i am the worst betta mommy ever...

[katyboombaty]

ok...so i got the ick outta my tank, the fin rot is gone...everything is going fine. of course then SOMETHING goes wrong. i think my one femal has dropsy but i can't really tell if its that or if she wants to lay eggs. she is really fat, but not with raised scales. she wants to eat but spits out her food. she's still really active. i did buy a new crowntail male betta thats in the section next to her (she's in a 10 gal divided tank). is she ready to breed or is she sick with dropsy? HELP!

 

[Leopardess]

Awwww. Well I know you're not a bad fishy mommy....otherwise you wouldn't be here! So, it's not your fault at all


As for the girl....it can be hard to tell sometimes. Sometimes they have dropsy, sometimes they've eaten too much, etc. Mine can get really really fat if she overeats...

How long ago did you add the new male? Does he look/act okay?

I've read that you can try putting in a teaspoon of epsom salt (magnesium) to help draw any excess fluids out of the body if it is dropsy.


Is there any way you can get some pictures? Are all of your water parameters in check?

If it is dropsy, it isn't necessarily your fault at all. My favorite betta mysteriously developed dropsy in january and when I was researching and asking people, many, many people said that they had anabantoids develop dropsy for no reason at all on many occasions....

 

[ashleigh]

That has happened to me, too. Hope she is okay.

 

[Iggy]

If it is dropsy, you will know... the swelling will get worse as she collects more fluids.

It could be food and egg swelling a little, but that will pass in a few days. Skip a day or so feeding and see what happens.

 

[katyboombaty]

i can try and get some pictures later this afternoon if you all want. there is really no change in her this morning...all the water parameters are perfectly fine. i tried feeding her a pelet and she spit it out, so i tried a freeze dried bloodworm and she kept that down. i'm almost wondering if she's just constipated.

the new male is acting fine (just flares at her once in a while and at himself because he's pretty and vain... ) he's not harassing her to no end or anything. so i don't think its him.

so thats all the new info for now...any other ideas?

 

[katyboombaty]

well today my female betta developed the pine cone effect caused by dropsy. so i put her in a hospital tank and started her on jungle fungus eliminator (because it said it got rid of dropsy). has anyone had any success with this? my poor girl is about a year and a half old, and i don't wanna lose her

 

[Leopardess]

I don't want to discourage you, but no Dropsy is almost always fatal

 

[Iggy]

Jungle fungus will likely not help with this illness.

Kanacyn antibiotic was what was recomended to me when my betta and gourami got dropsy, but they were too far gone at the time I tried it.

When Dropsy starts to show it is usually because some sort of organ failure (kidney), so its practically fatal by the time we really notice.

Give her a day or so, and if no improvement or it gets worse (more swelling/inactivity), I suggest you put her down. Deep freezer in a shallow cup of water will do the trick in a few minutes.

Don't keep her suffering if she does not get better Sorry

 

[katyboombaty]

really? i feel so bad, i feel like she's still on the young side. she was the oldest betta i had now (the other oldest one shyrone, who was 3.5 years old, died a couple months ago). well, i'll see how she does today and then go from there... thanks

 

[katyboombaty]

wanda died this afternoon at least she isn't suffering anymore...here's a picture i took last year of her, so i figured i'd share how pretty she was with everyone...

 

[katyboombaty]

ok the picture thing isn't working so when i figure it out ill have a pic up

 

[Iggy]

Sorry to hear that.. at least she passed quickly. Early, my gourami got about 1" wide before I put him down

I also lost Finchy, my daddy fish (to 360+ fry) the same week. Its a terrible infliction and unfortunately common in betta and gourami (dwarfs especially) for some reason.

Post a picture up soon (you might have to reduce the overall size first - 480 pixels wide should do it)

 

[katyboombaty]

here maybe this pic will work. i decreased the size

 

[Lotus]

Sorry to hear about Wanda

Don't blame yourself, it sounds like you had done everything possible to keep her healthy and happy.

 

[katyboombaty]

yeah i really do try with all my bettas to keep them happy. the four i have left live in a 10 gal divided tank so they have plenty of room to swim. the water is filtered and i clean the tank once every two weeks. the water temp is about 78-80 degrees and i feed them 3-4 pellets (sometimes dried bloodworms) twice a day. they are very spoiled fishies it just seems once in awhile something comes through and makes one of the bettas sick. but other than that they live good lives. they also get to travel alot, about once every three months, like when i come home from college.
well i'm gonna wait to get maybe another betta for my 2 1/2 gal tank til i get home for the summer...they have some great deals on crowntails there, so maybe i can make another betta completely spoiled like wanda was.