As you can tell, a lot of it comes down to collecting as much information as you can and taking action. Dropsy Treatment Dropsy is usually fatal in advanced stages (e.g. Heres a helpful article explaining more about the perfect temperature for betta fish. In this situation, the best solution is to keep introducing them to the food until they realize they can eat it. However, there can be a whole myriad of reasons for this, so take caution before treating your betta for dropsy straight away. A diet that's low on fiber can cause severe constipation in Betta fish, which may eventually lead to bloating. I put my betta in a half gallion tank with a filter, heater, and a teaspoon of aquanrium salt, changed 25% of the tank water everyother day and his bloating went down and is back to normal. Usually, that is 5 teaspoons for every 3 gallons of water. He looks dead. Here are the main points to remember. All Possible Causes, Dropsy In Fish: Your Guide To Symptoms & Treatment, Why You Have A Cloudy Fish Tank (And How To Fix It), Chocolate Chip StarfishCare: Diet, Reef Safety & Tank Size, Sexy Shrimp Care Guide: Dance, Diet, Tank Size & Lifespan, Picasso Triggerfish Care Guide: Size, Tank Mates, & Diet, Clown Triggerfish 101: Diet, Tank Size, Care Tips & Mates. No betta will ever actually finish a container of betta food in a timely manner. So have backup food you know hell eat, just in case. Manage Settings Sometimes your betta is eating and youre not even realising it. In fact, a lot of the time this issue resolves itself. 1 / 4. It's been determined that Victor does in fact have Dropsy. Hence, the Japanese name for the problem "matsukasa disease" is "pinecone" disease. My bettas bubble nest sometimes get destroyed when im doing a water change and hes never cared. As you can see there are lots of different reasons why your betta fish may not be eating. Any ideas? In our opinion, the only bad owner is the one who doesnt do whatever it takes to help their pet. I feel like crap now. This time, I did Step No. A distended or bloated stomach is a common sign of constipation in betta fish. A lot of the time they may be stressed from the move and being in a new environment. Theyve been eating the fancy stuff their entire life, and they dont realize that these new little objects that float around in their water are edible. One of the best ways to do this is by monitoring the details around feeding time. Fortunately, this means that there are a handful of things to consider and try if your betta fish isnt eating. I tried the method of removing the fluid from my betta today. Below are some of the possible reasons why your betta fish is not eating: Your betta doesn't recognize its food They might be a picky eater The food needs thawing Poor food quality You're overfeeding your betta Your betta might be sick Their environment changed Water temperature needs adjusting The water temperature is too low. Follow the below steps to do a Betta fish Epsom salt bath: Put one tablespoon of unscented or undyed Epsom salt directly into the one gallon of water in a tank. I did almost everything on your blog but time was of the essence and I decided to do a few variations on the procedure since I did not have all the medications suggested. Dropsy happens, and most cases is untreatable. My only wish is sana I should have known this earlier.Important reminders:1. (He hasn't been near any other fish and this appeared literally overnight.) Even with the best care and housing, your betta can still become ill. Simply reference our recommended diet in the care guide we linked to in the section above to see if youre missing out on anything. Anybody know? If your current thermometer says the water temperature is within the ideal limits, its a good idea to make sure your equipment is calibrated properly. He was inititally in an unheated and unfiltered vase, about a gallon, and I think the water conditions caused him to start swelling in the belly, probably due to a bacterial infection. You will see him gasping for air. The easiest solution here is to give your betta time to settle. Strictly no magna salt! Author Note: Having some of their old food ready is necessary when going through this process. And the longer that poop builds up, the bigger your betta's belly will get. You should be feeding him no more than 1-2 pellets of food or the equivalent twice a day. We noticed the past couple days he seems different and the tips of his fins seem to be turning black. Add 10 drops of prime to get rid of chlorine and other chemicals and 5 drops of vitagold for vitamins. Also, Bettas are tropical fish, and do need a heater to keep their temp at an ideal of 79 or 80. Read our, 11 Easiest Fish to Take Care Of For Beginners, Reasons Why Your Betta is Sleeping a Lot and How to Stop It, The 10 Best Aquarium Water Test Kits of 2023, Mini Aquariums: The Pros & Cons of Small Fish Tanks, Bubble Eye Goldfish: Fish Species Profile, How to Determine If Your Betta Fish Is a Boy or a Girl, Test your water quality regularly with a liquid-based test kit, your water quality parameters stay within normal ranges, call your aquatic veterinarian for additional guidance and diagnostics. Betta fish suffer from a variety of health issues, but the good news for keepers is that these issues can be avoided and treated. Make sure to check the container for instructions. Only feed your betta high-quality food and make sure hes getting a balanced diet. If your betta isnt eating after a water change then the solution is normally to just try again in a few hours. At first he could only get to the top if he swam real fast but now he seems to be able to swim a little more normally. Sometimes you may notice a betta fish not eating because of the temperature in the tank. I did research on the web for over a month, went to pet shops, spoke with vets and all I found was discouraging answers and postings and no hope .expecting her to die at any time.I refused to flush her down the WC as she was eating as usual and swam actively, but after many weekswent by she began to eat less. And as you can imagine, cheap food is made from cheap ingredients. I've read a couple of posts about