I Have Absolutely No Luck With Bettas!

[Amunet]

I swear... could I at least have 1 betta that doesn't develop dropsy??

Both of my bettas in th 10gallon have developed dropsy. BOTH OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME. UUUUUUUUGH.
Woke up today, fish were fine, come home after moving some crap to the new house, and both are bloated as heck and pineconing like crazy. Seriously... WTH. The female was having a swim bladder problem, but she was still acting fine. Still begged for food, etc and I THOUGHT she was getting better.
I'm going to have to euthanize both of them b/c they're just not going to make it w/ the way they've been looking/acting. Whatever hit them hit them hard and quick as hell.

I am so close to just throwing my hands up and giving up on bettas right now. *sigh* I'm so tired of losing them prematurely. No matter how well I take care of them, they always get sick.

 

[modaz]

hmm, this is strange you seem to post the same thing again and again, its frustrating to say the least, feel for you, do you have any probs with your 10G and 28G at all? any deaths in them? what do you feed your bettas?

 

[Amunet]

Yea I know it seems like I post the same things over and over again...... sigh... as I said... no luck at all.

No problems with the other 10gal and rarely any problems with the 28 gallon.

I say rarely for the 28 b/c a few months ago, the pH crashed and killed a couple of fish, but that was fixed thankfully.
Now.. the bumblebee goby isn't eating and the bolivian ram is acting sick. All other fish are ok.

It's just bettas I seem to have no luck keeping though. I have no idea why. I get them all from Petsmart, and sure they don't have the best bettas, but for all of mine to get sick like this is in fact frustrating as all hell.
I feed the bettas hikari betta pellets, frozen bloodworm, and frozen brineshrimp. They haven't gotten bloodworm for a while now though b/c the shops around here haven't gotten any stock in for about a month. So I was feeding them about 4 pellets a day. 2 in the morning, 2 at night.


Anyway.... I'm not gonna give up on these 2 just yet. They don't look good, but I don't think they're ready to give up yet so.. I'm gonna try my best to get them well. Unfortunatly for them though, I've packed up all the fish meds b/c I didn't think anything like this was going to happen :\
EDIT: Actually it looks like the girl has given up, but my boy Rex is still fiesty even though his pineconing is worse than hers.
I just did a big water change and added some epsom salt. I just hope it helps.

 

[tibby25731]

I hope they pull through.

 

[Amunet]

I had to euthanize the girl. She was just getting worse very quickly and I didn't want to see her suffer.

Rex really isn't doing any better either. His pineconing is REALLY bad.

I took out the divider, and he explored a little bit, but freaked out and raced back over to his side of the tank where he's been since. He loved flaring and watching the girls through the divider.
God I wish this didn't have to happen this way..... over and over and over again.

I don't think there's any hope that he'll make it, but so long as he keeps acting normal and begging me for food, I can't bring myself to euthanize him as well.

I swear..... this needs to stop or people are going to start thinking I'm getting my fish sick on purpose

 

[ReMz]

That's really unfortunate Amunet. I'm sorry to hear that. When dropsy hits, it's realllllllly saddening.

You are doing the right thing euthanizing tho. Some people give up too quickly and do it for the wrong reasons, but when the guys are truly suffering and you have kept them long enough, you know when it's appropriate. Thanks for being so considerate of your female. My best wishes go out to you for the male (doesn't sound good )

On another note. Something has to be causing this. It just seems too coincidental that you would be having these problems with your level of care. I certainly don't know what's up...... but maybe take a step back and think of all the possible variables that could be causing dropsy. It is very odd in your situation . My condolences.

edit: and meant to say. I read too many topics about people wanting to give up after unfortunate events with fishkeeping. You know how much you love your fish and the hobby and cannot let set-backs overshadow all the fun and joy you've had. Look at the brighter side and get yourself a new betta with a reallllllllllllllllly spoiled tank setup. Will make you remember why you do it in the first place

 

[Amunet]

I really don't know why they keep getting sick. I have a feeling this time, since that one girl got sick a while back, it must've just slowly spread to the others. That's the only thing I can think of that would've caused this.

Anyway... I'm really considering giving up on bettas right now for this tank. I still have Trix in the 5gal, but for this tank, I'm thinking about just going with different fish.

I love bettas... they're definitely my fav little fish, but I just don't think I can handle losing another one even though I'm doing everything right. It's SO frustrating and just heartbreaking to have to go through this. To see such fiery little fish go this way.........

I'm just gonna focus on 1 betta at a time right now. Maybe later when I can't control the betta bug any longer I'll get more, but not right now.

 

[tibby25731]

Oh no I am so sorry. I really hope Rex somehow has a miracle recovery.

 

[liz2]

I have lost a couple through pineconing and I was somehow reinfecting them. I threw away the tank, gravel and even ornaments they were in. I also stopped using dividers and touch wood....nasty thing though awful to watch. I cured one of mine with epsom salt dips sort of quite strong and just for 30 seconds then back in clean water....good luck

 

[Amunet]

Epsom salt baths never really worked for me. Maybe I wasn't using enough salt though. I'd get a half gallon tupperware container, dissolve about a tablespoon in it and leave the fish in for 30mins or more. Never seemed to do anything other than stress them out. The epsom salt in the tank is what seemed to help my girl Pinky when she got the first hints of dropsy. I tryed epsom salt baths with her at first, but it wasn't doing anything, and ended up putting some in to the tank and it helped w/ the bloating.

Hoping that happens now, but Rex's dropsy is more far along. The pineconing hasn't occured down his entire body, just mainly on the stomach b/c that's where he's bloated the most.... but where it is, it's still bad.

He's still hanging in there though. He still has alot of his coloring. You know how most sick fish will go pale... that's not happening w/ him. He's still begging for food and wiggling about when he sees me I feel so bad b/c I just know this isn't going to end well. Lil guy doesn't want to give up, but there's nothing I can do.

 

[ReMz]

I've seen a fish live for quite a while with dropsy and they didnt look bad until the final couple days.

Maybe if you keep treating him he wont get too bad and might make a recovery. Can only hope for the best.

 

[Amunet]

Well he's about to be moved to the new house. I'm sure the stress of that isn't going to help.
He's still hanging in there, but I can tell that he's getting a bit weaker. Resting alot.
The pineconing hasn't gotten worse, but it's still bad.
Think once we get to the new house, I'll dig out the meds and feed him some of the internal stuff.

 

[ReMz]

 

[Amunet]

Just updating really quick.

Think I'm going to have to euthanize him soon. His swimming has become very erratic and almost panicked looking.
So long as he keeps begging for food though, I won't do it, but when he becomes oblivious to everything, that's when I'll know when he's given up. Poor lil Rex

 

[Amunet]

Update on my lil fighter.

He's still hanging in there. He's not giving up, so neither am I. Not doing any better though I'm afraid. Just VERY slowly keeps getting worse.
I finally remembered to dig out the anti-bacterial food that I had packed away and gave him some of that today.
Gonna do a water change tomorrow and continue w/ the epsom salt in the water and food and hope it helps.