Tank After Dropsy

[MichaelMcFish]

Okay, so, I have a 10G that once inhabited a betta and a bunch of snails... Now just the snails.

The betta was euthanised after she had gotten dropsy, since I had no medications and everyone said she would just suffer and die...

It has been 24 days and I haven't touched the tank till yesterday, when I added some new gravel and added 25% of water after it evaporated along with cleaning the sponge filter in new water and the HOB floss in tank water before I added some ceramic rings. Should I do anything else before I put anofher betta in? I'm pretty sure the cause for the dropsy was from the swing in temperatures as it was near the aircon, but I have a heater in there that I tested over night and it's keeping the temperature consistent.

I'm worried about bleaching because some plants I have in there are being nursed back to health and I don't think bleach would do them any good... At all.

 

[Colin_T]

Temperature fluctuations do not cause dropsy. The most common cause of dropsy is an internal bacterial infection. Depending on what species of bacteria caused the problem will determine how you should treat the tank.

How did the fish develop the dropsy?
eg: did it swell up overnight, stop eating, do stringy white poop and sit under the surface or near a filter outlet breathing heavily?
Or did it get fat over the course of a week or more?

Did the scales stick out sideways from the body?
What other symptoms did it have?
How old was the fish?
How long did you have the fish for?

 

[MichaelMcFish]

Temperature fluctuations do not cause dropsy. The most common cause of dropsy is an internal bacterial infection. Depending on what species of bacteria caused the problem will determine how you should treat the tank.

How did the fish develop the dropsy?
eg: did it swell up overnight, stop eating, do stringy white poop and sit under the surface or near a filter outlet breathing heavily?
Or did it get fat over the course of a week or more?

Did the scales stick out sideways from the body?
What other symptoms did it have?
How old was the fish?
How long did you have the fish for?

She was a little bloated for a short while then get better. After that she started having stringy poop and then stopped eat, bloated up and got pineconing.

 

[Colin_T]

I would flush the tank out and boil the gravel and any rocks or wood. Wash everything else a few times and let it dry out.

Throw the plants away and start again from the beginning. If you want to keep the plants then stick them in a bucket of straight bleach for a minute before rinsing them off under tap water. Then bleach again for a minute and rinse. Then put them in a bucket of water for a few days and change the water every few hours.