people who have drained the fluid with a syringe, and I decided to try it since really, there's nothing to lose at this point. Once hes fasted feed him the original food he didnt want, and he should eat it. He seemed stunned for a few minutes and just hung out near the water heater. Happy Betta Keeping! If you can get a handle on those parasites, I see no reason this fish should not recover. Dropsy is a bacterial infection that can cause the fish to become bloated and have raised scales. I put her into another water solution the same as Day 1.Day 5:The bloat is 90% gone while the pine-coning is only 10% visible. I feel like such a murderer. I will include pictures of this terrible death documenting the last almost 3 months when I can. But it may not be something bad. Poor Diet or . The solution here is simple. I just wanted to give him a fighting chance to be comfortable and not explode! Normally itll only take 2-7 days for them to begin eating their food. It's only a matter of time now. Practical Guide to The Best Surf Fishing Rod You Need Today. I numbed my betta (charlie) with the clove oil purchased at local drug store. Aquarium Source is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Taking care of your Betta can be tricky, but it doesnt have to be. Just remember, that you should never let a betta go more than 3 days without food. We had been wracking our brains how to best euthanize him but until this happened we always held out hope for him. Betta fish can go up to 14 days without any food. mine trashed around violently and died. Betta fish are beautiful and unique creatures that many people enjoy keeping, fish a quality diet should be enough to keep, fish can recover from dropsy and go on to live. However, bettas don't produce a lot of waste, so it can be difficult to tell if your fish is pooping normally! Just remember, sometimes even if you think your betta isnt eating, he may be getting some food without you realizing. Get your betta out of that antiquated bowl and into a five to 10 gallon heated, filtered aquarium. Betta Fish Dropsy Treatment. Add 3 drops of stress coat. We all make mistakes with our care or get misled into thinking a certain product or food is better than it is. I'm worried that it might be Dropsy but no all the symptoms are there, it has now been two weeks with no changes. [/quote]. When did you buy it? I extracted 1cc of yellow liquid from one side of her belly as instructed on this blog and I decided not to proceed with the other side as she appeared very fragile and weak. Millie is a passionate aquarist who caught the fishkeeping bug in high school and has been addicted ever since. Learn more. If the containers were the appropriate size, you'd never find them on the pet store shelves! The scales on the fish's body will also stick out. https://fishingform.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I'm doing this as one last antibacterial effort, and have accepted that he has kidney failure and will probably not recover. Spine curvature is also common due to the bloating unnaturally shaping the body. If the heat is turned up a bit say 84F it could help eating. They will stop eating or only nibble at their food. Sometimes fish will have protruding scales and bloating just from constipation. Betta Fish Diseases and Emergencies. Make sure not to confuse these two diseases with each other to treat your Betta correctly. If youre not sure what disease your betta is suffering from then check out all these articles that can help you get a better idea. These little details can be a big help later on when you start testing solutions. The post above said to wait about 5 minutes and I did this too. Theres only so long they can sustain a hunger strike before it ends in disaster. bettagirl can you give any follow up and explanation on how exactly you removed the fluid? Here are some other reasons for food refusal in betta fish. Then i attempted to extract fluid with no luck. Dropsy is a dangerous condition and can kill a fish quickly. This is especially common with pellets and flakes.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'bettacarefishguide_com-banner-1','ezslot_1',107,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-bettacarefishguide_com-banner-1-0'); When bettas are with their breeders, normally, they will only be fed a mixture of live, frozen and freeze-dried food. Lastly, dip your betta in the tank with methylene blue, but no longer for 10 seconds. Without immune boosting vitamins C and E, your fish is significantly more prone to secondary infections from the surrounding environment. Theres nothing more worrying than when you notice your betta fish not eating. Bloated belly is the most common symptom of constipation in bettas. Here are all the reasons your betta fish has stopped eating. This time range is not constant. If your betta fish wont eat, its important to remove uneaten food from their tank after its clear theyre not interested (give them a chance first). Thanks for the help I don't want him to die. If your betta eats it too fast, then it may continue expanding resulting in constipation and swim bladder disease in a lot of cases. He's still swollen, but not nearly as bad as before. Funny, I was just about to write about the same thing. It could be dropsy. For healthy and active Bettas, they will have a voracious appetite and never ignore their food. EP7 presents: dropsy in betta fish, fish not eating food, fish not swimming properly, fish sickness symptoms, sick fish treatment, attempt to euthanize fish . Some fish get shy, some get aggressive, and some lose their appetite. Add 3 drops of stress coat. In very rare cases, a Betta fish may have a big and bloated belly due to a tumor. A constipated fish will quickly stop eating, and that's typically the first sign that your betta is constipated. If he eats the food without a problem then the chances are hes just being fussy. She was not able to swim much due to the stress and numbness from the anesthetic and I knew she needed to get above water every now and then to catch air, so the small bowl made it easier for her. If this ends up being the case, it doesnt make you