# :( I dont wanna lose him! HELP ME!!;(



## littlemissmiss7 (May 24, 2010)

:blink::bluelaugh::sob::blueworry::BIGsad::BIGweepy::shake: DOES HE HAVE DROPSY??! all my past bettas have died from dropsy!! he almost had it but i cured it. hes lethargic and his "chin" is protruding. He also has theese stripes. Stripes? i dont know. Its scary though! i love him sooo much! i would miss skipper terribly! n i was just about to get a second betta! i noticed that one of my leaves is kinda torn. i thnk it might me bloating but idk. plzplzplzplzplzplzplzplzplzplz pu-lease do not be dropsy!


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## Betta Slave (Dec 8, 2009)

If his scales are raised he most likely has dropsy. Horizontal stripes means he's stressed. Is your temperature okay? What do you have in the tank?
I've also heard of dropsy starting at one point and spreading over the body of the fish. Are the scales on his chin protruding, or just his chin?


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## LotusRuin (Apr 22, 2010)

If he has dropsy, his belly would be bloated, and he'd look like a pinecone, or like his scales are sticking up to make him look jagged or pointy.

If he is a silvery color, or has black horizontal stripes down his body, then he's probably just stressed out.

Not sure about the chin. I'm having trouble visualizing what you're explaining. Are his chin -scales- protruding? If it's not the scales and it doesn't look jagged, don't worry.


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## Zenandra (Nov 14, 2009)

It would really really help if you could post a picture! I would really like to help you but it's hard to picture what you're describing! What is the temp of the tank? Is he bloated?


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## littlemissmiss7 (May 24, 2010)

no scales are protuding. just his chin. his chin is a silvery color. the second i took his plant out he became less lethargic. he seems happy now but his chin is still bulging. i think he might have a little problem flaring becuase his flares his flap of skin out but that black/red thing under just barley shows. even when i show him a mirror. im going to change his water tomorrow. he will also get a tottally new enviornment because i am getting qnother betta n i just realized that i have to tanks with filters. do you think everything is ok now? just wondering if i am doing the right thing. thank you for all the comments they made be feel way more confedent that he doesnt have dropsy


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## mfskarphedin (May 19, 2010)

If you have fish come down and die with the same symptoms, are you completely sterilizing the tank between fish? If not, you could have gotten the first fish with a disease which was then passed on to each subsequent fish.


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## littlemissmiss7 (May 24, 2010)

this is a tottaly different tank. sooooo idk. just unlucky. i dont hear of alot of fish dying from this but all of my fish have. not even my sisters fish had. its just rly weeird. its even a totally differnt kind of tank from a different store


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## mfskarphedin (May 19, 2010)

Did you sterilize nets, tubing, filters, etc? Just checking. People tend to forget about nets.

You might try some garlic juice to see if that helps. It's kind of a "tonic," I guess. I only read about it recently, and it seemed to help when my betta was sick a few months ago. I'm not sure what the dosage is, or if it matters. You can get the juice by buying a small bottle of minced garlic at the grocery store very cheap. Also, there are manufactured bottles of it sold around the net somewhere for use with fish. Don't use melaleuca (tea tree oil,) even though it's marketed for bettas as Bettafix.

Temperature problems can majorly affect bettas. Try to keep it at least 75F. _What size tank is he in?_ If it's tiny, as it looks in your avatar photo, wastes can build up very, very quickly. Someone more knowledgeable would know better, but if it's a betta bowl, you should change some maybe every day? You should post on that; every day might be too stressful, too.

Also, I read recently that if a fish's gills get burned with chlorine or ammonia or diffused gasses in the water (if your tap water fizzes when it comes out of the tap,) when/if they heal, the gills might permanently stick out from the scar tissue that forms. Perhaps it might be that? You need to let your change-water sit to de-gass, make sure it's the same temp as the tank, and treat it for chlorine. You could also use bottled spring water if it's a small tank.

If you haven't changed the water in a long time, it might be a big shock to the fish to suddenly change to all clean water, so then you'd make more-frequent but smaller changes, like 20% of the water every day for a few days until you can start what will be your normal water-changing routine (again, post in the forum so more-experienced keepers can tell you what this should be.)


Hmm, hope that helps!


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

When you say his 'chin' is swollen, I think you mean his stomach. Here's a pic of a betta with a swollen tummy...









If that's the case, he might be constipated. You can try fasting him until he poops and the swelling goes down.


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