I Think My Betta Has Dropsy/ Is Constipated/or Egg Bound...help!

[MissAshley23]

My betta Koral has been severely bloated for about a week and a half. She is still eating and very energetic and does not act sick, but something must be wrong! this cannot be normal. everyone is saying its dropsy and that theres nothing I can do to keep her from dying. but ive read online that they get dropsy from feeding live worms which ive never given her. ive had bettas for years and none of them have ever gotten dropsy or any other disease. Please help I don't want her to suffer and die. also I can see her eggs inside of her when I look at her with a flash light, she has a ton of them. could she be egg bound?? also everyday her scales start to look more and more like a pinecone

 

[RCA]

So sorry to hear about Koral.  It is difficult to see exactly as the images are fairly small.  The last image certainly shows how swollen she is.  If she is starting to pine-cone then you need to act quickly.  Dropsy is a sign that there is too much fluid build up as the internal organs are not working as well.  It is also likely that there is a bacterial infection which may be related to her eggs 

 
I would recommend:

• isolate her
• stop feeding her for now
• Epsom salt helps draw out excess fluid.  Give her an Epsom salt bath, about 3 times a day.  Watch for any signs of distress and remove her from this if need be.  I believe the dosage is: Add Epsom salt at 2-1/2 teaspoons per 10 gallons of water. 
• You then need to treat the bacterial infection, not sure what medications are available for this in the US? - I will PM Wildbetta.
  One that I have heard can be successful is Interpet Anti Internal Bacteria Aquarium Treatment (9)

 
Can you tell us a bit more about:

• Her living quarters
• Temperature she is at
• Filtration
• What food she has been eating
• What is your water change schedule?
• When was the last water change?

 
Good Luck, I hope she pulls through for you, Dropsy is not a pleasant symptom to deal with though.  It is important to treat it quickly.

 

[MissAshley23]

I am not sure how to do the Epsom salt bath. do I put the salt into her tank or remove her and do the bath in the sink or something?
I don't know if I have anything that is 10 gallons to put her in also shes def not constipated there is poop in her tank.  also I read online on another forum that it could be bad to stop feeding her bc if she is fighting off an infection and I stop feeding her she will get weak and die. what do you think?
 
Answers to your questions:
- she is in a 2 gallon tank
-her temp is at 82 F right now
-She has a very good filter in her tank that works extremely well. I think its call a Tom filter
-she eats Aqueon betta food pellets: I give her four pellets in the morning and four pellets at night, sometimes she gets Tetra freeze dried blood worms as a treat
-I do a full water change about once a month bc her filter works so well the tank rarely gets dirty
-I did her last full water change Thursday night 6/27/13, so about 3 days go. and I treated the tank with aquarium salt and a bacteria supplement.
**also can I use aquarium salt or does it have to be Epsom salt for the baths??
Thank You

also not sure what you mean when you say to isolate her?? she is currently my only fish so she is already isolated

also if you click on the images above they will come up big on the screen, at least on my computer they do

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Betta really need to be in a tank of at least 3 gallons and 5 gallons is recommended.
 
Also, you should be doing more water changes than that, no matter how good a filter is, you still need to do a regular water change to keep the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate down. 
In a tank of that size, depending on whether its cycled or not, you should be doing water changes of 50-100% every day/every other day.

 

[MissAshley23]

she is in a 2 gallon tank right now bc she is sick, someone on another forum told me to move her to a smaller tank or "hospital tank"
normally she is in her regular aquarium which I believe is 8 gallons or 8.5 gallons??

should I put her back in her regular tank??? I wasn't sure if the smaller tank would stress her out but multiple people recommended a "hospital tank"

 

[RCA]

I am not sure how to do the Epsom salt bath. do I put the salt into her tank or remove her and do the bath in the sink or something?
I don't know if I have anything that is 10 gallons to put her in

also shes def not constipated there is poop in her tank.  also I read online on another forum that it could be bad to stop feeding her bc if she is fighting off an infection and I stop feeding her she will get weak and die. what do you think?
 
