Fish Thread

[ShrekDawg]

Bad news! Rascal isn’t feeling himself and it looks like his scales are starting to raise. He skims the top of the water and won’t swim down to the bottom of his tank anymore. He has an air stone, so I don’t think it’s an oxygen issue. Ammonia 0, nitrites 0 & nitrates 5ppm…I don’t have any medications on hand yet ( maracyn, paracleanse & ich-x is on the way ). I do have Epsom salt & aquarium salt on hand, could I give him a salt bath in a hospital tank and do a 50% water change in his main tank?View attachment 2928680View attachment 2928682

I think a salt bath and water change would be good but not entirely sure. Also does he have plants or places to hide or anything? Can’t see much from the pics but it looks a bit empty so he might be stress? Could be wrong though and sorry if so but yeah. Hope he gets better!!

@Overo Mare @ColtHandorf @Dinogrrl might know maybe ????

 

[cluckingheck]

I think a salt bath and water change would be good but not entirely sure. Also does he have plants or places to hide or anything? Can’t see much from the pics but it looks a bit empty so he might be stress? Could be wrong though and sorry if so but yeah. Hope he gets better!!

@Overo Mare @ColtHandorf @Dinogrrl might know maybe ????

Yeah, he has a huge Aponogeton sp. plant to hide in. I did take out one of the plants to move to a new tank, but he still has a lot of places to hide. He doesn’t leave them very much anymore

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yeah, he has a huge Aponogeton sp. plant to hide in. I did take out one of the plants to move to a new tank, but he still has a lot of places to hide. He doesn’t leave them very much anymore View attachment 2928750

Oh wow he does have a lot! apologies! Was hard to see from the pic I figured you probably did but wanted to be sure just in case that was part but seeing your gorgeous tank I’m sure it’s not. I hope he recovers!

 

[HappyClucker7]

Bad news! Rascal isn’t feeling himself and it looks like his scales are starting to raise. He skims the top of the water and won’t swim down to the bottom of his tank anymore. He has an air stone, so I don’t think it’s an oxygen issue. Ammonia 0, nitrites 0 & nitrates 5ppm…I don’t have any medications on hand yet ( maracyn, paracleanse & ich-x is on the way ). I do have Epsom salt & aquarium salt on hand, could I give him a salt bath in a hospital tank and do a 50% water change in his main tank?View attachment 2928680View attachment 2928682

If you think he has dropsy, you can put him in an Epsom salt bath. Dropsy is caused by fluid building up in the abdomen. There could be many reasons the fluid builds up, and there isn't really a way to tell anything for sure, which is why dropsy is so hard to treat. But, Epsom salt draws out the fluids, which makes the swelling go away. Sometimes that's enough to save the fish.
Keep his water nice and clean. Bad water quality can cause dropsy, as well as make it worse.
There's no need to put him in a hospital tank. If he's having trouble getting to the surface, you can lower the water level in his tank.
Another important thing: never lift a fish out of the water if it has dropsy. When you move him from his tank to the salt bath, lift him out in a cup and transfer him that way.
Also, make sure the salt is completely dissolved before putting him in the bath. Otherwise it will burn his gills.

 

[raingarden]

Bad news! Rascal isn’t feeling himself and it looks like his scales are starting to raise. He skims the top of the water and won’t swim down to the bottom of his tank anymore. He has an air stone, so I don’t think it’s an oxygen issue. Ammonia 0, nitrites 0 & nitrates 5ppm…I don’t have any medications on hand yet ( maracyn, paracleanse & ich-x is on the way ). I do have Epsom salt & aquarium salt on hand, could I give him a salt bath in a hospital tank and do a 50% water change in his main tank?View attachment 2928680View attachment 2928682

That fish needs a skin scrape to check for parasites.; like flukes or trichodina

 

[Dinogrrl]

Salt is usually my go-to for general/mysterious betta ailments. I usually do a teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon, and also add in some bettafix. If you have aquarium bacteria it doesn't hurt to add some of that as well. Daily water changes of 25-50%, replacing the salt along with it. Usually you'll get a response within a few days (continue for at least a week though), or by that point he'll be displaying more definitive signs of what's ailing him, ie ich, velvet, dropsy, etc. Then you can adjust treatment as needed.

I will warn that some plants can be sensitive to increased salt content - I lost all my Amazon swords in my tropical tank when I had to do an ich treatment. Yes, the swords of all things! So if you're worried you may want to remove the plants into a quarantine tank while you're treating the betta.
That being said, if you're dealing with an infectious or parasitic issue, the entire tank has to be treated to get rid of it, which means the plants too. So it's kinda up to you how you want to handle the plant issue.

I've found that salt and bettafix tkes care of most things for my bettas, with the exception of the particularly bad strain of velvet someone brought in a couple years ago.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Bad news! Rascal isn’t feeling himself and it looks like his scales are starting to raise. He skims the top of the water and won’t swim down to the bottom of his tank anymore. He has an air stone, so I don’t think it’s an oxygen issue. Ammonia 0, nitrites 0 & nitrates 5ppm…I don’t have any medications on hand yet ( maracyn, paracleanse & ich-x is on the way ). I do have Epsom salt & aquarium salt on hand, could I give him a salt bath in a hospital tank and do a 50% water change in his main tank?

Bettas, the bane of my existence. So personable and always finding new and inventive ways to make me scream. Honestly, he doesn't look that bad in photos. His behavior is probably what's indicating something is wrong to you. Dropsy occurs really quickly, so if that is the case, he'll really start to display the classic pine cone appearance.

You stated the water parameters in your post which appear to be fine. What did you use to test the water? Test strips are wildly inaccurate, so liquid test kits are the way to go for more accurate readings. Plus you get to look like a mad scientist. You can try the salt and see how it goes. I was usually able to treat dropsy at the pet store using a little bit of everything. Salt and BettaFix mostly. I find constipation to be much more annoying and common which is why I don't advise feeding pellets to bettas. Especially eager eaters.

 

[cluckingheck]

Bettas, the bane of my existence. So personable and always finding new and inventive ways to make me scream. Honestly, he doesn't look that bad in photos. His behavior is probably what's indicating something is wrong to you. Dropsy occurs really quickly, so if that is the case, he'll really start to display the classic pine cone appearance.

You stated the water parameters in your post which appear to be fine. What did you use to test the water? Test strips are wildly inaccurate, so liquid test kits are the way to go for more accurate readings. Plus you get to look like a mad scientist. You can try the salt and see how it goes. I was usually able to treat dropsy at the pet store using a little bit of everything. Salt and BettaFix mostly. I find constipation to be much more annoying and common which is why I don't advise feeding pellets to bettas. Especially eager eaters.

Yeh, and his scales look a little raised to me. He won’t even flare anymore at his mirror, he’s darts away while staying right at the surface.

I use the api master kit to test everything. He’s still acting the same after the water change and salt bath last night. How many times should I do the bath? I haven’t fed him because I’m going to try fasting him again for a few days.

Here’s an older picture of him. It’s hard to tell sometimes with his scaling, but they are looking a little raised now

 

[ColtHandorf]

How old is he?

 

[CrazyCochin]

Yeh, and his scales look a little raised to me. He won’t even flare anymore at his mirror, he’s darts away while staying right at the surface.

I use the api master kit to test everything. He’s still acting the same after the water change and salt bath last night. How many times should I do the bath? I haven’t fed him because I’m going to try fasting him again for a few days.

Here’s an older picture of him. It’s hard to tell sometimes with his scaling, but they are looking a little raised nowView attachment 2929011

He is a handsome boy!