I just checked the ammonia and it was 0. I need to buy a new nitrite/nitrate kit and ph kit as I threw them out (expired) prior to my vacation. The readings had been good all summer so far. Water is slightly greenish right now. Not sure what else could have stressed out that one goldfish, maybe I'll never know, but at least the rest of fish seem fine so far. One thought is that just before I left (plus 2 weeks prior) I had put in some Interpret Pond Balance as I saw some string aglae starting and wanted to keep it from running rampant in my pond while I was gone. I guess if that was the cause, then I'd see more than one fish affected. Only other thought is that no one fed the fish during that 2 weeks. However in the past they seem to do fine nibbling on the aquatic plants. I guess I'm reaching for straws trying to figure this one out. Be nice to know to prevent it from happening again. I guess I'll have to file it with my many other unsolved mysteries. Judy

DO NOT USE AQUARIUM SALT. Use Epsom salt. Aquarium salt will make a fish retain water, which is not what you want to do with dropsy. You need to do a water change right away. A full one, to get rid of all the salt. Often I see people thinking that they do not need to do water changes while medicating; this is not true. The best defense a fish has against illness is a clean environment. Just take out the activated carbon in the filter and continue doing water changes as usual. Pimafix will not help dropsy; dropsy is not a disease, it's a symptom. Melafix should *only* be used to heal ripped fins and wounds and for nothing else. If you want to try saving your fish, do as much of a water change as you can, first. How large is your tank? I hope it's large enough that you can keep a goldfish and other tankmates, though you should keep only goldfish with goldfish because all other tropical fish will find goldfish temperatures too cold. For dropsy, hit it with a heavy antibacterial such as Kanacyn (kanamycin) or any broad-spectrum antibacterial (gram positive and negative). Once again, I will state this: MELAFIX WILL NOT DO. It is used only to repair wounds and damaged fins. PimaFix won't help either.

Disclaimer: I’m sharing this in the hopes that this will be able to save many lives of bettas suffering from dropsy. I can’t assure you that this will work for all bettas but pwera bati, I have my official first dropsy betta survivor by using these meds. Marami na akong namatay na betta sa dropsy. My only wish is sana I should have known this earlier. Important reminders: 1. For me, minimum tank size should be 4x6x8. If you have this type of container for your betta, make sure to do 100% water change at least 2x a week. If your betta have longer fins, the larger your tank should be. 2. Do not overfeed. Pellets, tubifex, dried foods, or kung ano man iyan. Do not overfeed. 3. Know your bettas personally. Yup, I’m serious with this one. If buhay silang lahat, all my 40 bettas have their own names. You will know if they’re not being themselves kahit matakaw pa rin sila. The more if they refuse it. When they feel good, they only know one thing. FOOD! 4. When you’ve noticed that they are not feeling well, check for any signs of bloating or abnormal swimming patterns. These usually lead to dropsy. Pine-coning is dropsy already. 5. If they appear not to have energy without any sign of bacteria infection, do 100% water change and put 1 tablespoon each of magna salt, aquarium salt, and rock salt. Add 10 drops of prime to get rid of chlorine and other chemicals and 5 drops of vitagold for vitamins. Add 3 drops of stress coat. Strictly no antibiotics! Everyday ito until they act normal. 6. If they appear to have any kind of infection, you’ll notice them because it literally is a physical damage. Do 100% water change and put 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt and rock salt. Add 10 drops of prime to get rid of chlorine and other chemicals and 5 drops of vitagold for vitamins. Add 3 drops of stress coat. Add half-cap of melafix, methylene blue, and general aid. Strictly no magna salt! Everyday ito until they act normal. 7. Talk with your bettas. It does sound crazy but for some reason, my bettas know their individual names. They appreciate it whenever you talk with them or even play music with them. My bettas have different tastes for music. Some love classics while others react to pop rock. Maintenance Solution: 5 drops of Prime, 1 drop of Vitagold, 1 tablespoon of Rock Salt, 1 Drop of Melafix, 1 Drop of Stress Coat, 1 talisay or banana leaf. Saktong size for your betta to rest on but not block the water surface Magic Ingredient: EUGENOL (Clove Oil) Warning: Eugenol is both a natural antibiotic and antiseptic. Beware though, an overdose of Eugenol will euthanize your fish and we don’t want that. Others use a controlled dosage to sedate the fish so they can put a syringe on the bloated area of the betta to get rid of the unwanted body fluids because of the dropsy and another unknown disease. I’ve tried and have successfully removed the fluids causing the bloat but it’s already too late for my betta. Kumbaga sa cancer, it’s stage 4. That is why early detection is the key and you can only do that by personally knowing your betta, their behaviors, etc. Sequence of Events: Day 1: I saw Nymph, even with her usual large appetite for any food despite having a small body, a bit bloated and the dreaded pine-coning. I immediately did Step No. 5 as detailed above. Day 2: She’s still hungry as she is every morning but still with the bloated body and the dreaded pine-coning. This time, I did Step No. 6 as detailed above. Day 3: I’m losing hope. I just had a very remarkable betta die last week because of dropsy. I wanted to do the syringe process on Nymph and so I purchased Eugenol. Imagine normal size of a drinking water bottle, not the small and not the big one. I say the normal size. Fill this up half-way and put 5 drops of Eugenol then shake vigorously so the solution will have an equal amount of Eugenol in its content. By the way, you can buy this at any drug store. I placed Nymph in a bowl, one like what you can buy from a supplies store. Plastic bowls, small ones for some soup. Fill it with ¾ tap water with 5 drops of prime then ¼ should be the Eugenol solution you have. I was expecting Nymph to “sleep” but for the next 8 hours, she will randomly stop swimming then whenever we have decided that it’s time to do the syringe… she swims like normal. Doing her normal fast swimming like she doesn’t have any sickness at all. I got tired of her game and was afraid that she might suffer from overdose so I placed her on a net hammock for easier surface breathing in another plastic bowl with 5 drops of prime and a bubbler/airstone to get rid of Eugenol in her system/gills. In other words, to wake her up. After a number of hours, just make sure the fish doesn’t jump overboard, put the fish in another solution the same as Day 2 in her original tank. Day 4: I’ve noticed Nymph has significantly increased her energy level and also has significantly decreased her stomach bloat. The dreaded pine-coning is still there though. I put her into another water solution the same as Day 1. Day 5: The bloat is 90% gone while the pine-coning is only 10% visible. I put her into another solution the same as Day 2. By the way, I only stopped feeding her for 1 day but I fed her only a very, very small amount during the whole process. Like 1 pellet a day. She usually eats 2-3 pellets a day. The big round ones. I’m not feeding her pellet though. I feed my bettas dried tubifex. Live tubifex is good but I’m not very fortunate in prolonging their lives. Day 6: Tomorrow I plan to do the alternate Day 1 and Day 2 solutions until Sunday. Pwera bati but so far, she’s doing great. Thank God. She’s the only betta with positive results as early as Day 4 after applications of meds for dropsy. I’ve always been doing the Day 1 and Day 2 techniques with my previous bettas with dropsy but none survived. What made Nymph different from all my dear beloved now-angel bettas is besides her fast recovery, she’s the only one who tried a Eugenol solution as part of the medication process for dropsy. But please beware of the dosage as mentioned in the warning section earlier. I researched Eugenol and found out that it actually works naturally to kill infections. Sorry for the lengthy message. If ever you do try this method, I hope that your fish will have the same result as Nymph’s. Happy Betta Keeping!

just checking to see if Mr. Betta is still among the living?