a bad owner. The best thing you should do for your betta and any other fish you care for is to make sure theyre getting a balanced diet. You will know if theyre not being themselves kahit matakaw pa rin sila. All bettas should be fed two to three times per day. Like 1 pellet a day. And even if the food quality is good, it may be because he's not getting a varied diet. A betta fish not interested in eating is a common issue for many betta owners. For some, this might be obvious, but we need to include this section just to be sure. This disease is associated with organ failure. Keep the lights off for a couple of days and try to feed him in the morning and evening. We wont go into how to address each specific piece of the water parameter puzzle, but its something you need to take seriously. He is a very tough little guy! they do not go quietly to sleep when using clove oil. . I would get as close to 15 as you could but no longer than that. Lastly, your betta may be suffering from some sort of disease. Do not overfeed.3. Acclimating to a different tank is stressful for any fish, and this can show itself in different ways. Then..right then,.. HALF HIS TAIL dropped off and the bewilderment and utter inability to move, took over. With a fish's immune system on stress overload, they don't feel well, and as a result, have lower immune function, reproductive effort and growth, and reduced appetite. Frequently, the fish's scales stand out from the body, giving it a pinecone-like appearance. The cause is typically an infection, but it can also be due to a build-up of toxins in the body. This will speed up the process and quickly get the food ready to be eaten. It can also be a combination of the following factors: Fish that are in poor water quality get stressed. If you think its the bubble nest you can remove it from the tank to find out. Thankfully, there are a few things you can investigate before you need to ask for help from a veterinarian. Dropsy. I use betta pellets and freeze-dried daphnia mixed with live food every so often. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. When youve noticed that they are not feeling well, check for any signs of bloating or abnormal swimming patterns. The betta owners might worry about thinking about whether betta dropsy is contagious or not. If you want to play it safe then taking your pet to a veterinarian that deals with fish is a great idea. more about the perfect temperature for betta fish, The Complete Guide On Caring For Betta Fish. When dealing with a constipated betta, you might notice the . The dreaded pine-coning is still there though. The best way to do this is by taking a small amount of your tanks water and placing the food in it. hsdiaz 15 years ago last modified: 7 years ago Another possibility is poor water quality or contaminated food. . You might find that your betta fish avoids getting along with other fish in the tank. If it confirms that your original thermometer is accurate then you have two options. Author Note: Just for reference, the ideal temperature range for this species is between 74 and 81 degrees Fahrenheit. My Betta has a small cottony type thing on his tail fin. His swelling has been very gradual and chronic, nothing sudden. If they appear to have any kind of infection, youll notice them because it literally is a physical damage. If your betta fish wont eat getting stressed is understandable. It will be fatal. I'll do it as often as necessary as long as he seems happy and is eating. Symptoms of bacterial infection/open red sores: Red sores or red patches, loss of appetite, color loss, clamped fins, sitting at bottom or top of the tank, not moving. Introduction. When this happens, keep trying until he begins to eat. best case you put him to sleep and he 'drowns' because he is so unconscious that his gills will not breathe. Something simple like switching up the decor and rocks could, as could more serious things like ammonia spikes and pH changes. While frozen and freeze-dried food is good for bettas, some wont eat it until its thawed properly. Another common cause when your betta fish isnt eating (especially if hes new to the tank) is that he doesnt know what youre feeding him is food. In order to help move things along, our guts are lined with mucus-producing cells to help things slide through. I got tired of her game and was afraid that she might suffer from overdose so I placed her on a net hammock for easier surface breathing in another plastic bowl with 5 drops of prime and a bubbler/airstone to get rid of Eugenol in her system/gills. (The clover irritated a little her belly's skin but it became better a few hours after the procedure (perhaps the clover oil is a better idea). Cheap food is made from cheap ingredients wait about 5 minutes and hung. 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S been determined that Victor does in fact have dropsy things along, our guts are lined with mucus-producing to! Build-Up of toxins in the betta with dropsy not eating with methylene blue, but we need to include this just... Up the decor and rocks could, as could more serious things like ammonia spikes and pH changes he be... Shaping the body, giving it a pinecone-like appearance good, it may be stressed from the environment. You realizing that are in poor water quality get stressed some lose their appetite fin! Get rid of chlorine and other chemicals and 5 drops of prime to get rid of chlorine and chemicals... A lot of the time this issue resolves itself, so take caution before treating your betta is.... Vitamins C and E, your betta fish has stopped eating add 10 drops of vitagold vitamins. Like switching up the decor and rocks could, as could more serious like... For this, so take caution before treating your betta fish avoids getting along other. This appeared literally overnight. stressed from the body food every so often issue... My betta today to eat should not recover time this issue resolves itself how exactly you removed the?... Is poor water quality or contaminated food the containers were the appropriate size, 'd. Having some of their old food ready to be sure not being themselves kahit matakaw pa sila...