Two Sick Betta's from Community Tank!! HELP PLZ!

[Laura.elizabeth]

I have a 10 gallon tank with 4 female bettas and 1 oto and 3 very small emerald green cories.

This morning I noticed two of the bettas lying on the bottom not really moving. I removed both from the tank and noticed one has full blown dropsy, her scales are raised and pine-coning. The other one is not really moving and not looking to well. Her scales are not raised. The other two appear to be fine so I have left them in the tank. Will separate if I notice any agression.

I picked up these females less than a week ago so I suspect they had something wrong beforehand. UGH my inner voice was telling me to use a QT tank all along... Time to beat myself up over this now.

My one concern is how can I prevent this from spreading to the other fish in the tank? Are cories susceptible to this? How should I treat this? Any precautionary measures I should take? I was thinking raising the temperature and picking up some anti-bacterial medicated food?

Pleasee answer quick and don't go on to tell me how my tank isn't big enough for cories, I am fully aware but they are very small and will be moving very soon. I'm more worried about keeping these fish safe right now than if they have the appropriate sized tank in the long run!

 

[jlk]

Hi! I am not here to berate you on your fish. Unfortunately, for the betta that is already pineconed, i think euthansia is your only option. Its likely that the new bettas have either an internal parasite or an internal bacterial infection causing the dropsy but i dont whcih is the cause. You can try treating with metronizadole food (such as metromeds) which treat both bacteria & internal parasites. Make sure your water is pristine to prevent your fish from being stressed. Because we dont know the exact cause, i dont know whether your other fish are suseptible or not. Bacterial infections are typically evident in fish that are immuno-suppressed by shipping & handling stress, poor environment/water quality, and/or poor nutrition. Bacteria are everywhere- a healthy immune system/healthy environment can generally prevent a fish from succumbing to infection. A qt tank for future fish is a good idea to prevent diseases from entering your main tank. If you have any more questions, please ask & good luck!!

 

[Laura.elizabeth]

Well so far I did a 50% water change and added 1tsp of aquarium salt. Unsure of how the oto and corydoras would handle it so I only added a small amount.

The two sick bettas are each in their own bowl with 1tsp/gallon of water. I'm not really sure what to do next?

The two remaining bettas seem fine but I will keep an eye on them.

If someone knows more about this than I do, I could really use your help!

 

[Laura.elizabeth]

OKAY! Sorry as I was typing that out you had posted.. thanks for your reply!

I will euthanize the one with the pineconing. I've had them for less than a week so I'm going to bring back the dead one and the sick one. Should I return the healthy ones incase they are sick and nothing has shown up yet?

My water is perfect. Just tested it before my 50% water change and ammonia was 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate just under 15ppm.

I am getting a larger tank pretty soon so I will use my 10 gal for a QT tank in the future. Man I feel so bad for these fish .

Should I use the metronizadole food as a precaution? Is it likely that bottom feeders will eat it?

 

[jlk]

It will be your decision on whether to return the 2 bettas that seem ok or not. I would def take the sick ones back. It may be a good idea to return all 4 & get a store credit/money back & wait until you have your new tank & you can qt any new fish you purchase. Since your tank is stable/healthy, i probably would not treat your fish if they seem ok. I would keep meds on standby in case they start showing anything out of the ordinary. Overuse of antibiotics can cause antibiotic resistance & may cause problems in the future if treatment is needed. I would just keep an eye on your guys for now.

 

[Laura.elizabeth]

Okay, thanks for your help. I'm gonna see if I can find the receipt and check out the return policy. And pick up some meds at the same time!

 

[Laura.elizabeth]

Well just found out the return policy is 5 days, and today is day #6 since I have had these fish.

The fish that was not pineconing may be doing ok! I have her in a 1.5 gallon about 1/2 full. I do not have a heater for this tank but I have a light over it which may be helping with the water temperature. There is 1/4 tsp of aquarium salt in her water. Anything else I should do for her? I guess I just have to wait and see what happens. This sucks!