Ok... lots of questions!

First of all... I'm glad she's still with us for another day! That's a good sign, as well as the fact that she's eating!

I did want to ask about the methods you use with the bloodworms... do you thaw a big piece or whole cube and then refrigerate the remaining bloodworms? Unfortunately, you cannot do that. Even refrigerated, they will spoil over time. I'm wondering if this might be contributing to her issues? You can maybe let them stay in the (never-seen-soap) cup, in treated water, in a fridge, for an hour or two, but not any longer than that. I would not feed them again several hours later. What many of us do is shave off a smaller piece and thaw just that. Whatever is not offered to eat is tossed out.

I can well imagine those bloody splotches are irritating her and can likely account for the flashing. If it does appear, even ever so slightly, to be healing... then we are heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, with fish... they have very limited ways of communicating with us. And we cannot simply draw some blood and get it tested... so we have to look at the symptoms and possibilities and make the best suited diagnosis from that. Showing improvement while on meds... tells us that we are on the right path.

Flukes have always been a possibility, but unlikely. A med like QuickCure should have some effect on flukes... so if it were this... the QC should be helping to alleviate it. Dr. Barb or Ash... do you think once the QC stops... would it be risky to switch to something that has praziquantel in it to treat for possible flukes (while medicating with M/M2 at increased dosages), or would that be too much meds (or would interaction be an issue)? Or do you suggest something else?

You can try the pea at any time if she'll accept it. If she's never had it before... don't be surprised that she won't take it... especially in her current state. Frozen/thawed bloodworms are not one of the more constipating foods... however, any food will provide impaction if overfed. For perspective, a betta's tummy is the size of their 3D eyeball... so that gives you a built-in gauge on how much to feed. If you sense she is having difficulty with the larger worms... a couple of the smaller ones (5mm's or so) would be sufficient.

Please continue to keep us posted!

Michele

*edit note: Dr. Barb and I were posting at the same time... don't miss her message above!