BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish Fish Journal - BETTAS ONLY

Posted a picture of Opal's condition. This pic came out really well and you can see all the fluid in her. I don't think I will treat her beyond maybe changing the water and putting in water that doesn't have any salt in it. I don't know if that's a good thing to do or not. I had read on one site that salt in water with dropsy fish isn't a good thing as they have a buildup of salt in thier bodies from the condition and salt in the water only makes it worse. (shrug) I don't know...

She isn't acting sick..yet..and I don't want to start throwing alot of meds at her which could only stress her out and probably just cause her to come down with something else on top of this. If she starts acting like she is suffering I'll probably just euthenize her as I haven't yet read anything encouraging about healing a fish with this condition. She's such a pretty girl..

Right now my 2 bettas are in a 1 gallon tank with a divider. I do not have a filter or a heater yet, and i was wondering if it would be safe for my fish to be without a heater, but just until summer ends. My fish are in my bedroom, which is on the 2nd level, on a shelf. Since it is hotter upstairs than at the main level, the room temperature in my room is always at least at 76 degrees. Is it safe for my fish to go without a heater until it gets cooler out? I was also wondering what is water ph? and what is the preferable ph level for bettas?

Oh yeah rach...they'll be fine without the heater. I think most folks who have these fish don't bother heating the water at all..since most of the readily available info on bettas say.."easy keepers"..so alot of folks just put them in little bowls and that's it. They can live ok like that if the water is kept clean, but they are much happier with room to swim and warmer temps.
I think your fish will be fine. The time you want a heater is in the winter if your room tempurature gets down below 70-75F.

About the PH, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Betta are pretty tolerant to ph differences. Some fish cannot tolerate ph levels beyond or below a certain point..but if you acclimate your betta slowly to your water, he should do fine.

Yep do not mess with changing the ph ...your fish are already acclimated to the ph of your water or they would not have survived past a day or 2. What ever happened with your thoughts about ick?
glo

I think my fish does have ick, I noticed more white spots on his head and his body. What is the safest medicine to cure this?

p.s. Im sorry to hear about your fish, Emg

Well as I had mentioned 2 days go ont this thread, i use quick cure. It comes in a liquid and the dosage is 1 drop per gallon. If one of them has it they both do since they are in a divided tank. Good luck...definately time to be medicating if its ick it will be fatal without treatment very soon.
glo

Actually rach...he seems to be doing pretty well. I don't know yet weither or not this drastic measure will get rid of the fin rot or not...but Hey..Had to do something different...nothing else was working!

Emg, surgery on fins is actually a fine way to combat it...you are cutting off the rot before it spreads. However, it's NOT a beginner's technique! I would only use this if I was already expert at bettas, like you and lots of others on this forum.

About dropsy, if her scales are sticking out, then she might have it. Are they sticking out? She might just be fat...

SAndy, low light levels are always better for fish. They don't need anything beyond ambient light (from the rest of the room). We humans just ad light so we can see them better. In the wild, they have filtered light and dim areas to hide in. the bag idea sounds just fine to me. let them rest. Some of us use lights for heat, which is fine if we provide a hidey hole.