# Is He going to Die?



## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

Earlier today I noticed that my Betta(Male) wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t eating and was hanging out at the bottom of the tank. Also I was watching him and he went up to the surface and took a sucked up some air. Then came down and let the bubble out, also he is all puffed up like heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s full of air. None of my previous Bettas ever did this.

Any ideas on what is wrong?

Is he going to die?

Here's some Pictures.









































Thanks in advance.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

What are your water parameters? It seems he still has hope to live.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

hmm, i think its due to the way the tank is, bettas dont like strong currents or big tanks, i think it is very stressed out since there are so many fish near it. IMO get a separate tank/bowl that is at least 2 gallons for him and him ONLY. No i don't think he will die if you can do this.

Betta's like being a lone and all these other fish near it including a newt can and will stress it out, also what is the temperature of the tank, bettas like temperatures near the 80's while newts like them near the 70's

Does he poop? Are his scales potruding out of his body?


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## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

yeah and yeah his scales are poping out....good or bad?
He was Eating Just Fine Yesterday!


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

ouch, that is bad if the scales are popping out, we need water params immediatly AND QUARANTINE immediatly to a private bowl 2 gallons or more. 

Your betta has dropsy from what i think and sometimes it is a highly contagous disease, im not too sure about cures but i think melafix will help although its not a cure, its a treatment. Dropsy is an internal paracite where the fish creates excess body fluids to flush it out causing bloats. I actually dont think it stands much of a chance since once the scales start poking out, its a bad sign


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Matt said:


> yeah and yeah his scales are poping out....good or bad?
> He was Eating Just Fine Yesterday!


Sounds like a case of dropsy. Is its abdomen swollen? Bettas are getting prone to dropsy judging by how many threads we have about bettas with dropsy.
Try to maintain good water quality as dropsy can be a cause of poor water quality and internal parasites. It is often not known in most cases why dropsy would appear suddenly even if the water parameters seem to verify otherwise.


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## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

its not much but its all that I got. and I am putting the airtube that I made
in there as soon as it is complete.

Here he is now.

















airtube that I just Madesingle row of bubbles)









Caging: (For Now)


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

im sorry to say he has a very little chance of survival, i dont know but maybe you should put him down. And dont get anymore bettas for that tank as it wont work out very well. Of course you could try healing it.

With bettas you need to get the temperature right, at 80 degrees and without a heater that can be hard


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

c the chances are slim but u can try feeding him unshelled peas to help him (do his duty :lol: )


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## FDStation152 (Jan 20, 2007)

dropsy usually causes severe damage to the internal organs of a fish and thus the low chance of survival. Even if one were to cure the original condition that caused it the bloating is usually a sign of kidney failure and the betta is unlikely to recover. It can be caused by any number of things and just happens from time to time...stress of course being a factor in almost all fish diseases. I've only managed to save one fish from dropsy in the years I've been keeping them and I think it was mostly due to dumb luck rather than any specific treatment regimen. Your best chance is to keep his water extremely clean and hope for the best. Some aquarium salt is probably a good idea too.


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## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

ok I Transferred Him.

Here he is now:


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

you will need to place some of the gravel from the 10 gallon aquarium and place a small plastic plant there a very very very weak air pump would work fine, get a plastic tube that spilts the airline hose and place one in your main tank and one in your betta tank, tie knots on the correct one to get a measured amount of flow in each tank, the betta tank should have very little air, maybe like a bubble per 10 seconds or something, this will keep the tank a bit more oxygenated which will help speed up the healing process. Also when you go to get medication you can try buying some "betta water" it is just normal betta water that has been highly oxygenated for the betta.

make half of the tank this and half of the tank normal tap water

http://terrificpets.com/pet_supplies/fish/conditioners/water/12059.asp

EDIT: actually ask blue if this betta water is ok to use since i did a search on it and it seems like it doesnt contain any trace elements that may be bad


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## magic_marty (Feb 3, 2007)

i could be wrong but i believe i read on a site that aquarium salt will not help.
but it stated that epson salt will help draw out the fluids witch is causing the protruded scales..(pine cone affect)..most cases of dropsy is due to the kidneys shuting down witch disables the fish ability to expel necessary body fluids witch build up in there body causing the swelling witch results in the scales sticking out...from my research it is 99.9 % fatal and if it is caught very very early its treatable but most times whan the scales are protruding its to late..sorry to say..another sad fact is fish can live sometimes for weeks 
or possibly months in this condition.


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## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

If hes still like this in a few days......I....will put him......Down :BIGweepy:


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

i would put him down today, i dont think he wil survive a few days and putting him down will end his misory, im sorry about it, my danio died today.


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## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

ok...last set of pictures(of the betta).

WWahhhhhhhhh.... :BIGweepy: 

















Bye Bye Betta.

Anyways....Here's the new occupants of that little orange thing.
(I put them in here cause I need the Bredder Net again.)

















Here's the setup I got going.


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