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Just bettas - eye problem

1K views 14 replies 4 participants last post by  SillySarahBear 
#1 · (Edited)
So I have had leya for about 6 days now (and the other two jerk fish aka princess blue and striper (my friend named her that cause she was nipping at leya until I added a 3rd female and now they are all happy :)) and I've noticed that her google white eyes are now black. I have been trying to figure out what is wrong with her but I can't find the right information. The only thing I can find remotely close is popeye, but It doesn't look like that. And the other two bettas don't really have that problem.

I had them in a very large fish bowl, but when I started noticing problems I moved them to a nice 20 gallon, with a very good heater, and a filter that I used once in awhile to get some filtration in there. I have used water treatment to treat the water before water changes. So far I have not fed her in this tank because I wanted her to adjust to the change. I moved her because....(read below)

Yesterday I had a different problem, her gills were going red and she was getting red blotches on her face, and the guy at the pet store told me to just flush her and get a new one... but I think that is just ridiculous. I bought the bettafix all natural medicine that heals damaged fins and skin (to be used with signs of bacterial infection) and it pretty much cleared up in one day.


Sorry if the layout of my information is confusing, I just want to make sure I can get rid of any problems she is having and make sure all the fish are safe and healthy because I am not going to get rid of them just because of one small problem.

I will try and get some pictures when I can.
 
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#2 ·
Hi there, sorry to hear your fish is having trouble, but we'll try to help you as best we can. If you could copy and past the information from this form it will help us alot better http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233
I am glad you didn't flush her, that person at the pet store is just plain cruel. I'm sure she can still be helped. My first concern is that it sounds like you have 3 females together. This is far from a good set up. Generally female bettas kept together are so much harder to manage than a single betta or single betta and other fish. A group of at least 5 females is called a sorority, and not advised for beginners.

My other biggest concern is you mentioned you have the filter turned on occasionally. With a filter, you either need it on all the time or not at all, and for a 20 gal you definitely need one running.

Turning red around the girls can often be a sign of ammonia poisoning. What I would suggest for now is to stop the bettafix. Despite being labeled as a betta medicine, it contains an ingredient, tea tree oil, which can potentially harm a bettas labyrinth organ (what they breath air from the surface with). Therefore this medicine is usually not advised. In fact, all the 'fix remedies have tea tree, so in general, it is advised to avoid them.

The simplest fact is that the best medicine is clean water, warm temperatures (78-80) and a nice stable diet is the best things you can do for a betta, male or female.

Once you post back with the rest of the information we can advise you on a specific course of treatment. Also a picture is often really helpful.
 
#3 ·
Housing
What size is your tank? 20 gal
What temperature is your tank? 78
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated? yes (keeps it at 78)(have thermometer to keep check)
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? (none at the moment, was living with 2 other bettas in the bowl and they seemed happy together)

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? nutrafin basix betta food (blood worm - which the guy at the store said is what they need, but upon further reading I guess only blood worms are bad? Im trying to find other options )
How often do you feed your betta fish? Small amount in the morning, small amount at mid day

Maintenance

How often do you perform a water change? this is a new tank, 100% new water that has been treated What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? im assuming with the 20 gallon I will be changing 25-50 bi -weekly?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? nutrafin betta plus tap water conditioner.

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

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

Ran out of strips gotta get more:/

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? eyes have turned blackish (used to be like googly eyes) - very red gills and red spots on head (with the bettafix medicine that pretty much went away except the black eyes)

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? was very lethargic when I got her, she is very active now

When did you start noticing the symptoms? I noticed the black eyes last night and the red gills yesterday morning.

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I treated her witht he betta fix that solvd the red gill problem, I don't know what the black eyes things is about.

Does your fish have any history of being ill? i just got her within a week

How old is your fish (approximately)?Im assuming still pretty young.
 
#4 ·
I have had many fish before in other tanks. I have done gold fish and other tropical fish such as danios and tetras, once had a shark amoung other things.

The reason I chose bettas is because they seemed much easier, but I guess I should have done more research beforehand. There was a lot of speculation on many topics and its hard to figure out what is true or false.

