OMG he's sinking & not eating

[slinky]

So one day I notice he's got himself propped up behind the heater or appears to be hiding there. Only later did I realize that he was balancing himself on the plastic piece and getting air from the surface. When he leaves his perch he sinks to the bottom and will lay on his side or against a rock. Hard to tell if he's got a bit of a larger belly as fish with dropsy have and I notice it might be a tad larger than usual.

So I did what I thought. Stopped feeding him. Put some Maracyn 2 into the tank (a light dosage, not the full power) and will wait and see how he does. He's lost a little bit of color from the center and his fins are a bit clenched on top. He still can swim if he makes the effort but not sure what else I can do at this point. I wonder whether I accidentally overfed him on vacation and that is what caused this. He got about 4 tiny mini shrimp embryos in the AM and another 2-4 on every other PM. He was fine and looked great for months... my other fish are doing incredibly well... I hope someone knows of these symptoms and we can nip them before they get worse...

[Lady Hobbs]

Sorry about your betta. Often bloat can not be remedied and they die. I hope he's OK but I wouldn't count on it too much.

[RainMan]

If it's bloat... can't it be treated with epsom salts? That's a common treatment for cichlids with bloat.

EDIT: And no feeding

[slinky]

Good point. I'm glad I didn't maracyn him too much. When I get back tonight I'll add some epsom salt. Is there any recommended dosage?

Typically bloat and you're done but here he looks just slightly larger and he's not totally disabled. He's more like wobbling around before the pendulum swings.

[drawnon]

if he is bloated from over eating, maybe try feeding him a pea. i cook the peas in the microwave in a little bit of water, then peal off the shell, mash it up with a fork and feed them some. it helps them with digestion.
james

ps
i once tried to put some otto cats in with my betta. the betta found the algea wafers i was feeding to the cats and he ate the whole thing. his belly was so so huge. i didnt feed him for 2 days, then gave him some pea on the 3rd day and he was fine.

[sandy_n]

Great, not only do I have to worry about bloat with my dog, now I have to worry about it with my fish?! :ssuprised: Aw man.

[RainMan]

Info....
Cichlid-forum: Bloat Info ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Actually none of these directions use epsom salts... but, I believe them to work well... and would combine the use of epsom salts to help:
Cure Bloat with Clout ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Cure Bloat with Metronidazole ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

[Nick_Pavlovski]

I wondr if his swimbladder is not properly functioning? That can also cause poor swimming...

[RainMan]

Yeah could be that... Swim Bladder Disease:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Or dropsy as originally suggested: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
Another use for epsom salts.


Having a sick fish sucks... why can't they just tell us what's going on?

[Lady Hobbs]

I had heard of Epsom salts curing constipation but not bloat. Would be nice, tho.

The method I read to put fish in pail with a bit of water and a "pinch" of Epsom salts. Leave fish in water until it appears stressed, generally 10-15 minutes and put him back in his tank. Repeat following day if necessary. Do not put Epsom salts in tank water.

Says they will poo within a short time of treatment.