Skyler Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) This morning while feeding betta fish I noticed her scales were sticking out like a pine cone (I will attach photos below). This is the first time I’m dealing with any kind of sickness/problem with her so I don’t really know what it is for sure or exactly what I should be doing about it. I’m currently on the way to petco to get a quarantine tank for her, as I have a planted tank and two snails. I do have aquarium salt that I will be treating her with. • Is there anything else I need to be giving her? • Do I treat the two snails? If yes, how? • Do I need to put something in my planted tank she was in to clean it? I feed her Xtreme betta floating pellets Monday-Thursday and then Hikari Blood Worms Friday-Saturday. I don’t know if she’s been eating the snails food it is a possibility. 🤷🏻♀️ Edited March 21 by Skyler 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) I am very sorry to see this. I have had 1st hand dealings with dropsy. I wouldn't discourage you to try and treat your Betta, but I would caution you that when a fish, especially Betta display pineconing, this is a symptom of organ failure typically and cannot be cured in 99% of cases I've ever seen. I want you to be prepared and make your fish as comfortable as you are able. If you search "betta dropsy" on this forum you will see countless posts, sadly most of which the outcome was death. I don't like to be negative when it comes to treating our pet fish but again, I want you to be prepared. You do not have to remove or treat snails. Here is one of many posts our friend @Colu has put up outlining potential treatment, in this case the culprit may have been high nitrates. You should check your water parameters if you're able. Edited March 21 by xXInkedPhoenixX 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyler Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Well, tomorrow will be one week for my bettas dropsy. She is still alive, still has a great appetite, and still swimming around happily. I’ve been changing her water daily, and dosing her tank with aquarium salt after every water change. (Excuse the Tupperware, she’s waiting to go back in her hospital tank) she’s still a little pinecone but to me it looks like she’s getting a little better. I checked all my parameters in her regular tank everything was good Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 20ppm GH 75ppm KH 80ppm PH 7.2 I have been having problems keeping the GH, KH, and PH in the ideal range. I don’t know if that has something to do with it. I also recently got a 10 gallon tank for her and her buddies, I have had her and 2 Nerite snails in a 3.5 gallon. I was thinking maybe that’s too much of a bio load for the 3.5gallon? I tried to use a fish calculator but it wasn’t loading. my snails do poop an outrageous amount, but I do vacuum it out once a week. I don’t know. Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyler Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Well, tomorrow will be one week for my bettas dropsy. She is still alive, still has a great appetite, and still swimming around happily. I’ve been changing her water daily, and dosing her tank with aquarium salt after every water change. (Excuse the Tupperware, she’s waiting to go back in her hospital tank) she’s still a little pinecone but to me it looks like she’s getting a little better. I checked all my parameters in her regular tank everything was good Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 20ppm GH 75ppm KH 80ppm PH 7.2 I have been having problems keeping the GH, KH, and PH in the ideal range. I don’t know if that has something to do with it. I also recently got a 10 gallon tank for her and her buddies, I have had her and 2 Nerite snails in a 3.5 gallon. I was thinking maybe that’s too much of a bio load for the 3.5gallon? I tried to use a fish calculator but it wasn’t loading. my snails do poop an outrageous amount, but I do vacuum it out once a week. I don’t know. Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyler Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Well, tomorrow will be one week for my bettas dropsy. She is still alive, still has a great appetite, and still swimming around happily. I’ve been changing her water daily, and dosing her tank with aquarium salt after every water change. (Excuse the Tupperware, she’s waiting to go back in her hospital tank) she’s still a little pinecone but to me it looks like she’s getting a little better. I checked all my parameters in her regular tank everything was good Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 20ppm GH 75ppm KH 80ppm PH 7.2 I have been having problems keeping the GH, KH, and PH in the ideal range. I don’t know if that has something to do with it. I also recently got a 10 gallon tank for her and her buddies, I have had her and 2 Nerite snails in a 3.5 gallon. I was thinking maybe that’s too much of a bio load for the 3.5gallon? I tried to use a fish calculator but it wasn’t loading. my snails do poop an outrageous amount, but I do vacuum it out once a week. I don’t know. Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated. I have no clue why it just posted that 3 times. Sorry!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyM Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 (edited) If the betta seems to be OK, besides the pineconing, it could just be very obese. (It has an appetite, the fins are not clamped, etc.) Pellet food is full of carbs that betta don't really need, and bloodworms are full of fat. I would try using salt and fasting for a few days to see if things improve. This link may help too (moderators, pls remove if not allowed). It is mostly about underfeeding but has some good tips on feeding bettas in general: https://www.myaquariumclub.com/skinny-bettas-underfeeding-might-be-worse-than-overfeeding-19292.html Edit: After looking at the pics again - is one of his eyes bulging? If so hopefully the salt will help with that too, here is a list of dropsy symptoms from Fritz Aquatics: Swollen belly Scales stand out Bulging eyes Loss of color/Pale gills Feces pale and stringy Fins clamped against the body Ulcers Loss of appetite Edited March 27 by MattyM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyler Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 On 3/27/2024 at 10:07 AM, MattyM said: After looking at the pics again - is one of his eyes bulging? it looks like it her left eye might be a little. Thank you for the information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyler Posted March 30 Author Share Posted March 30 (edited) I fasted her for two days and she’s a lot skinnier but still looks the same as far as pinecone. What do y’all think? Edited March 30 by Skyler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 (edited) Dropsy can be caused by a number of things such as organ failure parasitic or bacterial infection The most effective treatment I have found for dropsy is aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons that will help reduce fluid buildup causing the pineconing dose the tank with kanaplex that will treat any possible internal bacterial infection and metroplex in food feeding a small amount twice a day for upto 3 weeks @Skyler Edited March 31 by Colu Stupid autocorrect 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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