I originally bought two because the guy said that the females can live together, but then I found out they were pecking at eachother, so I got a third because the guy said they don't allow returns :/ But when I put all three of them in together they seemed happy, more energetic, they weren't nipping and sometimes they swim around with eachother side by side (but not fighting). And since I got the third they stopped lazing around. I have the other two in the bowl, and leya in the tank right now until she gets better.

But these 3 seems to like eachother, as I did buy them all from the same store and they were already tanked together.
 
#5 ·
I believe that nutrafin basix is a freeze dried blood worm? If so I would suggest a different food, there can be issues with freeze dried anything and bloating. One of the reasons we recommend pellets as a staple diet, with freeze dried maybe once or twice a week. Frozen bloodworms can be fed as a primary diet as well, they are just ickier and messier.

From your description I can't quite picture what is wrong with the girl, you say her eyes aren't googly? Some bettas have eyes that seem to protrude more than others. The red does concern me. If you have a small plastic container (such as a tupperware container) you can treat her in that and float her in the big tank so she can be kept warm.

At this point I'm thinking some sort of poisoning (from the red gills) and would recommend daily water changes, especially if you float her in the main tank.

Do the eyes look like this? https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KV1WUCy9NoU/TtgvacpGzvI/AAAAAAAABMw/_Tl-RFvwsNU/s640/100_4238.JPG

if so then there is nothing wrong with the eyes
 
#6 ·
Since it cleared up a water change will be needed to remove the bettafix... long term use can harm them very much. Like Silverfang said you can float her, and treat her if needed :) then the water can be changed easier.
 
#7 ·
So the spots are coming back, and now she has a bit of browning on her mouth D: I feel terrible, nothing I am doing is helping it just seems she has every disease in the book! I am still trying t figure out a way to get a photo. I purchased some pellet food, fish salt and fungus guard which I guess protects against seconday infections, which helps with dropsy, fungus growth, clamped fins, tail/fin.mth rot and hemorragic septicemia. But I am not sure if this is what she needs, should I try it or ?
 
#8 · (Edited)
So I put a little bit of the fish salt in the tank, and the antifungal tablets (according the right dosage) and her eyes are clearing up which is great news! The lungs still seem a bit reddish (the treatment for the fungal helps with gill disease as well so maybe its working its magic there hopefully). Should know by tomorrow

Even though she is my favorite she seems to have so many problems :( that the other fish are not experiencing. I had to treat the red gills, the red spots on her face, the browning of her mouth, bloating (i didnt realize that the dried blood worms were too much and can't be the only part of the diet so that is my fault) and I think she had that swim bladder disorder that I gave her peas for.

I feel like a bad person because she is going through all that, yet the other fish don't have any issues. I still love her and I am not going to give up on her !!
 
#9 ·
Yeah peas are a very very very very bad thing for bettas. They are used for goldfish not bettas... Bettas cannot digest peas so it'll cause more problems. But it is a good thing you are not giving up on her
 
#10 ·
I have to agree with leaving the filter on 24/7. When you turn it off, everything trapped inside goes bad. When you turn it back on, it is pushed into the tank. Keeping it on will have a continuing water flow and prevent yuckies in the tank. I made this mistake once too.

Would be good to go get yourself two more girl (or three more) for your sorority. Pick girls that are calmer and not flaring at others, or females that are more interested in you than the other girls.
 
#14 ·
I looked it up, and all it says for most places is that it could be ammonia poisoning... But, considering you've done pretty good for your betta under that notion, I want to aim that it may be a parasite.... But I am not sure. can you get a magnifying glass? and possibly a light? Try putting the light above the betta in low water, use the magnifying glass to examine the betta thoroughly. Look for discoloration, powder look (velvet, ich), blackened/reddened gills, curled fins, fuzzy spots... check also the scales - raised, or not.

are the red spots actual spots or areas?
are her fins clamped?
any other signs you get from the examination mention here and maybe we can figure it out with you!

are you treating her in the 20 gallon with the others? or in a 1 gallon? floating a 1 gallon container in her 20 gallon will not only stpo anything contagious from spreading, but then is easier to do medications. this way needs every day water change.
 
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