Tumor Causing Dropsy?

[Colleen_slainte]

I apologize in advance if this topic has already been covered, I'm just so sick of researching and reading.... I just have to ask.

I have a 3g eclipse filter tank with a betta and 2 zebra danios. I had some different fish in there, but, alas, too many and they died of ammonia poisoning and/or overcrowding. Anywho, (re)started with the betta (Pumpernickel), kept him for a month or so and got the danios. About 2 months later I started to notice some brown algae, so, I got a snail. regular, brown snail. He was cool for a few days and then I had to leave for a week & a half to visit my folks for christmas. I put in one of those 7 day betta blocks and went on my merry way. As soon as I came back home, I discovered my snail had died while I was gone and my betta had developed the wierdest bump on his side. I also noticed that one of the scales at the peak of the lump had fallen off/been damaged. Prompted by my somewhat recent massive (albeit unintentional) fish murdering, I immediately began research. It didn't inhibit his movements, he still ate and chased the danios around as he'd done before. This was on the 3rd of Jan. I did a treatment of Maracyn and nothing happened, so, I kinda shrugged it off. On the 10th I bought a 10 gallon and moved all 3 of them into it. Everything was fine, he wasn't getting worse, but, he definitely wasn't getting better. I went back to my folks' again on the 14th for a drs appt and when I came back on the 17th, he had acquired full blown dropsy. I had been reluctant to acknowledge it as dropsy because he wasn't pineconing (at the time) and basically I didn't want to admit it. Anywho, I freaked out and took him to the local fish store. He looked AWFUL. He was huge! The wierd thing was that he was still eating and swimming alot! I got some bloodworms and he even ate those! So, the owner of the pet store said to treat him for dropsy with maracyn 2. Did that. Isolated him in a 2 gal vase and kept it warm, pinch of epsom salt and did at least a 10% water change daily (50% every 3 days), all the while treating him with the Maracyn 2. He got ALMOST all the way down. He got all the way back to the way he was before the dropsy kicked in. Which means he still had the tumor. So, I stopped treating him and let him go. He started to swell up again. So, I fasted him for a week. That did nothing. So, now I don't know what to do. I can't afford to continually feed him Maracyn 2 and he's already starting to pinecone slightly, again. He's still vibrant as ever and his tail fins are thick and pretty full of color (not at 100%, but, mostly there). He still flares up at me when I look at him the wrong way.

So, this is my dillemma. I've read EVERYTHING I could get my hands on on the internet about anything having to do with bettas, tumors, and dropsy. I know that tumors can be common, but he's not that old. I purchased him from the pet store about 4 months ago and he was fine up until I left and that dang snail died.

Any and all help is soo much appreciated!

 

[joycould]

I have a betta with a tumor, the only real thing I can do is keep him comfortable. I know it is a tumor because it is only on one side of his body. When I look down one side really bulges out and the other side bulges a little. He is still begs for food and do his will wiggle dance when he sees me. If yours has dropsy you can treat it if it is a tumor keep him comfortable and happy.

 

[Fish_Stix]

Yeah, if he has a tumor then there really is not much you can do for him, I'm sorry to say. As joycould mentioned, just try to keep him happy and comfortable for the time he has left. Is there a way you can provide a picture to help us better identify whether it is a tumor or not?

 

[Amunet]

He's still bloating? Could be internal infection or he could already have organ failure.

I've had 3 bettas who have gotten sick and eventually dropsy started.
All 3 of them ate until the day they died. My girl who died of it.. I stopped feeding her a few days before she died b/c it was too hard for her to move around. A betta I hadn't had for very long... he still swam around his entire tank and acted like nothing was wrong before he finally passed.
And then my poor Raj who I had to euthanize (b/c I didn't want to suffer long).. he actually slowed down quite a bit until he was resting all day long. He took food though. He also had a bump on his side, but I'm fairly certain it was just fluids and not a tumor.


I'm afraid to say it doesn't sound good for your lil guy I hope I'm wrong but I'd be prepared for the worst.
Right now you could try to medicate again, but I would just try to keep him as comfy and as happy as you can.

 

[Colleen_slainte]

Thanks so much for your help... I think as soon as he grows listless, I might euthanize him. I can see the yellow fluid inside his body. My profile pic is him pre-dropsy. You can see the tumor and everything.

So I guess it really is organ failure. It was just so wierd that the Maracyn 2 brought him almost completely back to normal.

I suppose a new question would be whether or not I should euthanize him now or later, or just let him die. Is there any way to know if it's causing him unbearable pain? He's acting fine, but, he's just SO huge. And, if I decide to do that, what's the best way? I read about freezin/boiling water, but that seems so inhumane...

 

[ibbledibble]

one way you could try is clove oil.

mix several drops with some water in a little bottle and shake really well so it goes a milky colour. put your better in a container with about 1-2L of water in and add the clove oil mixture. to begin with he will splash about, trying to get away fro the foreign substance in the water, but it does not actually hurt them. the clove oil will put him to sleep and then you can finish the job by adding alcohol to the water with him. this will kill him, but he will not feel anything as the clove oil will have already anesthetised him

 

[Colleen_slainte]

Thanks, that sounds good. So, the oil just makes them go numb?

 

[Amunet]

I did the freezing water method w/ Raj.
Got a cup and filled it with cold tap water, then dropped in about 5 cubes of ice.
Let it sit for a while until the ice had melted a little and the water was very cold.
I picked him up out of the container I had him in with a net and then put him into the cup of cold water.
Took about 3-5 seconds for him to pass... I'm not sure b/c I couldn't watch, but it didn't take long at all

 

[ibbledibble]

doesn't make them numb, makes them fall asleep.

i think the freezing method is maybe ok if done that way (put into freezing water), but don't put a fish into the freezer as it would take too long and be very nasty way to die