sharkboxed

It’s been a while! But I need help solving this mystery since it’s really bizarre. (TLDR at the end) So I have platy fish and amano shrimp, and they all thrive and especially the platy fish even multiply (which isn’t that good since they’re 2 brothers and a sister, I used to have 2 more platy girls I bought but they both died suddenly. The 3 platys I originally have are all born directly at home in the tank), but somehow whenever I get betta fish, they don’t last more than a couple of months before getting dropsy and dying. And it’s always the betta fish too!! The water quality is fine (forgive me for not providing the exact measurements but I can check when I get home), the filter in both tanks are well established, the floater plants even flourish (too much). Yet the bettas all of them die the exact same way; one day their face, particularly above the lips get swollen, then they start bloating, pineconing, then die. I thought it was just because the male bettas were badly bred to I started to get females, which helped a little since they lasted longer than 2 months, but they eventually also died the same exact way. the 2 female platy I also bought from the pet store didn’t die from dropsy, only exclusively the bettas do. I’ve also tried treating them before but it just never works. I also want to mention I have 2 tanks, 60L and 54L. I thought at first it was the 54L who had something in there that made them sick so I switched over to the 60L to see if anything would change but no. The exact same death in an entirely different tank. I want to solve this since bettas are my favorite fish but I’m not willing to willingly get one every time knowing how they’ll die, and also pay a ton each month for a new one. Ask any questions and I’ll try to answer to the best of my abilities! TLDR; I have a tank with platy fish and amano shrimp that thrive, but betta fish consistently die within a few months due to dropsy, despite good water quality and well-established tanks. The same issue occurs in both of my tanks (60L and 54L), affecting only bettas, even after switching from male to female bettas. I’m seeking help to solve this mystery as I love bettas but I don't want to keep buying fish that will inevitably die.

@xXInkedPhoenixX @Odd Duck Thank you, unfortunately he passed away yesterday. I had set up a 10,6L bucket and put in some antibacterial meds to treat him with, but unfortunately he passed during the night. I’m glad he’s no longer suffering though, and glad I can rest easy knowing my other fish will be safe during my 4 week trip. Thank you for the help though, glad I got a reason for his passing 🙂

@xXInkedPhoenixX @Odd Duck I’ve tried feeding him everything I got, from bloodworms to daphnia to his favorite flakes. He just eats one and lays around all day depressed.. every time I tried to feed him I have to basically hand feed him and bother him until he finally eats.. hasn’t worked lately though, I’ve only seen him eat a single flake yesterday, and it was a tiny piece. Should I move him to a hospital tank with antibacterial meds for a bit or just euthanize him now? I can’t keep him in the hospital tank for long as I’m leaving the 27th for 4 weeks and was supposed to leave the tank with an autofeeder and my mother would come over one weekend to do a 50% water change. I don’t want to euthanize him if there’s hope for recovery though, but I don’t know if I have a choice if by not euthanizing him could either kill the rest of the stock along with him, or if it just prolongs his death so he starves instead.

So Kiyoshi has gotten lethargic lately, and it came about when he got a lump on his face and a broken scale in his middle. I don’t know what to do, he barely eats and I’m pretty sure he’s losing weight because he’s stopped trying to eat. I only have one week left before I leave for 4 weeks, of which I’m leaving an autofeeder and will not be able to hand feed him like I am now. All day he just lays on the bottom of the tank, so much so I moved him to a breeder box so he wouldn’t have to struggle as much. I put in a floater with him and he lays on top of it so a bit of his body sticks out of the water. All of his fins look a bit ragged too, like he’s been nibbling on them at the edges. Anyone know what this is? and this is what he does all day lately: ignore all the stuff around, some are flakes from the previous day, some are daphnia from that day.

Sorry I never replied! I realized maybe keeping it empty while I’m gone is a better idea and to get fish after I’m back. Also it’s exam season I’ve been really busy 😭 But I want to start planning for it already though so I have enough money to buy them and was wondering about what type and how many of each fish? You mentioned guppies, but what guppy could thrive there and how many could thrive in there? (Like endlers? Or the normal ones?) I love centerpiece fish (because I like naming them lol) so could I have one as well with the guppies or should I leave it with only guppies? I don’t mind not having one, just wondering! Also along with the guppies how many shrimp could I keep in there too? Like enough to be understocked, so I don’t need to worry too much about ammonia buildup while im gone in the future..

Believe me, if I could I would. But the juwel autofeeder only has 2 settings: dispense once per day, or twice per day.. it’s battery operated too so a timer wouldn’t work 😕

I’ve always loved the thought of colorful shrimp!! Could never have any small ones out of fear that they’d turn into a 5 star free meal for my bettas 😭😭 which is why I’ve always stuck with fish that don’t make my bettas wonder: “meal??” Shrimp are so adorable though, I have 3 amano currently in the 60L which I got cuz of their size, and they’re so full of personality!! But hey, maybe I should take some chances and get small ones this time! Cuz it sounds like they’d be a pretty sight in that tank :DD

You’re absolutely right, I haven’t tested in a while lmaooo- the GH was at <6* and my PH was at 6,8 - 7,2 in both tanks. I have no clue how to raise or lower any of these things… my platy, betta and amano seem to thrive though, is the water too soft?

