatment, I'll have to find a humane way to euthanize him??

I'd really appreciate any experience or advice anyone could share on this.
~indrani

 

[Allivymar]

Poor lil bugger.

You may want to try antibiotics in case it is a cyst or abscess. I'd suggest Kanacyn as its a good broad spectrum antibiotic. My guess is he is constipated or something is blocking the intestines...hard to say what tho

If it doesn't help, you can find suggestions for humane euthanasia here: http://www.bettasrus.com/disease/euthanasia.htm ; you may also want to check that site for more treatment suggestions.

 

[indrani987]

Thanks for the recommendation for an antibiotic. I just changed his water, and tried examining him to see if anything else is abnormal. The problem is, I never closely inspected him before when he was healthy, so I don't know if the following description is a change:

1. very ends of tale seem to be kind of brown (he's a red fish)

2. He keeps side fins close to his body and stays at the top of the water so he can gulp occastionally (he never did that before)

3. He has tiny white specks just on the top of his head. Also one white speck on the center of his back.

4. His bloating is still the same, hasn't gotten worse over the past 5 days. The left side seems a little worse, but not a huge difference. He just looks like he has eaten way too much, he doesn't look like he's going to burst or anything. I wonder if he's the one who started eating my danio when it died. he's usually super greedy and willing to eat anything.

One things for sure, if he makes it through this, I'm not keepig him in the community tank. It's just too hard to control how much food he eats. Maybe put him in a two or five gallon where I can know exactly how much he's getting.

 

[Allivymar]

Ok, coupla questions:

When you say the end of the tail is kinda brown, is it eroding as well? If so, its likely fin rot; the antibiotic should help clear that up.

He is obviously not happy; clamping fins is a sign of an ill or stressed fish (which we already know). As for gulping air, all bettas gulp air from the surface. They have to; its part of their respiration. Is it possible you've never seen it before, or the surface of the tank he was in was too agitated for him to breathe any air?

The tiny white specks...eek. Do they look like salt? If so, do read the article I wrote on ich: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32

Ok, good that the bloating hasn't gotten worse, although I wish it had started to resolve. Lets try that antibiotic and see if it makes any difference.