HELP! My Betta Has a Big Bulge

okiemavis

It's generally more convenient to upload the images through this website, but if you really can't get it working and this is an emergency, you can try something else like http://imageshack.us. Then you can just paste in the web address of the photo.

amyw16

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/4120/1001495cc3.jpg


Maybe this one will work. I'll keep trying if it doesn't

amyw16

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/6863/samor0.jpg


Here's is one of Sam about a month ago. I'll try to post another link of the previous one so it will be bigger.

amyw16

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/1999/1001495op8.jpg


Okay, here is the first pic with his belly swollen. I didn't re-size it this time so it would be bigger.

Let me know what you think or if you need another pic. Now that I've figured out a way to do it, I can show you anything you need to see. Except I didn't get a pic of the weird poop.

Also, I wanted to mention that he has never seemed like something's wrong this whole time. Today was the first day he hasn't really been swimming around much, but I figured that's b/c I haven't fed him for three days. This whole time he's continued to puff at me and build a bubble nest. I don't know if that info. helps any or not.

okiemavis

Ouch! You said he hasn't displayed any other symptoms until today? No loss of color, appetite, listlessness?

It's really important to know your water parameters- ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, temperature and also preferably gh and kh. Could you find them out?

I can't tell exactly, but does his entire stomach swell evenly, or is it just that side of him? It really could be so many things- infection, worms, tumor.

Perhaps this thread will help:
http://www.fishforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=18259

amyw16

He's been a slight bit less active than in the past, but today was the first day he was staying in his cave or at the bottom of the tank. However he did still come up and puff at me today. He hasn't had any loss of color either.

The water parameters are:
ammonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-0
ph-7.2
temp. 78 degrees
gh-~150
kh-80

He's in a 2.5 gallon tank with a heater set at 78, a filter, and I change 50% of his water every third day.

Before he became swollen he was eating 6-10 pellets twice a day. I usually put them in a few at a time and watch him eat them so I can get any extra out when he's finished.

I stopped feeding him pellets on Tue. All he's had since are some bites of peas. (Which now I read from bettababy, that wasn't good, but I already did it).

I changed his water yesterday and there was no poop that I could find. Usually there's 2-3 that I clean out.

It does seem that it's equally swollen all over. Maybe slightly larger on the right side, but not much if at all. You can't really see it looking down on him from above. When you look straight at him, it appears like he has a double chin. And you can see the side shot.

Let me know if any other info. or pics would help. I don't know if I should be feeding him or not, or what to do next.

amyw16

Also, I forgot to mention that he has never eaten bloodworms or brine shrimp. I've offered him the freeze-dried ones, but he would never eat them.

amyw16

I went ahead and fed Sam some pellets last night. This morning there was something that looked like poop that I cleaned out of his tank, but not as thick as it usually is.
I fed him 5 pellets again this morning and now he's passing something that is white and stringy. It's different than the "weird" poop from yesterday afternoon.
I've also been trying to look at him closely and I can't say for sure, but it looks like a thin strip of his scales going up each of his sides may be slightly raised. You can't see them from looking down on him, but when I look at him from the side, the color is different there, lighter I guess.
Also, his fins are shredded b/c he's a crowntail. After looking at him, there seems to be lighter color, even white between some of the shreds of his fins.
I don't know if any of this info. will help someone know what's wrong with him or what I can do to help him, but I hope so.

amyw16

I just wanted to thank everyone for their input and advice. Bettababy is helping me to hopefully get Sam better. I sent her some pics and filled her in on everything. Since his scales aren't raising up she didn't think it was dropsy. The swollen belly could either be from an internal parasite or bacterial infection. She's walking me through how to treat for both. I'll let everyone know how things are going. The treatment lasts 10 days. Hopefully it isn't too late to help him.

Also, bettababy does not advise giving bettas peas. She says it can cause them damage and make other treatable illnesses become fatal. I just thought I would pass that along b/c I'm new to all of this and I know that while trying to research what to do for him I found mixed messages about peas. Hopefully this will help someone else who doesn't know what to do.

Thanks again to everyone and I'll let you know how Sam is in a few days. I'm hoping I'll be able to post a pic of him all better and back to normal!!
And thanks bettababy!!! You've been incredibly helpful!!