I have a female betta in a community tank that has been sick with dropsy for a long time. I’ve given her 2 rounds of quarantine with medication and epson salt baths and she just will not get better unfortunately.
I quarantine her in a bucket so it’s not practical to keep her in there long term and have a bucket of water in the middle of my living room.
The second time I had to put the bucket on the edge of a table to I could get around it while vacuuming and about 20% of it was hanging off the edge so I thought it was ok but it fell over and she survived the fall. For a few days she seemed to be more active so I thought that one was successful.
I want to put her out of her misery and protect my other fish but she just will not die. This has been about 3 months now. I feel so guilty giving up on her when she hasn’t given up on herself. I haven’t seen her eat in weeks now and I’m waiting to find her floating and scooping her out but day after day she is still alive and breathing.
I don’t know if that spot on her is from the fall or if it’s the illness but I think it’s time to bite the bullet and protect my other fish and end it. Any advice on doing it? I don’t want her to suffer. I just want her to die as quickly and painlessly as possible.
https://i.redd.it/4wskbf9v522g1.jpeg
Posted by Competitive_Bird6984
3 Comments
please don’t give up on her!
i think this is treatable. the lesion on her side could be an old injury or maybe bacterial. have you tried kanaplex? if not please try that before you condemn her. i had my girl in a bucket for three weeks trying to treat her full time but i wasn’t able to save her and she passed away a week ago. even when i saw she took a turn for the worst i didn’t euthanize (mostly coz i don’t have it in me but also the off chance that she could get better).
keep her separated from the community tank and do small water changes in the bucket every 2nd day. dose the hospital tub with aquarium salt and (if you can get her to eat) mix the kanaplex into her food (so it can get into her system) otherwise in the water. please keep me updated i’m sure she can pull through
edit: if she has been able to keep going for 3 months then i think she definitely has a good chance of getting better
If the bucket is part of the issue, you can get a small hospital tank that has a filter for <$40 if that’s in your budget. I have a 2 gallon one from Amazon that came with a sponge filter that I’ve used to treat a couple bettas successfully.
As far as euthanasia goes, it’s split amongst betta owners. Some of us use a very slow clove oil process but others don’t because they fear it’s inhumane due to the betta’s labyrinth organ. Some use blunt force which is the quickest way to euthanize, but some of us are too sensitive for that. I personally have used clove oil in the past going as slowly as possibly with an oil/water emulsion slowly added to the water so the betta is fully sedated before ODing.
She really doesn’t look great. I’m sorry.
If you’re invested in doing everything possible for her, it’s worth making an appointment with a good aquatics vet. They’re not available in every area, and you’ll need to call to find out about their experience with smaller fish like bettas, but they’ll have access to more diagnostic tools and treatment options than you do at home.
But that’s not an option for everyone, and maybe you’ve just had enough of seeing her suffer. The quickest and most painless euthanasia method, as gruesome as it sounds, is blunt force trauma or decapitation. Clove oil is often recommended, but it’s easy to get the dosages wrong and cause accidental suffering. Vets will have access to more sophisticated euthanasia solutions, if you’re inclined to spend the money on that and/or can’t bring yourself to do it personally.
Whatever decision you make, it’s clear that you’re acting out of great love and compassion for your friend. This is a difficult situation to be put in, but it’s also one that you can get through.
Edit: normally I’d advise moving her out of the community tank, but I’m not sure what difference it would make after three months. Still, you shouldn’t treat the whole tank with any medications you may choose to use.