Man I wish!! I live with my father and he prohibits “strangers” coming over to feed them, saying that’s what we have the autofeeder for :// I don’t have anyone to rely on that my dad is okay with to come feed them either, except my mother which lives 2 hours away. I’m actually gonna ask her to come over possibly one day or two to check in on them and do a large water change for me. Though that depends on if she wants to. And yes, I’ve thought about the Christmas week disaster (long story short: betta got Dropsy from overfeeding) for many many nights and I was thinking that maybe I could just feed them well a few days before and leave them without the autofeeder just for the vacation XDD And as for tetras, I’ve gotten a bit traumatized (irony) from 6 neons I had in my 60L who were so competitive with food that they would purposefully seek out my betta when they were eating peacefully and bite their fins, even if there was food SCATTERED EVERYWHERE and there was more than enough for everyone 😭 My female betta just got bullied during feeding time and since she was sweet and wouldn’t hurt a fly she didn’t fight back. I did separate them after I saw it for the second time. Then I put in Kiyoshi with them, and they tried that on him too and surprise surprise he retaliated and bit its tail off. Funny thing is that it was just during feeding time, any other time they’d get along with my betta. Then there were the buoyancy issues when fed flakes where once one went upside down floating upwards uncontrollably and I had to stand there with the lid open pushing it back underwater so it wouldn’t suffocate for 20 minutes. Had to sell them about a week ago cuz I realized they’d have to rely on that autofeeder soon and I wouldn’t be able to help them if something went wrong. 😭😭 So neons are probably out of the question for this one, and I’m a little bit hesitant to have other tetras but I can take a chance!

(Keywords at the end so you don’t have to read all this to give advice lmao) So my 54L stands (basically) empty previously housing my 3 apparently transgender platy (I observed them since birth, had always been 3 females, now suddenly 2 of them are males 🤷‍♀️) and my giant betta Kiyoshi. They weren’t doing too well in here and Kiyoshi was really territorial of the feeding ring corner for some reason, moving them to my 60L worked wonders and everyone seems to be getting along okay. This tank is pretty overgrown full of hiding places, plants and floaters, and currently it’s being occupied by my oto and mystery snail. I want to stock it though, but have no idea what to get. I’m gone for about 5 weeks total each year, 4 on summer vacation and 1 on christmas, so I rely on autofeeders each year. Since I have to rely on autofeeders I need stock that can eat all that it dispenses without fattening them up or risking anything. It doesn’t dispense too much but for one fish it’s too much, and for my previous 6 neon tetra it was too much. (when they ate dry food they’d have buoyancy issues, and that was with less than a pinch of flakes, I can only imagine how it’d go with the autofeeder) on the lowest setting it dispenses barely anything; tried it with pellets last year with my betta who had to be on a diet and it fell right at the time I had to leave for a week, and on the lowest setting it dispensed like 5 pellets twice then quit dispensing anything completely, and with the second setting it dispensed almost 8 at a time even with a modification. With flakes too, it dispenses more with those actually, and on the lowest it still dispenses too much. (It’s a Juwel autofeeder btw) I was thinking some guppies maybe, as there’s some gorgeous completely white ones at my LFS that would create a beautiful contrast, but I dunno if there’s enough space for them in this, which is why I’m asking for advice XD Sooo stock ideas? And if there’s a way, I would love to have a female betta in there, but it’s not necessary, after all I just want happy and healthy fish ^^ All advice and criticism is welcomed!! Thank you all in advance!! Keywords: 54L, overgrown, relying on autofeeder ~5 weeks total, stock ideas? (Unrelated): Kiyoshi looking happy chilling with one of the platy >:)

@Colu I tried finding Kanaplex, metroplex and maracyn2 but it’s either 65$ (which I don’t have) or there’s no shipping to here. Unfortunately he passed away today though, according to my dad he was really lethargic while I was gone and only hiding, and came out to die just so I could see him dead when I came home (thanks Zuko appreciate it). I did want to kinda shift the attention to my other giant betta who’s fine, he’s a slow dude and acts like a blind, demented old man and wether or not that’s health related beats me, hopefully it’s just his personality though. He developed this thing on his side and I’m not sure if that’s a tumor or broken scale, can you tell?

@Colu just ordered medicine, no idea when it will be arriving but until then, I’ve had the 3 tbs of aquarium salt for my 30L that was filled up to 6 gal. I‘m leaving until Sunday tomorrow though, did I need to do maintenance like a water change or something each day or am I free to go? Every other week I go visit my mother for the weekend so on every other saturday it’s fasting day, unfortunate it’s this week though with Zuko’s problem..

@Colu the pills are 500mg, unfortunately I think they’re on prescription only.. I’ll still try though, is 500mg too much? edit: I found 200mg and 400mg, but every sort is prescription only. What now?

@Colu Just went to the pet store, they didn’t have sera direct, only the normal baktopur. I could only find the direct online… I’m ordering it for future occasions but for now, what can I do? Any other medicines I could try? I found metronidazole pills at my pharmacy, but that’s probably not the same. Maybe some esha products that can help?

@Colu I unfortunately don't have metroplex anywhere here in norway unless it's online, are there any similar products by sera or esha? Also, I moved him into the 54L yesterday in case it was the filter or tank's fault in the 30L, should I move him back there for treatment? As I have a mystery snail and an oto in the 54L already I don't want to harm them or the plants, but since he's probably already stressed from being sick moving him again could potentially stress him out more. And should I still do the epsom salt baths?