Keep your fingers crossed for my betta - UPDATE - He died :(

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An t-iasg

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Aug 9, 2003
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Criders Corners, PA
My betta, Kenny, is extremely bloated. He's still eating bloodworms (he can't keep pellets down) so I'm treating the bloodworms with an antibiotic. He's twice as bloated as a previous betta who died in two days, and Kenny's been hanging on for 5 days now. Think good thoughts for him!
 
Are you sure he's not bloated because he's constipated?

If he is, you might want to try blanching a pea and squeezing it out of it's skin. Have you seen him go to the bathroom in the last 5 days?
 
Thanks, Jchillin and everyone...I'm sure your good thoughts pulled Kenny through a little! He is still extremely bloated. I've had him in an epsom salt QT tank. This had no effect on him, so then I did about a 60% water change and treated him with Jungle Fungus Eliminator. The Jungle label says it will help bloat. It's an excellent med for fungus and finrot, but I had my doubts about it helping bloat. I treated him with that for 3 days, with no luck. I then put him back in his own tank. Maybe that's attaching human emotion to him, but I thought he would be more comfortable in his own tank in the time that he had left. He is still eating, and still active, and really showing no signs of distress. I've been alternating his food between peas, bloodworms, and daphnia, all soaked in Kanacyn antibiotic. Getting the antibiotic into him, instead of just in the water, hasn't made a difference either. He is going to the bathroom after a eating a pea, but the bloat isn't going down.

I'm wondering how long he can hold on. I will just love him and enjoy him for as long as he is here. Sorry to get a little emotional... :(
 
You have every right to be emotional...don't apologize. If he's active and comfortable in his normal home, then let it be. He may be fine and we just don't know it yet. Keep us posted.
 
I understand how much your fish mean to you. As long as he's eating and acting normally, let him live out his life.
 
Thanks for your good wishes, everyone. Kenny died last night (early Monday morning) at about 2 am. I think I will just tear down and clean out the tank. It's almost impossible to determine what he died from. It could be a tumor, water retention, organ failure, constipation, and we don't know if the disease is contagious or not. So I'll be safe, clean out the tank, and get new gravel for the next betta. The current gravel is off-white. It has turned brown in spots due to diatoms. The diatoms aren't a problem, but they make the gravel look kind of bad. There is some gravel at the hatchery that is a mix of brown shades. I'll get that, and a new plant too.

Kenny had a good fishy life! He loved his java moss nest and playing "peek" with his "brother" in the other tank. (yes, I know that's silly!)

Goodbye, Kenny :angel:
 
I'm sorrry to hear about your loss. It's possible that Kenny lived out his full natural lifespan in your good care, and it was just his time.

It's a shame that most aquarium fish are so relatively short-lived...and since we have no way of knowing how old they are when we buy them, we never know how long we will be able to enjoy them.
 
so sorry to hear that!! I have a betta (Frisky) who in the past few days has become pretty bloated as well. He acts fine and eats like crazy, very active. Was your Kenny active and eating when this happened?
 
Thanks, everyone! I wish we knew more about this bloat/dropsy disease, and it just seems like bettas are prone to it as they get older. Bettas, when compared to some other fish, don't seem to have as long a lifespan either. Since we don't know how old they are when we get them, unless we know the breeder, then we just love and enjoy them while they are with us.

mysterem, Kenny hung on for about 10 days. He was bloated, but still active and eating quite greedily. That's when I fed him some medicated bloodworms. On the morning of the 10th day was when I suspected the worst would happen. So I'm hopeful that he didn't suffer too much. I answered your other post -- so far, I wouldn't think that Frisky has the same illness as Kenny.
 
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