Answers to your questions:
- she is in a 2 gallon tank
-her temp is at 82 F right now
-She has a very good filter in her tank that works extremely well. I think its call a Tom filter
-she eats Aqueon betta food pellets: I give her four pellets in the morning and four pellets at night, sometimes she gets Tetra freeze dried blood worms as a treat
-I do a full water change about once a month bc her filter works so well the tank rarely gets dirty
-I did her last full water change Thursday night 6/27/13, so about 3 days go. and I treated the tank with aquarium salt and a bacteria supplement.
**also can I use aquarium salt or does it have to be Epsom salt for the baths??
Thank You

also not sure what you mean when you say to isolate her?? she is currently my only fish so she is already isolated

also if you click on the images above they will come up big on the screen, at least on my computer they do

A bath is floating the fish in a container for about 10-15 minutes.  I would not put her in the sink as you have had soap etc in there.  Use a food grade container ideally.  Do not net her but using a cup or jug gently scoop her up out of the water, then slowly add her to the Epsom salt bath.  This should be water taken from her aquarium with the amount of Epsom salts required, each time making it up afresh, ensuring the Epsom salts are well mixed prior to adding the fish.
 
You do not need 10 gallons, but calculate how much you need based on that amount.  You really only need to put her in a container of about half a litre/1 pint/2 cups - I have jugs especially for giving such baths.  NB: make sure you cover the container, using a cloth or similar, just in case the fish jumps.  If she does show signs of jumping then remove her from the bath and return her to the fresh water, slowly i.e. gently lower her and allow her to swim out of the scoop (see below) you capture her in.
 
Once she has been in the bath for the time recommended then gently scoop her up again in something that can contain water i.e. not a net, and place her back in her aquarium.
 
You need Epsom Salts rather than Aquarium Salt as it has different properties to remove the fluid build up.  It is available from chemists and is not expensive.  I would thus have her aquarium with only water in it i.e. no salt.
 
You should not being doing full water changes but smaller ones more often i.e. 20-30% once a week in her larger tank.
 
How do you clean your filter?  Do you rinse the sponge in water removed from the aquarium?  Does it have anything else in there other than sponges?  If it has Carbon remove this as it will affect your medication i.e. remove the carbon.  Is this your filter?  In this video the author explains how to remove the carbon.
 
Make sure any food she has is pre-soaked, and be wary of the freeze dried foods, I do not feed my fish anything freeze dried.  In respect to not feeding her for now, there is less for her body to deal with, plus if she is in anyway not digesting properly at present this will assist her.  If you want to give her a small bit of de-shelled pea to clear out her digestive tract.
 
Isolate her, means ensure she is on her own so as not to infect any other fish.  As she is your only fish, then she is already isolated.
 
The images do get a little larger but not big enough to really see what is going on.
 
Here is one of my girls, that sadly I lost from a similar situation.  I have linked to it so you can read what people thought/recommended.  I do hope we can save Koral with you, but if she is starting to pine cone you are aware it is not looking good for her.  Just do your best as this is all we can all do in these situations, and hope.
 
I have PM'd WildBetta for you, yet she has not been on-line since.
 

she is in a 2 gallon tank right now bc she is sick, someone on another forum told me to move her to a smaller tank or "hospital tank"
normally she is in her regular aquarium which I believe is 8 gallons or 8.5 gallons??

should I put her back in her regular tank??? I wasn't sure if the smaller tank would stress her out but multiple people recommended a "hospital tank"

The reason people often mention a "hospital tank" is:
a) to isolate the fish from other fish - if you only have Koral this is not necessary
b) to reduce the amount of water to enable treatment at less cost i.e. you use less treatment
c) any infection does not get into the substrate (gravel), decorations and filtration of the main aquarium
d) it is often easier to capture the fish
e) it is easier to clean as the tank is kept bare
f) the hospital tank can be modified easily e.g. dropping the water level if the fish is weak and needs to surface.
 
Always ask why they recommend something to you, and this way you will gain in understanding.  I am only guessing it could be any of the above.
 
If she is your only fish you may wish to return her to her regular tank, as this way the water will remain more stable.  You can then use the smaller tank to treat her in if you wish.
 
Good Luck we are all supporting you and Koral.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Oh, sorry. I though she was in that tank long term which is why I said to do such large and regular water changes.
With her regular tank you can do 25-50% weekly.

 

[MissAshley23]

 

I am not sure how to do the Epsom salt bath. do I put the salt into her tank or remove her and do the bath in the sink or something?
I don't know if I have anything that is 10 gallons to put her in

also shes def not constipated there is poop in her tank.  also I read online on another forum that it could be bad to stop feeding her bc if she is fighting off an infection and I stop feeding her she will get weak and die. what do you think?
 
