Does anyone have experience treating betta with dropsy? I was recommended to use Kanamycin and that's what I'm doing, but I need other opinions. I'm so hopeless and the thing is the fish is not mine.

I have never treated a Betta with dropsy, but I hope that you can pull the little one thru. I also hope that someone comes along soon with some experience in this matter. Good luck and lots of love to you and the betta.

Thank you for your kind words.
I really need help. I know there isn't much hope but I can't just sit and wait for him to die. Besides I don't know what I'm going to tell my friend when she comes back from her trip

I know with goldfish you can use epsom salts to relieve the swelling, but the ratio is 1/8 tsp. per five gallons of water. A temp of 82 degrees helps as well. As far as medicated foods, I am clueless as to what you can give a betta. I really hope that he pulls thru. I have my fins crossed!

Touchofsky was helping me when my little guy had dropsy. Use a combination of epsom salt (1/8 teaspoon per gallon), Maracyn and Maracyn 2 (both antibiotics, follow the directions on the box). Keep the temp high where bettas like it - around 80 degrees F. And try feeding some shelled peas if he will eat it.

Keep an eye on him once you add the medications, have a containter of non-medicated dechlorinated water handy just in case he reacts poorly to the medications.

Good luck! I'll keep all fingers and fins crossed for you.

Thanks so much, but he just died

I need to know how to desinfect the tank, gravel and all the equipment in it. Do I need to throw the bio-wheel away?

I'm sorry to hear that chrisinha Dropsy is nearly impossible to treat with bettas.

I'm really sorry about the Betta, chrisinha.Hopefully your friend will understand that you did the best you could.

im so sorry you lost him

I'm so sorry!

Rinse the tank with very hot water, do the same with any plants and the gravel. I am not sure about the biowheel, as I have never owned one.

So sorry to hear about the betta.

I don't think I would throw the BioWheel away. Just rinse disinfect it and rinse it really well. Once you think you have rinsed enough, do it again. It will be ok to use when the tank is set up and cycled once more.

Thank you guys!

I really needed the support...
My friend is in South America, she called my cell today but I was in class and couldn't answer the call. When I got home I saw she had sent me an e-mail apologizing for not replying before (I had sent her 2 e-mails since Bob started refusing to eat), but she said whatever has happened she was sure I've done the best for him. By the time she sent me this e-mail she didn't know he'd died. I just sent her a reply telling her the bad news

Now it's Leonard, my little red cap, that is dying... I'm always trying my best, but sometimes I feel like I'm hitting walls...

Hang in there - fish keeping is tricky, sometimes there just isn't anything you can do - you have no idea what conditions they were in before they came home with you. You are here and you are asking questions, so that proves that you love them.