Chronic Popeye

[cjz96]

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 80F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? He’s a loner

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Bio Gold Mini Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 5 pellets a day.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 50%-100% weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%-100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Splendid Water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He has always had bulgy eyes since his body is short. However, his left eye is bulging out slightly more than the right.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? None.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A few weeks ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Maracyn 1&2 and API General Cure. I’ve tried Epsom salt treatments as well.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that I know of.
How old is your fish (approximately)? About a year...ish...


Thank you! He is new. He has had popeye on and off the few weeks I've had him.

[Twilight Storm]

Hi cjz96 and welcome to the forum btw.

I am NOT an expert with fish diseases. Please get second opinions on what to do before you take your fish off any of the meds you have him on right now.

I did successfully deal with an infection of popeye or bacteria that made one eye bulge in one of my males. What I did was remove the fish to a different tank/container with a bare bottom and I treated with plain API aquarium salt 1 tsp per gallon for 10 days. I did daily water changes, and I undid the old tank and washed everything. (I did toss the gravel in the trash since it is so hard to sterilize and not knowing if it has a coating that can melt off etc.)

If you choose to try the aquarium salt I am not sure it can be used with the other medications. Since he is started already on the Maracyn 1&2 and API General Cure it's probably best to finish the treatment per the instructions, but others may offer better advise that are more familiar with those meds.

In my case whatever was causing the popeye went away quickly and has not come back.

I had issues with one brand of black gravel that made my bettas sick in the past. This might not be the case in your situation I just wanted you to know.

I hope you can get things figured out soon

[Kenny G]

Try thoroughly cleaning your tank including all decorations with hot water and aq salt. Refill the tank and add conditioner to the water like you always do and check the ph levels. I would try adding antibacterial to the water. Keep the water warm about 78-80 degrees. I'm sure he will be back to normal in no time.

[cjconcepcion]

Ill tell you my story since it is somewhat similar... A few months ago i rescued a betta from petsmart because i thought he had popeye, and i thought he had it really bad, i tried to treat him, with epsom salt and maracyn and tetracycline and all that. never changed, never got any worse never got better. i assumed he was born like that or he had an injury that will never fully heal, he acts fine, and eats and is otherwise very healthy, he is now living happily in a 10 gallon community...
EDIT: this probably isnt what your boy has, since you said its on and off, but this was my experience with it

[cjz96]

@ Twilight Storm, I have added AQ Salt when he arrived but quickly removed it after reading that AQ salt can irritate his eye. He has little glass gems at the bottom of his tank. I can remove them to see if it will help? He finishes his med treatments tomorrow.

@ Kenny G, I have checked the ph level not too long ago and it was green, indicating it was safe.

@ Cjconception, The swelling has never gone away. It's just been less swollen one day, and more the next. He acts normal, maybe he was born with a default eye?