Poorly Betta

[Lacuna]

Hello. I originally posted this in the betta section but got no replies, so hopefully I will get more response here. My betta has developed an ulcer or a sore on his side. He is in a 48 litre tank with six khuli loaches and I have had him for about 15 months. Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate about 15. This is what it looked like on the 17th Jan:


I treated the water with Myxazin on the 17th Jan as it says it treats ulcers and sores. I treated him for five days and the last dose was a week ago. It didn't seem to help, and actually seemed to get bigger:


It's been a week since the picture above was taken and the sore is slightly bigger now. He doesn't swim about at all, he just spends all his time hanging about at the top of the tank not really moving. I also think he is beginning to look a bit bloated. He is still eating, but I have not been overfeeding him. Does anyone know what this is and what I could do?

Many thanks for your help.

 

[-FighterFishh]

I wish I could help, he's a very pretty boy.
I hope he pulls through
Good luck!

 

[Lacuna]

I wish I could help, he's a very pretty boy.
I hope he pulls through
Good luck!

Thanks for the thought. He's certainly not getting any better. Someone must have encountered something like this before.

 

[scaeriefaerie666]

What other medications do you have in the tank at the moment? Any aquarium salt?
xxx

 

[Luzi]

Beautiful fish
Give him a salt dip - it'll help stop infection. DON'T add salt to the tank! Khulis have a very low tolerance

 

[Lacuna]

I don't have any other meds in the tank at the moment, it's been a while since I dosed the tank with the myxazin. The salt dip is a good idea, but he's started to look quite bloated. He looks bloated from the top as well as the side. I will feed him some pea tonight. Or starve him? He is still swimming to the front for food and eating. Is it okay to use aquarium salt or can this make bloating worse? Thanks for advice.

 

[Luzi]

Salt will help with the bloating, but it sounds like he may have an early stage of dropsy. Feed him a pea to help digestion and try a dip to see how things go. Check khuli tolerance to myxazin - they're pretty sensitive, but if they were fine last time they'll probably be ok next time
Good luck!

 

[Lacuna]

Yesterday he flipped out and charged around the tank bashing against the filter and bogwood. He made his sore much worse, it looked like this:



I decided I needed to isolate him, so yesterday I put him in a small hospital tank. It only holds about 12 litres, and there is nothing in there except a heater, a moss ball, thermometer, and an indian almond leaf. I have a small elite filter but I think any flow will be too much for him. I will do small water changes when needed instead. I tested for ammonia this morning and this evening and the results were 0, but I did a small water change tonight anyway. I also use stress coat which says it deals with ammonia.

On Saturday I noticed that his scales seem to be sticking out a little bit, though not as much as I have seen in pictures of fish pineconing. This was the best picture I could get, taken today:



Is this from ordinary bloating or does it look more serious? He happily ate two bloodworms last night, I will give him pea tonight.

I am tempted to try the myxazin again for his sore, which looks a bit better today. Or I could get salt, but should I get epsom salt or use aquarium salt?

 

[scaeriefaerie666]

aquarium salt for a salt dip is good for the infection, but if you can get some melafix in with him more permanently, which is made from tea tree oil - it will help him heal more quickly. It looks like the beginning stages of dropsy, in which case there's not a lot that you can do for him. Try some anti-internal bacteria medication, feed him peas to help with his digestion and make sure the water quality is perfect with plenty of oxygen.
xxx

 

[loraxchick]

i would NOT suggest using aquarium salt in this case (it is generally good for inhibiting infection however with the pineconing it will make the fluid retention in the tissues worse making the pineconing worse-epsom salt is used for bloating/dropsy...to be honest he doesnt look overly bloated in the belly tho-the scales is worrisome however)
I would defiantly start antibacterial treatment. that sore looks bad! good that he is still eating, just be careful the amount you feed. I would feed 2-3 bloodworms every other day with a pea twice a week. fast for one day a week. steer clear of pellets and other dry food while he is "bloated" (plus the protein in the bloodworms will be benneficial right now. keep that water clean clean clean to ward off any potential infection. Ideally at least 50% every day.
Keep us posted. I hope he is able to pull thru. that is a bad looking wound.
all the best!
cheers

 

[Lacuna]

The wound is starting to look better, it is far less red. I have been treating him with antibacterial meds and they seem to help. I'm not going to do the salt until I have finished with the meds because I don't want to mess him about too much, and he's not heavily bloated. I have been doing 30% water changes, but I'll increase them to 50% and try the bloodworm. He's not looking great, to be honest, just hanging there.

 

[Lacuna]

My poorly betta is still with us. He has been in the hospital tank for nearly three weeks now, with daily water changes. His side seems to have healed pretty much, although it looks kind of smooth and as though he doesn't have scales there now. This photo was taken nine days ago, sorry it's small:



He's not pinecconing anymore either, and he is eating normally. He is still very inactive, mostly sitting on the bottom or hanging at the top. Sometimes he lies completely flat on the bottom of the tank and looks dead. But the past two days he has swum about a bit more and sometimes hangs at the front of the tank looking out. I don't know whether his inactivity is old age or if he is still unwell. I'm also unsure about moving him back to his old tank. He hates the daily water changes (and so do I). I'll see how he goes, but I'm amazed at what loads of clean water can do.

 

[Doc7]

hope he continues to get better!!!

 

[mattshez]

givw him another week, but the wound looks healed to me. and betas can be veryh inactive in that way, not sure about the deadplay though

 

[LadyRiv.]

how is your betta going? hope he's better