I was wondering if some people could give some advice on the matter. I have been dealing with bad bloat in my betta for a month now. It has gone down a good amount and his belly is still rounded, but definitely much better. I started noticing other symptoms that are related to dropsy. He hangs out at the bottom of the tank slightly more and moves a little less. I will say that he has always been a "lazy" fish since I got him and he still likes to lay in the floating plants at the top. Maybe because I have been feeding him less making him less energetic? I took some pictures and was wondering if these were signs of pine coning scales. I also read that their eyes may pop out a bit and took one of his face. Thank you for reading. Any advice is much appreciated.
Potential Dropsy Male Betta
- Thread starter WedgeWood
- Start date
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Dallascowboys16
Aquarium Advice Addict
That is definitely dropsy. Dropsy isn't so much a disease as much as it is a symptom. Usually the pine coning/ swelling is related to a variety of internal infections. I have never successfully treated dropsy and I have heard 100 different claims about ways to treat it ranging from antibiotics to Epsom salts in the tank water. Normally If I have a fish exhibiting "pine coning" I add Epsom salts at a rate of 3 tsp/gallon in order to help ease the swelling. As far as antibiotics to try, Maracyn-two is a good one to start with. It is effective against gram-negative bacteria which is the family that the bacteria suspected of causing most dropsy cases belongs to. I would separate the fish into a small hospital tank of a few gallons so you don't have to treat a large tank with expensive meds. From there use the Epsom salts and do a 10 day treatment with the Maracyn-Two. Keep the water clean and change it every few days, re-medicating afterwards. I will admit, the prognosis once you see pine coning is usually pretty bleak. However, I have heard of this treatment regimen working so if you want to I would give it a try. Hope this helps.
I appreciate the response. That is definitely unfortunate to hear, but I will do my best. Couple of clarifying questions. Should I acclimate him into the new tank with the Epsom salts or should I put them in after he is in the hospital setup? Also when he is in the hospital tank what is the best way of medicating his regular one? Once again I really do appreciate the responses.
Dallascowboys16
Aquarium Advice Addict
To setup the hospital tank just fill it up with old tank water so there is no parameter shock. If the fish is already in a small tank (<10 gallons) you can just do the medication in there to make things easier. Add the salt before or after yo move him in. It doesn't really matter. You won't have to medicate the main tank while the fish is in the hospital tank since the infection in this case isn't just free floating in the water. Dropsy isn't really contagious as far as I know.
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