Could my Betta scales be starting to pine cone? (Dropsy?)

[Emilee Maphui]

I had bought a Male Adult Betta 3 months ago in August. He is a red crowntail, and has been generally healthy since I have had him, until a few weeks ago. I had some problems with constipation, but I had held up a mirror to him, and he had gone to the bathroom and the mild swelling went down. I had noticed his scales starting to become more defined, able to see the end of the scales like they were lifting up a bit. I looked today and the scales have lifted up a bit more, but it does not look too awful. His stomach, where normal swelling occurs with dropy in Bettas, is not swelled but looks lumpy. I have not seen any other symptoms of dropsy, except for the fact that he swims a little odd when he is excited to see me or is energetic. He does the normal Betta happy dance, sometimes turns on his sides and does some crazy looking flips in the water, but I'm not sure if that's normal. He also hangs around the bottom a little forwards night, but I assume he is getting sleepy because he doesn't stay in one place for more than around one minute.

Other info:
5.5 gallon tank, heated with a filter
Bought from PetCo (bad decision)
He has a white blob underneath his chin which I never understood.
also white dots on his head, but they seem to be small holes in his head.
His scales near his stomach are a bit oddly shaped.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

His stomach does look a little odd shaped but if he is still eating well, then I would monitor and see how he goes over the next few weeks. If he stops eating or does a stringy white poop, then it is time to worry. And if the scales start to stick out more than they do in the bottom picture, then post another pic and we can talk about possibly using Praziquantel or Metronidazole.

In the mean time, try doing a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week and see if that helps. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Feed him a variety of different live, frozen (but defrosted) & dry foods to maximise the nutrients he gets and to reduce the risk of constipation. You can fast him one day a week and it can help too.

 

[NickAu]

Post deleted

 

[NickAu]

Sorry the first image didnt show here so I deleted the above reply.

He is a bit bloated he could be constipated its quite common.

Do not feed him for a few days (about 3) lets see if that helps get the swelling down. Feeding him is the worst thing right now if hes not pooping properly, If his belly looks smaller in a few days then you can give him a few Daphnia as they have a mild laxative effect, If the swelling hasnt gone down I will instruct you on how to give him an Epsom salt bath.

Bought from PetCo (bad decision)

Not a bad decision at all no Betta is in perfect health when we first get them, Betta keepers are the only people in the hobby that deliberately buy unhealthy fish, its our weakness.

 

[Emilee Maphui]

Thank you for your help. It has been a dew days and I fed him more varieties of food, but I noticed he had because more lazy, and chilling at the bottom. I was at a Competition all day today, and had to leave home at 7 am and got back around 12:30 am. I came home to him being more bloated, and the scales looking worse on his stomach.