# pineconing due to bloating?



## juanitawolf (May 12, 2014)

my parents got me a baby betta, he has been in the community tank for a while driving me nuts with all the water changes i have to make.
yesterday i noticed he was bloated with some pineconing only in his bloated belly, he is active, rushing everywhere as always...this pineconing always mean dropsy?


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## Aly Homewood (Jul 4, 2015)

It's possible that it isn't dropsy, I've certainly seen cases where it wasn't (although not often) I would isolate him just in case, try epsom salt and see if that helps, can you post pictures, it's hard to tell without seeing the betta in question.


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## Watermelons (Jul 21, 2015)

Isolate him and please fill out this form



> Housing
> What size is your tank?
> What temperature is your tank?
> Does your tank have a filter?
> ...


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## juanitawolf (May 12, 2014)

Housing 
What size is your tank?: 8 gal, medium amount of plants
What temperature is your tank?: 27-28 celsius 
Does your tank have a filter?: two canister filters
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?: one of the filters comes with a wild bubbler, the other one has a waterfall that moves the water surface
Is your tank heated?: no
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?: cardinal tetras, a cory (i don't want to explain why the stocking is the way it is), shrimp 

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?: omega one micro pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish?:two times a day, a pinch for everyone

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?: three times a week, two with vacuuming 
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?: 3 gallons twice or 1 gallon it is without vacuuming 
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?: dechlorinator, co2, and liquid fertilizer

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

Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:unknown
pH:7.0
Hardness: as a brick (not actual values)
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?: his belly is bloated and is pineconing only there
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?: nope
When did you start noticing the symptoms?: yesterday...the day before he was fine
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?: im fasting it
Does your fish have any history of being ill?: nope
How old is your fish (approximately)?: he is 4 months old


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## jessjord (Jun 25, 2015)

Could you post a picture it is hard to diagnose without one ty


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## juanitawolf (May 12, 2014)

side view (he is super stressed, do i really need to keep him in that cup?)








top view, you can see the pinioning in his belly


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## juanitawolf (May 12, 2014)

update: the bloating has decreased a bit, cant say the same for the pineconing


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## jessjord (Jun 25, 2015)

Well first you do not need to keep him in a cup. you can put him in a hospital tank( something like a extra 1-2 gal) while you are treating him. I am going to post a sticky from the disease board to help you understand the dropsy. 

Dropsy
•Symptoms: Your betta will have a bloated belly and raised scales. They will look like a pine cone. This is usually a fatal disease caused by an internal bacterial infection resulting in internal organ failure but many have had success bringing fish back when treated quickly.
Early Symptoms: Swollen eyes (important), Gray belly (important), Clamped fins, Lethargy. If your fish has swollen eyes and a gray belly, I suggest that you treat it for Dropsy.
•Treatment: If you spot the early signs of Dropsy then treat him/her with ES at 1-2tsp/gal and Jungle’s Anti-Parasite pellets while performing 100% daily water changes. It helps to increase the temperature to 84*F. If he/she has begun Pineconning then do the full course as described below:
Performing daily 100% water changes. Increase the temperature to 84*F. Add 1-2 tsp/gal Epsom Salt. Increase the temperature to 84*F. Add 1-2 tsp/gal Epsom Salt. If caught early, Dropsy is curable. 

Also if you can get your hands on Seachem Kanaplex it would be great. Kanaplex is a medication that helps with several different fungal and bacterial infections including dropsy. Many on here suggest to use this. Most pet stores a believe do not carry it and you have to order it online. But i would call around your neighborhood to check to see if they carry it because the faster you get it the better. In the mean time I would put him in a hospital tank and start with ES treatments to help with the bloating. All you can do right now is try to keep him comfortable with the ES treatments and nice warm clean water. Hope this helps GL


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## juanitawolf (May 12, 2014)

you cant believe me....but after fasting for three days aproximately his belly came down all the way, taking away the pineconing, can someone explain this?
i fed him today but soaked the pellets, he may have eating too much, he is really small and fast conpared to the other bettas i have had,so he may be getting food from the other fish. will fast him tomorrow


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## jessjord (Jun 25, 2015)

Oh I am sorry, i am just realizing that you have him in with other tank mates. Personally i would take him out and put him in a hospital tank just in case. Dropsy is not contagious however, the infection leading to dropsy can be.

and it is good that the bloating went down... dropsy can be cured if in the really early stages as you can see from my last post DarkMoon stated that many have been successful with treatment. So, it does not particular right away mean death..it just means that the chances of survival are extremely low. 

I would not feed him until you get that bloating under control. If i were you i would maybe wait for someone else to give their opinion as well. However in the meantime i would still continue with the ES treatment for the bloat and see how it goes from there.


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## juanitawolf (May 12, 2014)

im giving him baths for now, i will cup him while i feed the other fish.
he seems so much better now, but he has stress stripes


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