Betta Fish Bloated Belly
Betta Fish Bloated Belly
sick betta, please help! ?
My betta fish had fin rot a few months ago, I treated him with Melafix and the damage stopped but his fins did not grow back. However, I noticed just before Christmas that he was getting bloated and had a red sore on his belly. Figuring it a relapse, I started using Melafix again. The sore is getting much better, but the bloating continued and he stopped eating. I called a few fish stores and was told he has an internal bacterial infection, and told me to switch to Betta Revive. I put in his first dose today, but am still worried. He is very bloated and has stopped eating, and has also developed grey patches on his head and a cotton-looking spot on his fin. I thought those were signs of a fungal infection, not bacterial? Does anyone have any advice? Please help me, I’m very worried about my little guy!
It sounds to me like your fish is suffering from bacterial problems. Melafix won’t be enough, especially if it’s internal.. which is what dropsy means.
First thing you must do is fix the cause of the problems. With such a wide array it’s likely the cause of the problems is poor water quality. Methylene blue is a pretty good anti-microbial. It will go a long way to fixing any external bacterial infections.. and on the off chance it’s a fungus, it will help that as well. You’ll want to give him a bath, don’t add it to his tank. Get a separate container, add 3 drops per gallon and put him in it for 30 minutes twice a day.
The internal problem is a bit tougher to treat. The best bet is antibiotic food… however, he’s not eating. You need to add a broad spectrum antibiotic that’s effective against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Nitrofurazone and furazolidone is available in a lot of products and is cheap. Jungle’s fungus clear contains it. You could also try something like tetracycline… however, one or the other. Don’t use both.
During treatment you need to maintain the best possible water quality you can as poor water is most likely the cause of his problems to begin with. That means he needs filtered, heated water.. and at least 2.5 gallons of it. You can buy a cheap tank that comes with everything except the heater for under $30. I highly recomend it. It will be exceptionaly difficult to treat a betta in a bowl.
