# Sick fish



## RescuePets (Oct 30, 2012)

ok guys i have a problem Lucius has something wrong with him. his attitude hasn't changed at all or how active he is. however this morning when i got out of classes i realized that under his gills in the area of his front fins it seems swollen. here is a picture i don't know how well you can see it but any suggestions would be great to help my little guy out.

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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i know it ain't pregnant....but that's about all....the expert will be with you shortly....
yoo hoo.....betta man....


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Betta man is your man in this case  but I would recommend that you get that fish a heated, filtered, bigger aquarium. I know you have been planning to upgrade so why not know? Is he eating or pooping alright? Might be constipated if he isn't. In that case feed a pealed pea. But maybe wait for somebody else to help you first.


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## RescuePets (Oct 30, 2012)

He's moving to his heated filtered tank as soon as I find out what's wrong with him and how to treat it


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Well it will be better for him in a heated filtered aquarium, and he might actually heal up better there. Of course you can treat him were he is but I think that it wouldn't work as well.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I would say stop feeding for a couple of days and see if the swell goes down by doing that.


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## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

Looks to me like some bloat. Can be from constipation or parasites. More times than not though its constipation. You can do a epsom salt treatment for him though. 

In a heated (78) tank/bowl of atleast 1.5-3 gallons, add 1 tsp of epsom salt daily for 5-10 days. Each of those days do a 90% water change. You dont want to 100% because it would be just to stressful on the fishes system. The Epsom salt helps with constipation and bloat. If the bloat doesnt go away or gets worse, you could try an aquarium salt treatment later on down the road, bloat that remains for a long period or gets worse would most likely be signs of parasites. A pea deskinned may work but feed this in small moderation, peas long term arent good for bettas, their digestion isnt set up for it. Some ignore them completely though. I would fast the betta for 24 hours then begin to re feed very small amounts after that til the bloat goes down, its also hard on their system to fast them for more than 24 hours, 48 at the most. 
Dont forget to add stress coat at each water change. 

What are you feeding, how much and how often? Diet can make a big difference when it comes to dealing with bloat/constipation.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Try feeding a pea. If he starts pineconing, (scales stick out) then he has dropsy.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

bettas (like a lot of other fish) can go without food for much longer than 24h or 48h. And if the fish is bloated you don't want to feed it regular fish food as this will just contribute. Feed a pealed pea and hold of the feeding. I don't think you will need salt treatments as long as it is just bloating.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I know someone who fasted their fish over 30 days and the fish survived. It won't die with a week of fasting.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

you guys are all wrong..he has swellicus bellicanaurium.....treat with liberal amounts of bagbalm....
it could be a number of things going on..could even be a tumor...could just be bloat or constipation...always feed your fish (all of them) either spirulina or veggie flakes at least twice a week....this will help them from getting this condition...

nw go get that bagbalm...lol


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## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

I dunno, I know bettas can go without food that long, but I was told by several, its best to feed after 24 hours in order to help things push through, but who knows, I just shared the knowledge I have gained from some betta forum breeders. Good luck either way, there are many ways to treat and these people on here have some good advice


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## RescuePets (Oct 30, 2012)

Ok can we please agree on one treatment I'm confused and would like to start treating my fish 


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

R P .....you should know by now to never listen to me....i just run rampant through the forums all willy nilly......especially when i am talking about things like bagbalm..lol


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## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

lol Loha, are you serious about the bagbalm? Ive never heard of using that, Ive used it on farm animals lol. Fill me in cuz now im curious!


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

bagbalm is a fantastic product...for farm animals and humans as well..it is even available in drugstores in a black and white cow pattern jar............
but it is "NOT" for fish....i was just goofing around......
i will leave the fish ailment cures to the pros.....


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## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

LOL us newbies might end up believing! That was a good one. Loha you always offer good advice about fish health and fish care, I deffinitely respect your knowledge. Bettas are just a tad bit different from other fish from what Ive learned these past couple months. I guess it all depends on experiences and whats worked/what hasnt type observations  ...dont stop teaching! There are two ppl I always tell mum about when I talk about what to do and not to do...one is Loha and one is Ol'fishlady a 30+ yr betta breeder from one of the betta forums I follow "Well Loha says this" or "Ol'fishlady says that" "and they know their stuff" ...lol. Yourself, Emc7, bettaman, bettaguy, zebradanio, obsidian and some others, you guys are always there to help when needed, its appreciated!


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I think we should stop talking about bagbalm and focus on the problem at hand now (even though I must say that I was confused in the beginning as well  ). I would say stop feeding for at least 48h and see if that helps at all. If the swelling goes down while you do that it is a good sign. If the swelling still doesn't go down feed a pealed pea. If the swelling still doesn't go down after that I would say it isn't bloating that is affecting your fish.

Some people keep their betta with a bit of aquarium salt in their water all their lifes, so even though I don't believe that it would help you can still do it as it wont harm the betta, and I might be wrong about it not helping.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

geeeeezzzz guy...lighten up a bit will ya...and if you hadn't noticed i did give my opinion of the issue and some resolution as well...and i speak from 40 years experience and over that time well over a half million fish......
i have kept bettas , and bred them...but only about 5 or 6 thousand of them so i know i am not the expert that others are...


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I speak from about a year of good experience and over a 100 hours of research. I think the betta in the pic is bloated, and I would fast it for 48 hrs and if the bloating doesn't go down, feed it a pea. Act as if the tank has dropsy in it. Many cases of dropsy start out looking like overfeeding, but end in disease.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

oh loha, I guess you didn't see the winky face. I tried being a bit funny, but it is difficult to do over the internet when people can't see your face and see that you are just trying to have some fun.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

ahhhhhhhh....so that's what it was......lol


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## RescuePets (Oct 30, 2012)

Thank you tried the pea thing and my fish is looking much better new home tomorrow morning!!!!


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Awesome, must have been bloating then. In the future don't overfeed, and if you are feeding pellets soak them in water beforehand so that they grow to their full size in the water and not in the betta.


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