[dtr1]

Hi everyone,

About a month ago we were given a betta fish from a neighbor that had not taken care of it well at all -- it was owned by a younger guy and he had it in a tiny container, cold water, only fed a couple times of week and generally neglected. We have never owned a betta fish prior so we have been learning as we go, but he appeared to have some fin rot and unilateral popeye. We do not know how old the betta is or how long he has had these conditions.

We have had him in a heated tank (typically 77-80 degrees on avg, also w/ fresh water plants) now with 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salts per gallon of water and his behavior has improved quite drastically. He is much more active than when we first received him and he is quick to swim after his food etc.

However, the popeye has remained the same and I'm concerned. I had hoped the aquarium salts may improved his eye after some research online, but to no avail...however his fins have appeared to improve.

I've read horror stories online how antibiotic treatment has killed their fish after reacting poorly, and also information that unilateral popeye is unique in the sense that it can be from a physical injury and not an infection.

What should we be doing to cure the popeye, if anything? Could it be too far gone at this point?

Thanks for any help! Pictures are attached

EDIT:


Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 3 gallons
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? 78-80 degrees fahrenheit
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? No

Food:
What food brand do you use? Omega One
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? Twice per day, 4-5 pellets per feeding

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Rescued 1 month ago, lived in a pitcher of unheated tap water
What percentage of water did you change?
What is the source of your water? Tap water
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Vacuum bottom and change 30% every 10 days
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? Aqueon conditioner

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: I do not have the parameters available at this time. What would be an easy/efficient way of getting these numbers? I'm brand new to owning fish so all of this is new to me.
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? He came to us with unilateral popeye, noticed it right away
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? The popeye has stayed the same
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? He seems 'happier' -- much more active during feeding time and responding to humans, frayed fins look improved. Always eats well
Is your Betta still eating? Yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salts per gallon of water
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? Don't know
How long have you owned your Betta? 1 month
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? Yes, listed above

 

[Rose of sharon]

Welcome to the forum! So glad that you joined!

It is so nice of you to take on a poor neglected betta boy! He is very beautiful!

I am attaching the emergency template. You have provided a lot of info in your original post, but the more info we have, the better advice we can give. You can copy and paste it into a new post and answer each question as best as you can.


Housing:
How many gallons is your tank?
Does it have a filter?
Does it have a heater?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?

Food:
What food brand do you use?
Do you feed flakes or pellets?
Freeze-dried?
How often do you feed your Betta? How much?

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?
What percentage of water did you change?
What is the source of your water?
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner?

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
Is your Betta still eating?
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
How long have you owned your Betta?
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?

 

[ghostking679]

I’m supposed to wait until you fill out the form, but I had a very similar experience to you.

I rescued a betta from a tiny tank. When I got him he had severe Popeye in both eyes. Even in his new 10 gallon, a healthy diet, a heater, it never got better. Additionally, the Popeye looked different than examples id seen online. It looked like yours. The eye was swollen from the base, and the iris was so distorted it looked creepy. I tried everything and nothing happened. Unfortunately, he didn’t last very long. Ithink his poor living conditions before were so bad he was mortally Ill. His Popeye never recovered. I think at that point the eye damage was permanent. I have seen other examples of rescue bettas with a similar type of Popeye (looks kind of different) and it’s actually a physical deformity.

if I had to guess, either his living conditions were so bad that he developed a severe case of Popeye That will be difficult to fix. Even if you do fix it, I’m pretty sure that eye won’t be functional. Either that or he has a genetic deformity that causes his eye to swell like that. Feel free to look at my profile to see an example of the Popeye my old fish had (the blue crowntail).

the usual way to reduce swelling is EPSOM salt baths. I never had any luck, but you might. Best of luck to you and your guy. However, based on my experience I would keep some clove oil on hand. KGtropicals has a YouTube video on their rescue betta, Bubbles. That sort of Popeye looks more like what your guy has. Might be an interesting video to watch. She has to feed him a particular way as he is blind. Good luck.

 

[dtr1]

Welcome to the forum! So glad that you joined!

It is so nice of you to take on a poor neglected betta boy! He is very beautiful!

I am attaching the emergency template. You have provided a lot of info in your original post, but the more info we have, the better advice we can give. You can copy and paste it into a new post and answer each question as best as you can.


Housing:
How many gallons is your tank?
Does it have a filter?
Does it have a heater?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?

Food:
What food brand do you use?
Do you feed flakes or pellets?
Freeze-dried?
How often do you feed your Betta? How much?

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?
What percentage of water did you change?
What is the source of your water?
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner?

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
Is your Betta still eating?
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
How long have you owned your Betta?
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?

Updated my post with answers to the questions

 

[dtr1]

I’m supposed to wait until you fill out the form, but I had a very similar experience to you.

I rescued a betta from a tiny tank. When I got him he had severe Popeye in both eyes. Even in his new 10 gallon, a healthy diet, a heater, it never got better. Additionally, the Popeye looked different than examples id seen online. It looked like yours. The eye was swollen from the base, and the iris was so distorted it looked creepy. I tried everything and nothing happened. Unfortunately, he didn’t last very long. Ithink his poor living conditions before were so bad he was mortally Ill. His Popeye never recovered. I think at that point the eye damage was permanent. I have seen other examples of rescue bettas with a similar type of Popeye (looks kind of different) and it’s actually a physical deformity.

if I had to guess, either his living conditions were so bad that he developed a severe case of Popeye That will be difficult to fix. Even if you do fix it, I’m pretty sure that eye won’t be functional. Either that or he has a genetic deformity that causes his eye to swell like that. Feel free to look at my profile to see an example of the Popeye my old fish had (the blue crowntail).

the usual way to reduce swelling is EPSOM salt baths. I never had any luck, but you might. Best of luck to you and your guy. However, based on my experience I would keep some clove oil on hand. KGtropicals has a YouTube video on their rescue betta, Bubbles. That sort of Popeye looks more like what your guy has. Might be an interesting video to watch. She has to feed him a particular way as he is blind. Good luck.

Thank you for replying with your experience! I looked for your blue crowntail but was unable to find it (my apologies if I missed it somehow) -- do you have a link?

I watched the bubbles video (thanks for the recommendation) and noticed a comment on the video that was similar to your experience as well, where someone tried to fix popeye in two of their betta's without much luck. Such a bummer, I wish I could fix it for him but it sounds like it may be futile

Also, what do you use the clove oil for? I'm not familiar.

 

[JackTheCaptain]

Also, what do you use the clove oil for? I'm not familiar.

It's used as a method of humane euthanasia. However, since his behavior and attitude have improved so much (and thank you for rescuing him!) I would keep this as a really last resort.

Sometimes the betta will survive having popeye. I personally would increase your frequency of water changes to every three-four days, 30-50%, and stop the aquarium salts. If you decide to utilize epsom salt baths, do those in a separate container, however use a container to scoop him out rather than netting to avoid any further damage to that eye.

Regarding water testing methods, there are strips but although those are less expensive, they aren't all that reliable, and one multi-strip kit doesn't include ammonia. API has a liquid ammonia test which I rely on heavily, and many people recommend API's Master kit.