Hello all! My betta Stitch has been lethargic for the last 24 hours or so, and I am concerned about dropsy. Would love some insights if possible. I had to enhance the pictures a bit since he is most black and getting a good shot was tough. I should note that he does normally have black around his blue scales, which makes it a bit hard to see if there is pine-coning happening. I attached an additional photo (the one with his reflection in it) of his normal appearance.
(Copied my post from FishLore)
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 5 gallons
How long has the tank been running? ~2 months
Does it have a filter? Yes.
Does it have a heater? Yes.
What is the water temperature? 81 degrees currently (I turned it up from 79 once I noticed he seemed ill.)
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) Only him.
Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Once weekly. (Last time was 2 days ago).
How much of the water do you change? ~30%.
What do you use to treat your water? Seachem Prime & Stability
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? I vacuum the substrate via siphon.
*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? I had thought it was cycled. I used pre-cycled filter media, but the parameters ended up being off after I added him. I have been using SeaChem Prime for water changes, and Ammo-Lock in between.
What do you use to test the water? API Master Kit & Strips. I also have SeaChem Ammonia/pH detectors on the side of the tank.
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: Not quite 0, but I think <5.
pH: I'm having a harder time reading this one, but I think about 7.8. I added some indian almond leaf extract (Fritz Dark Water) to hopefully lower this while I prep for the water change.
Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Once daily.
How much do you feed your fish? ~6 pellets.
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Previous was giving him the Omega One pellets, yesterday I tried the Hikari Baby Pellets since they were highly recommended.
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? I occasionally give him free-dried daphnia/blood worms.
Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 3 weeks.
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? Yesterday.
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Lerthargy, bloating, white stringy substance around tank.
Have you started any treatment for the illness? I have fasted him today and am prepping water for a partial change.
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? Not to my knowledge.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? He seems...fat. It is more widespread than just the front section of his abdomen (where I noticed edema most when my previous betta had parasites/GI issues).
Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
I got Stitch about 3 weeks ago from my local Petco, who do a pretty good job with their bettas (they have a couple of employees I've spoke too regularly who really do care about their welfare/advocate for them). He looked very healthy at the time, and seems to be on the more mature side (maybe closer to 1 year, versus the baby-looking bettas I see there). He has a very healthy appetite and I am making every effort to not overfeed him, as I had that problem with my last betta. I learned that Hikari makes higher quality pellets than what I was feeding previous, and decided to give them a try for the first time yesterday. He is normally very active/aggressive, but for the last 24 hours has seemed more lethargic than normal, and spending more time near the bottom of the tank. I think his abdomen is looking a bit swollen. He is not laying down, but has been hiding in his plants for most of the day. He still has an appetite (he comes to see me at the surface of the water/can swim), but I am fasting him for now. In terms of meds, I have API General Cure & Erithromycin, Myocin Two and PrazaPro on hand, but don't want to medicate him without a better idea of what is wrong. I also have aquarium salt, catappa leaves and Fritz Dark Water, as mentioned earlier. I went out to get a hospital tank today, in case a salt bath is warranted.
After losing my last betta unexpectedly, I am hoping and praying that I can help Stitch. He is the most goofy, extroverted betta I have had and brings me so much joy every day.
(Copied my post from FishLore)
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 5 gallons
How long has the tank been running? ~2 months
Does it have a filter? Yes.
Does it have a heater? Yes.
What is the water temperature? 81 degrees currently (I turned it up from 79 once I noticed he seemed ill.)
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) Only him.
Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Once weekly. (Last time was 2 days ago).
How much of the water do you change? ~30%.
What do you use to treat your water? Seachem Prime & Stability
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? I vacuum the substrate via siphon.
*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? I had thought it was cycled. I used pre-cycled filter media, but the parameters ended up being off after I added him. I have been using SeaChem Prime for water changes, and Ammo-Lock in between.
What do you use to test the water? API Master Kit & Strips. I also have SeaChem Ammonia/pH detectors on the side of the tank.
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: Not quite 0, but I think <5.
pH: I'm having a harder time reading this one, but I think about 7.8. I added some indian almond leaf extract (Fritz Dark Water) to hopefully lower this while I prep for the water change.
Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Once daily.
How much do you feed your fish? ~6 pellets.
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Previous was giving him the Omega One pellets, yesterday I tried the Hikari Baby Pellets since they were highly recommended.
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? I occasionally give him free-dried daphnia/blood worms.
Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 3 weeks.
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? Yesterday.
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Lerthargy, bloating, white stringy substance around tank.
Have you started any treatment for the illness? I have fasted him today and am prepping water for a partial change.
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? Not to my knowledge.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? He seems...fat. It is more widespread than just the front section of his abdomen (where I noticed edema most when my previous betta had parasites/GI issues).
Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
I got Stitch about 3 weeks ago from my local Petco, who do a pretty good job with their bettas (they have a couple of employees I've spoke too regularly who really do care about their welfare/advocate for them). He looked very healthy at the time, and seems to be on the more mature side (maybe closer to 1 year, versus the baby-looking bettas I see there). He has a very healthy appetite and I am making every effort to not overfeed him, as I had that problem with my last betta. I learned that Hikari makes higher quality pellets than what I was feeding previous, and decided to give them a try for the first time yesterday. He is normally very active/aggressive, but for the last 24 hours has seemed more lethargic than normal, and spending more time near the bottom of the tank. I think his abdomen is looking a bit swollen. He is not laying down, but has been hiding in his plants for most of the day. He still has an appetite (he comes to see me at the surface of the water/can swim), but I am fasting him for now. In terms of meds, I have API General Cure & Erithromycin, Myocin Two and PrazaPro on hand, but don't want to medicate him without a better idea of what is wrong. I also have aquarium salt, catappa leaves and Fritz Dark Water, as mentioned earlier. I went out to get a hospital tank today, in case a salt bath is warranted.
After losing my last betta unexpectedly, I am hoping and praying that I can help Stitch. He is the most goofy, extroverted betta I have had and brings me so much joy every day.
