FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Mitchee, this may not apply in your Betta's case, but thought I'd share some additional advice I got over the past few days from discusforums. One of the members helping me is a vet & fish keeper, the other a very experienced fish keeper.

did you try an Epsom salt bath? a good bath may help them pass some worms (especially after a treatment) and bring down the population of the parasites. 2 tablespoons in 10L for 15min as long as the fish can take it would probably do the trick.

a bucket or ice cream container will do for the bath, after 15 min drop them back in the tank.

it worked really well when ever my Betta's were bloated and a few times I've seen discus pass worms during a treatment, i assume it will work just as well for your dwarves. it will probably work better after a treatment as the worms are
1.dead or
2. not happy and more easily passed.

but give it ago, you could even go a stronger dose of 1tbs/4L, just watch the fish and if they show distress, drop them back into the main tank.

appropriate levels of magnesium ions will just encourage a laxative effect(is that catharsis?) so should be fine

healthy fish have a good ability to maintain osmotic balance and so will come through it easier than ill fish

If you want to read the whole thread, here's a link http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15882&highlight=

If you decide to try th Epsom Salt bath, keep in mind the measurments are Aussie metric measurements, so one 1tbs = 4tspn. 1tbs = 20ml and 1tsp = 5ml.

Hope you don't need the further advice though

Cheers
TW

Thanks for the additional info Longhairedgit and TW. Appreciate it. I just changed his water and gave him the extra PraziPro treatment. So far, so good. He's still looking quite normal and no signs of bloat yet. If things keep progressing, he may make it back into his biorb before we know it!!!


*Mitch*

Hey Mitchee, the bit about the epsom salt bath - it's a bit of a laxative & helps the fish pass out the worms (if they're there). Apparently, best results if you do this just after a worm treatment - so perfect for straight after your prazi treatment has had a day or so to do it's work.

Cheers
TW

Well, after being in a 1g bowl for almost a month, my betta was transferred back into his 4g biorb and he's been there now for almost 3 weeks with no signs of bloat!!! He's going through a little bit a fin rot right now but other than that everything is fine. Very happy that he pulled through this


*Mitch*

Well done Mitch

Cheers
TW

I spoke too soon, yet again. He's dying. I've transferred him back to his 1g to make it easier for him to get to the top. For a couple of days now, I noticed that he had difficulty in remaining in a horizontal position while surfacing and he would eventually just sink to the bottom. His mouth seems to be remaining open too. Perhaps the initial symptoms described in this post were the onset of Swim Bladder Disease??? I don't understand, he was doing so well! Very upset now after all efforts of trying to help him have, in the end, been to no avail. I'll wait a couple of days and see how he does. Really don't have the heart to euthanize him yet.


*Mitch*

It pains me to report that I had to put him down this morning. He had such difficulty in reaching the surface and he would remain mostly in a vertical position. I could not bear to see him suffer anymore. Sad day.


*Mitch*

Oh, Mitchee, that's so sad. You tried your best for your little friend, but sometimes there is nothing we can do. At least he is not hurting now

Cheers
TW

Sorry to hear of your loss Mitchee

The Amazon Nut...