# Vertical betta, with dropsy on top of his head. Help?



## Nauriel (Nov 9, 2008)

My betta fish has been getting sick. Looking back, I would have to say it started about five days ago. He lost a bit of his appetite. He'd see the pellets, but then swim away. Although he would come back a little bit later and eat them, he's always shown a very acute interest in food. It used to be the minute he saw the food, he would eat it. 

And then, a day or two after that, he started hiding. Normally he swims around his tank and whenever I enter the room he swims right up to the glass to beg for food. He's been hiding behind the filter, and it takes him about thirty seconds to come out. That's definitely not normal. 

And then this morning I woke up to find him vertical in his tank. His head was at the top, with his tail facing downward. I watched him for awhile, and he just stayed in the corner. When I went up to his to where he could see me, he started swimming normally. However, the scales on the top of his head have pulled away (looking like dropsy, but only on the top of his head) and his belly has lost it's color. 

I keep d'Artagnan in a ten gallon tank with an eight gallon whisper filter (the only kind of filter that doesn't suck d'Artagnan into the twilight zone) and a ten gallon heater. Theres your normal run of the mill gravel. There are two java ferns, a mondo grass, and two sprouts of lucky bamboo. He also has two fake plants. 

I did a water test, and everything was in the normal range, except for the pH (it registered as a 6.0, but since that's as low as it can test for, it could be lower). My alkalinity is a bit low as well (40 ppm), which could partly explain the low ph. 

I feed him mainly top fin color enhancing pellets (about 4 a day) as well as the occasional meal of flake food. I also give him frozen food about every 5 days. 

Any help would be appreciated. I know this might just be old age, but I'm hoping there's at least something I can do for him.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

If it's dropsy, it's fatal. I don't know what the problem could be. Hopefully someone else can help you.


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## Jazattackk (Jul 20, 2009)

If your betta has raised scales and a bloated belly, it's dropsy. Betta's sometimes get it when they're fed live foods. If it's dropsy, your betta is having kidney failure. If you feed your betta live foods, you should stop, and they will probably never have dropsy again. And there is no known cure, so your betta will probably die. Keep his water clean, and apparently there has been some cases where bettas recovered, but I guess those bettas didn't get real dropsy. And treating is useless, since nothing will help your betta with kidney failure.


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## neenjar (Jun 19, 2009)

The above information is unfortunately quite accurate. Do water changes, maybe give some salt baths. Dropsy is fatal in most cases though. Best of luck and hoping he gets healthy again.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

In very slight cases bettas can pull through. The reason it does this in slight cases is because these aren't really dropsy. Maybe some antibiotic food would help?


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## fungambler (Aug 9, 2009)

I just lost my betta with the same symptoms this afternoon! I tried EVERYTHING! Maracyn, Furan 2, Cephelaxen, and nothing helped. I just wish I knew what was really wrong with him. Before I "buried" him, I looked him over, and he did have a red bump on his gill. He was completely discolored. Was bright red and turned very gray. It was sickening. He was soooo coooll! Good Luck and I am so sorry!


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## Nauriel (Nov 9, 2008)

Hmmm. The scales on my betta are only lifted on the top of his head, where I don't think a lot of bloating would take place. The rest of his body seems fine, with the exception of his colorless belly and fins that are slightly clamped and have a bit of fin rot. 

I don't feed him live food, so I don't have to worry about that. 

I was just looking at him, and I noticed that his scales look shredded, almost like fur. I don't know if this is another symptom or if its just caused by the exposed scales being, well...exposed. 

When I go up to him, I can see him looking at me. After a couple moments of him staying vertical(ish) he'll start swimming normally. He doesn't look quite healthy, but he is swimming with no problem. 

I guess my discription of him having dropsy was a bit innacurate, because the raised scales are only localized to the very top of his head and he's not bloated. Are there any other reasons why the scales on the top of his head have lifted?


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## Nauriel (Nov 9, 2008)

*Vertical betta, with dropsy on top of his head. Help? Update*

I know I havn't posted on here in awhile, but I thought I should post the news and ask for any final thoughts. Unfortunately, d'Artagnan didn't make it, and died two days after I made my last post 

He also had a new symptom. On the top of his head, right in the middle of his raised scales, there was a white bump. Could this have been a fungus? Can fungus cause scales to lift in a localized place? 

But besides that, he showed no new symptoms. I just woke up in the morning and found him dead, on the gravel. 

So, R.I.P d'Artagnan. You will be missed.


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## sunkissedinCA (May 7, 2009)

i'm sorry about your little guy


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm so sorry about d'Artagnan. RIP d'Artagnan.


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