Answers to your questions:
- she is in a 2 gallon tank
-her temp is at 82 F right now
-She has a very good filter in her tank that works extremely well. I think its call a Tom filter
-she eats Aqueon betta food pellets: I give her four pellets in the morning and four pellets at night, sometimes she gets Tetra freeze dried blood worms as a treat
-I do a full water change about once a month bc her filter works so well the tank rarely gets dirty
-I did her last full water change Thursday night 6/27/13, so about 3 days go. and I treated the tank with aquarium salt and a bacteria supplement.
**also can I use aquarium salt or does it have to be Epsom salt for the baths??
Thank You

also not sure what you mean when you say to isolate her?? she is currently my only fish so she is already isolated

also if you click on the images above they will come up big on the screen, at least on my computer they do

A bath is floating the fish in a container for about 10-15 minutes.  I would not put her in the sink as you have had soap etc in there.  Use a food grade container ideally.  Do not net her but using a cup or jug gently scoop her up out of the water, then slowly add her to the Epsom salt bath.  This should be water taken from her aquarium with the amount of Epsom salts required, each time making it up afresh, ensuring the Epsom salts are well mixed prior to adding the fish.
 
You do not need 10 gallons, but calculate how much you need based on that amount.  You really only need to put her in a container of about half a litre/1 pint/2 cups - I have jugs especially for giving such baths.  NB: make sure you cover the container, using a cloth or similar, just in case the fish jumps.  If she does show signs of jumping then remove her from the bath and return her to the fresh water, slowly i.e. gently lower her and allow her to swim out of the scoop (see below) you capture her in.
 
Once she has been in the bath for the time recommended then gently scoop her up again in something that can contain water i.e. not a net, and place her back in her aquarium.
 
You need Epsom Salts rather than Aquarium Salt as it has different properties to remove the fluid build up.  It is available from chemists and is not expensive.  I would thus have her aquarium with only water in it i.e. no salt.
 
You should not being doing full water changes but smaller ones more often i.e. 20-30% once a week in her larger tank.
 
How do you clean your filter?  Do you rinse the sponge in water removed from the aquarium?  Does it have anything else in there other than sponges?  If it has Carbon remove this as it will affect your medication i.e. remove the carbon.  Is this your filter?  In this video the author explains how to remove the carbon.
 
Make sure any food she has is pre-soaked, and be wary of the freeze dried foods, I do not feed my fish anything freeze dried.  In respect to not feeding her for now, there is less for her body to deal with, plus if she is in anyway not digesting properly at present this will assist her.  If you want to give her a small bit of de-shelled pea to clear out her digestive tract.
 
Isolate her, means ensure she is on her own so as not to infect any other fish.  As she is your only fish, then she is already isolated.
 
The images do get a little larger but not big enough to really see what is going on.
 
Here is one of my girls, that sadly I lost from a similar situation.  I have linked to it so you can read what people thought/recommended.  I do hope we can save Koral with you, but if she is starting to pine cone you are aware it is not looking good for her.  Just do your best as this is all we can all do in these situations, and hope.
 
I have PM'd WildBetta for you, yet she has not been on-line since.
 

she is in a 2 gallon tank right now bc she is sick, someone on another forum told me to move her to a smaller tank or "hospital tank"
normally she is in her regular aquarium which I believe is 8 gallons or 8.5 gallons??

should I put her back in her regular tank??? I wasn't sure if the smaller tank would stress her out but multiple people recommended a "hospital tank"

The reason people often mention a "hospital tank" is:
a) to isolate the fish from other fish - if you only have Koral this is not necessary
b) to reduce the amount of water to enable treatment at less cost i.e. you use less treatment
c) any infection does not get into the substrate (gravel), decorations and filtration of the main aquarium
d) it is often easier to capture the fish
e) it is easier to clean as the tank is kept bare
f) the hospital tank can be modified easily e.g. dropping the water level if the fish is weak and needs to surface.
 
Always ask why they recommend something to you, and this way you will gain in understanding.  I am only guessing it could be any of the above.
 
If she is your only fish you may wish to return her to her regular tank, as this way the water will remain more stable.  You can then use the smaller tank to treat her in if you wish.
 
Good Luck we are all supporting you and Koral.
 

Thank You so much! You are very helpful and informative. I just gave her, her first salt bath and she seemed to do just fine.
That is my filter on the video but mine does not have a carbon insert? its just the filter and the sponge. and yes when I clean the filter I rinse the sponge with fresh water from the sink.
your fish looks to be in the same condition as mine, but my fish is way more bloated the good news is that I don't think she has actually started to pine cone yet (well maybe on like one or two scales in  the back) it looks like she is bc her scales are extremely stretched out but when I looked at her from the top while she was in her bath she didn't look like a pine cone yet.  
also how can I get her to release her eggs without a male betta?? she looks stuffed with tons of eggs and that cannot be helping matters.
also I read on another site that tetracycline is a good antibiotic to use. what do you think? im going to pet smart tomorrow to get her some medicine.

