fishdish Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 My little Charlie a male betta developed a swollen stomach it is not dropsy he has been like this for over a week now I put aquarium salt in the tank made no difference I took him out of the main tank and put him in a bowl in a warm place there is still no difference all the other fish are healthy as. He was beinging harrased by 1 or 2 of the black widow tetras they would nip his fins but not a lot as his fins are still quite long I have not seen him eating either each time I come home from work I expect Charlie to be dead but he dosen't want to die he is still very lively I don't know weather to put him back into the main tank I can't leave him in a bowl what should I do help cheers Joy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZ_Loach Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 maybe constipated lol :roll: , i dont know what to do about the bloating but if hes not eating try some live/frozen food or foods high in protein/fibre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishdish Posted January 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Tried some frozen food no go I noticed his scales are protruding a little bit the pet shop told me if it is dropsy you would see the scales sticking out before the stomach got big is that right or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 With dropsy, if you look down from above, the fish will appear all puffed out and the scales will look like a pinecone. More likely to be constipated I think. If he is constipated his belly area only will be swollen and yes, the scales will stick out a bit on the swollen area. Try feeding him a cooked pea (pop it out of the shell first as it is a bit hard to digest). Peas are good for constipation in fish. Failing this you can use Epsom Salts but I am not sure of the doseage offhand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Hi, with my fighters their stomachs tend to blow up before you can see the pinecone look and then the scales stick out further each day. I haven't had dropsy for a long time but when I did I used to have to use a magnifying glass at the start to see the pinecone - always developed a bloated stomach first and stopped eating. Unfortunately I have never been able to cure it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Sorry, meant to also say don't put him back in the main tank yet - wait and see, I have had fish survive 3-4 weeks like this and then die even though the average time is supposed to be about 10 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTam22 Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 whats is dropsy caused by?? I had a couple of my fighters die with the same symtoms it was awhile ago now though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishdish Posted January 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Sorry I would like to know that myself may be someone can tell us I have tried the pea he will not eat anything his scales are sticking out round his belly I can see them with a magifying glass not down by his tail though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Hi, some say its caused by bacteria and some say feeding live worms can cause it. Take a look at the web site www.fishjunkies.com it has pictures and an article on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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