Hi, I've posted a while back about him but he's gotten a lot worse since then.
As you can see, his body is super swollen. But it's not really around the stomach area I think? He still eats and poops and he isn't pineconing either so I don't think it's dropsy. I first noticed this start of June (last picture). He's slowly been swelling up since then and he's lost a lot of his color. There also seems to be stuff leaking out of him? You can see it in picture 2 and 3.
Behavior wise he seems okay, not as energetic as he used to be but he's not struggling to swim and still explores around his tank. When he sees me he perks up immediately and comes to say hi.
I'm suspecting either a tumor or internal fluid buildup of some kind. Maybe even internal bleeding. So far I've tried epsom salt baths, methalyne blue and eSHa2000 but he was still getting worse. I've stopped treating him for about a month now because I honestly didn't think he'd still be here by now and wanted to keep things chill for him. But here he is still holding on so I want to give this another go.
Any ideas on what this is and what I can do to help him are greatly appreciated!!
10G, 26°C/80°F, planted, 5 sulawesi snails as tank mates. Tank has been running for about a year.
Parameters: 5ppm Nitrate – 0ppm Nitrite – 0 ammonia – 3 kH – 7,5 pH – 4GH
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1eswjow
Posted by Akealaa
4 Comments
She looks extremely bloated, probably bacterial infection in my opinion. If she doesn’t have a problem floating or swimming properly, she doesn’t have SBD but is extremely prone to it. Pineconing has not yet started, so that’s good news. Before treating with medications, I’d suggest a Epsom salt bath till the swelling reduces. Epsom salt has worked like magic for me in treating bloating. You can stop feeding for a few days(maybe 4) and continue the 10 minute bath every day. The fish will be stressed for a few minutes to an hour after the treatment. So no need to panic. I usually use 2tsp salt for 1litre water and add methylene blue or malachite f green copper medication.
Shes got dropsy look it up, the cure is epson salt bath every day for 2 weeks 15-30mins and then back to cleaner tank
i just lost my betta to this horrific disease today
It sounds like you’ve completed the necessary treatments for bloating with no solution so I’m not sure what additional advice I could offer in that regard. How is their energy? Are they eating well? I wouldn’t recommend feeding this fish in its current state but if the last time you fed it everything seemed normal, that would be a good sign.
The good news is I don’t think I see pineconing. If this is dropsy you may still have time to catch up on it. If it’s not dropsy, even better. Have you tried anything besides salt baths and methylene blue?