Oh, sorry. I though she was in that tank long term which is why I said to do such large and regular water changes.
With her regular tank you can do 25-50% weekly.

that's okay, you didn't know okay I will def do water 25-50% water changes weekly from now on.
its hard bc I go to pet smart a lot for advice and they always tell me the wrong things. they were the ones who told me I only need to clean my tank once a month with a good filter. Also I initially had her in the 2 gallon tank when I got her 6 months ago bc the pet smart employee told me that's all she needed.
a month after I bought her a friend told me that my tank was much to small and she needed 5 gallons at least, so I bought her the 8 gallon tank and she was much happier. Now I only use the 2 gallon tank as an isolation/ hospital tank

 

[RCA]

 

DELETED TEXT SEE ORIGINAL POSTING
Good Luck we are all supporting you and Koral.
 

Thank You so much! You are very helpful and informative. I just gave her, her first salt bath and she seemed to do just fine.
That is my filter on the video but mine does not have a carbon insert? its just the filter and the sponge. and yes when I clean the filter I rinse the sponge with fresh water from the sink.
your fish looks to be in the same condition as mine, but my fish is way more bloated

the good news is that I don't think she has actually started to pine cone yet (well maybe on like one or two scales in  the back) it looks like she is bc her scales are extremely stretched out but when I looked at her from the top while she was in her bath she didn't look like a pine cone yet.  
also how can I get her to release her eggs without a male betta?? she looks stuffed with tons of eggs and that cannot be helping matters.
also I read on another site that tetracycline is a good antibiotic to use. what do you think? im going to pet smart tomorrow to get her some medicine.
 

 

 
You're welcome, we all started at the beginning and never stop learning 

 
In my post I asked

 

 ​

How do you clean your filter?  Do you rinse the sponge in water removed from the aquarium?  Does it have anything else in there other than sponges?

You state "...and yes when I clean the filter I rinse the sponge with fresh water from the sink." 

  * You must only use water you have taken from the aquarium to rinse your sponge and then discard the water.
 
Good news that she is not pine coning yet.  I have not yet managed to get the eggs released from a female, try Googling it or hopefully someone may know?
 
I believe tetracycline is a good all round antibiotic, yet in the UK we cannot get it over the counter  Just avoid anything called "...FIX", as I believe these are detrimental to Bettas.  Someone in the US needs to advise you on Meds, hopefully Wildbetta will be on-line before you go shopping.
 
Re: Water changes, just think in the wild the water is replenishing, thus in an aquarium we have to replicate that as best we can.  Filters can only do part of the job  While she is sick the water must be pristine, therefore I would be doing small water changes daily.  Do you condition the water with a de-clorinator etc?
 
* I need to go and visit a friend in hospital now, so cannot explain things further at this stage, hopefully someone else will come along and explain if need be, so feel free to ask questions.  Also, take a look in the Beginners Resource Section on the TFF as there is a lot of useful information in there too.

 

[Meeresstille]

Do you know about building up beneficial bacteria in the filter? Have you checked your 5 gallon tank for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate?
 
If your tap water is being treated with chlorine or chloramine by the city and you were cleaning your filter with tap water, your tank may never have really been cycled. 

 

[Wildbetta]

Ok from what I see your betta does look to have dropsy but there still is the possibility of it being a cyst. (Like I stated previously in another thread you posted for this fish  )  I agree with RCA about the epsom salt baths and fasting her.  The reason I recommend fasting at this stage is with bloating of any kind that is this severe it is easier on the fish's system to not have to work to break down food in addition to fighting whatever has caused this.  There are cases of dropsy with no raised scales but the treatment is the same.  I do not recommend any medications because there is no known cause of the dropsy.  Dropsy is a symptom of many things and without knowing what has caused the fluid build up, it would not be good to just randomly throw medications at her.  The epsom salt will help draw the fluid out of her (hopefully as there is no for sure here) and allow you to hopefully figure out what was causing the underlying problem.  As far as I know, there is no real way for you to help a female betta to expel her eggs.  I believe it looks like she is egg bound to you because she is so bloated that her ovaries are pushed closer to the surface of the skin and easier to see.  If she gets better (I do apologize as I am blunt and do not sugar coat stuff so I will not say "when she gets better") do not feed her freeze dried foods.  They just cause more issues than needed for bettas.  Oh and dropsy is not caused by feeding live worms as some sources state.  Dropsy can be caused by internal parasites, bacterial infections, trauma of some sort, and other sorts of issues.  I do wish you the best with her and hope that she is one of the cases that can be helped.  I hope I was some kind of help and sorry it took me a while to respond.