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You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Pet Fish > Fish > My Beta
Expert: Amber Worman
Date: 4/7/2008
Subject: My Beta
Question
For over a month now, my fish has been sick. I thought he'd get better, {I mean, I really didn't know what to do} but it's persisted. He's got a large lump. For awhile, I thought he was fat, but recently, I havn't been over feeding him, or anything. Just a couple of pellets at night. His scales are raised, and he spends the entire day at the bottom of his tank. He rarely swims, only occasionally shifting positions or swiming up for a breathe. Can I save him?=(
Answer
Hello Kelly -
I'm very sorry to have to say this, but your betta may have a case of Dropsy. Hopefully it's something else, but you need to know that once a fish develops Dropsy, it's almost always fatal. :( I'll do everything I can to help you help him, and after that all we can do is hope for the best.
Here are some pictures of Dropsy-fish:
http://www.flippersandfins.net/Images/DropsySide.jpg
http://www.flippersandfins.net/Images/dropsy2.JPG
Here are some steps you can take:
1. Buy a 1 gallon heater for his tank. Set it at 80 F (you can use a small $1 stick-on thermometer to measure this.)
2. Check the levels of ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites in his water (before you do a water change.) Ideally, these should be 0 - PETsMART will check a water sample for free and will offer further advice based on your results.
3. Add just a tiny pinch of Epsom salt to the water.
4. Wrap the tank in a blanket to shield his from loud noise and light.
5. (optional and possibly expensive) Purchase an antibiotic, like kanamycin (KanaPlex) or minocycline (Maracyn-Two) - A cheaper alternative is QuickCure, but it's not as helpful in curing Dropsy as the other two antibiotics.
This is all I can think of - This treatment should bring your betta back to normal if he doesn't have Dropsy, and may save him if he does.
-Amber Worman
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