# Swollen Belly On One Side



## Bigbul (Jul 4, 2010)

Hello, just a few days ago our Betta suddenly swell up overnight, only on his left side however. We have been battling with Fin Rot for some time now too, treating him with antibiotics. 

Housing 
What size is your tank? - 5 1/2 Gal
What temperature is your tank? - 78
Does your tank have a filter? - Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? - No.
Is your tank heated? Yes.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? By himself.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon Betta Food
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day (He's been fasting to help rule out constipation).

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Every 5-7 days.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 60%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Recommended doses of Amquel plus and NovaAqua Plus, as well as Aquarium Salt which is at recommended dose.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: 0 
Nitrite: 0 
Nitrate: 0 
pH: Girlfriend helped me with this reading, she said it was in normal range.
Hardness: Haven't tested.
Alkalinity: Haven't tested.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Swelling on left abdomen only, scales slightly raised on area but it looks like it is due to the swelling. Fins decaying due to the fin rot.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? - No changes in behavior.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? - Four days ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Tried pea treatment and have been continuing antibiotics. 
Does your fish have any history of being ill? We've been battling with Fin Rot for a length time.
How old is your fish (approximately)? 1 Year

I've done extensive research and all the answers I've came with seem to be different. I am so afraid that this is dropsy, but only the left side is swollen. We've been searching for droppings, but have not found any on his tank. However, a day after the pea treatment he did have a very long white feces that was somewhat stringy attached to him until he swam quickly and it fell. I've posted here as a last resort because I am lost on what to do.


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

Bigbul said:


> Hello, just a few days ago our Betta suddenly swell up overnight, only on his left side however. We have been battling with Fin Rot for some time now too, treating him with antibiotics.
> 
> Housing
> What size is your tank? - 5 1/2 Gal
> ...


Stringy white poo is often a sign of parasites, which would help to explain why only a single side is swollen and how he has not improved from fasting. Please DO NOT continue the pea thing, as this does NOT work and might cause more problems than it helps.

I can tell you right away that your tank, if not cycled (which it wouldnt probably be anymore from the meds), needs more frequent changes. Try doing smaller ones with a siphoning of the bottom more frequently. Your ammonia might be high.
Keep a bubble stone or airrator in the tank to ward off bacterial growth while he heals. Keep the tank under 78' (76-77 being best) for much the same.

I do not know of any good meds off the top of my head for internal parasites, but if you want to look into them, you can post another thread asking about it or contact oldfishlady.

Hope things work out for you.


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## Crazykat (Nov 23, 2010)

^+1
Bad water quality causes fin rot. I'm inclined to think there's something wacky with your water parameter readings as unless you have tons of plants in there, you're definitely going to have a nitrate reading with the water change schedule you're on.

Just out of curiosity, why are you using two water conditioners? I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Why are you using antibiotics? You're fish doesn't need them and you don't want to give antibiotics without good cause. It creates resistance. I'd cut out the antibiotics, continue with the aquarium salt. Aquarium salt and clean water treats fin rot. It might make it easier on you to get a smaller quarantine container and tape it to the inside of your tank so you can do every day water changes.

There are antiparasitic aquarium meds out there. I have no idea what they are or how they work. I've used pellets soaked in garlic juice and it has worked like magic. Cleared a case of worms in a week. You might try that. If you decide to go with the chemical dewormers, make super certain he's off the antibiotics. You don't want drug interactions.


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## redbettagirl (Jan 29, 2011)

If it's internal parasites, I would try using a medication that contains metronidazole. Jungle Parasite Clear is one of these. API General Cure and Hikari Metro+ are others.


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