# Male betta with red eye with white fuzz and a swollen belly



## jjb99 (Jul 2, 2013)

I've had my betta for about a month now, and he's absolutely gorgeous. He has been very healthy up until this morning, when I noticed he had white fuzz on his eye and a red ring around it. I work at a pet store, so I figured I'd pick something up there to put in the water. I got some melafix while I was there, because the stuff specifically for bettas was out. When I came home that night, his entire belly was swollen. What could this be, and is there much I can do? My other 3 bettas are perfectly fine, so I don't know what it could be.


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

Melafix isn't really good for a betta so you probably should skip it.

Your fish has popeye. My betta had it too, I treated it with Jungle's fungus clear, it kills bacteria and fungus. I treated for 5 days and it worked. 

But maybe try clean warm water first, if after a couple of days your fish doesn't improve, then use medication. I think you should test the water for ammonia first and make sure its 0 and bump the temperature to 80F. When I first had my betta, I didn't change the water enough and he had ammonia poisoning which led to the popeye.

How big is your tank btw? and how often do you change the water? do you have a heater?


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## jjb99 (Jul 2, 2013)

darkangel said:


> Melafix isn't really good for a betta so you probably should skip it.
> 
> Your fish has popeye. My betta had it too, I treated it with Jungle's fungus clear, it kills bacteria and fungus. I treated for 5 days and it worked.
> 
> ...


But would popeye include the swollen belly?

I did a water change after I saw him, my water is always about 70-75 degrees and he's in a little over a gallon of water. I put the melafix in, it treats bacterial infections so I thought it might at least help a little.


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## Narny105 (Jun 6, 2013)

You shouldn't throw medications in at every sign of illness. It can just exasperate already poor issues, and medicating an already compromised fish incorrectly can be potentially disastrous. Your fish is retaining fluids, and currently what you are using is going to be pretty much useless for most cases of disease.

Please remove it. Remember that medications should always be considered with care, with a second or third opinion, and as the last treatment option once others have been considered.

The tank you have is too small, and the temperature is too low. 5 gallons and 80F are conditions a betta needs. 2.5 gallons in my opinion is too small to safely heat, and 5 gallons is the minimum tank size that should be heated. You cannot adequately heat a little over 1 gal of water, and temperature fluctuation is just as much of a culprit for a fish to succumb to illness.

Could you please answer the required questions and provide a top view photo:

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233


Thanks!


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## jjb99 (Jul 2, 2013)

Narny105 said:


> You shouldn't throw medications in at every sign of illness. It can just exasperate already poor issues, and medicating an already compromised fish incorrectly can be potentially disastrous. Your fish is retaining fluids, and currently what you are using is going to be pretty much useless for most cases of disease.
> 
> Please remove it. Remember that medications should always be considered with care, with a second or third opinion, and as the last treatment option once others have been considered.
> 
> ...


This is how I have been caring for betta fish all my life, and the majority of them lived for years with no problems. But sure, I'll answer the questions. I did get a second opinion about the melafix from my boss, who has owned many kinds of fish all his life. If a 2.5-5 gallon tank is your solution, however, that is impossible with 4 betta fish, because that would put me over $100 just for 4 2.5 gallons.

Housing 
What size is your tank? - about 1.3 gallons
What temperature is your tank? - 70-75 F
Does your tank have a filter? - no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? - no, but I was considering getting one
Is your tank heated? - no, it stays quite warm in my room, as we don't use much air conditioning so I figured it would be ok at 75
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? - one of the 4 (one of the healthy ones I've had for quite a while) has a snail - one of the others has one, but he tore it apart

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? - Top Fin betta bits - crushed, bcause they tend to be too big for the little guys to get right away
How often do you feed your betta fish? - once a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? - every 1-3 weeks depending on my schedule
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? - most if not all
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? - none, and I use filtered water

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? - I have not done this yet, I was planning on picking up some strips today

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? - red rim around the left eye, white fuzz on the same eye, swollen belly
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? - not much, actually, he's still swimming around as usual, just a little more wobbly
When did you start noticing the symptoms? - yesterday morning (july 1)
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? - melafix for bacterial infections - figured it would at least help the red rim on the eye
Does your fish have any history of being ill? - no
How old is your fish (approximately)? - I bought him about a month and a half- 2 months ago, not sure how old they are at the store


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## Narny105 (Jun 6, 2013)

In terms of housing, here is something I wrote somewhere else in regards to housing these guys. Please don't take it as 'I am judging you' etc, as I honestly am not. It's just easier to link then type lol, and it pretty much explains what I mean in regards to tank size. In terms of water changes, since you can't deviate from the bowl, could you increase these to twice weekly at 50%? 

75F is within the range for bettas temperatures but any lower is getting a bit too cold for them, 80F is the optimal temperature, but many people happily set it at 75-78F

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzo...are-foes-for-bettas-too/?hl=+bowls++are++foes


The popeye issue will not be solved with the melafix. There's heaps of fluid retention around that eye, so first that needs to be reduced. Since it is popeye, this is one of those cases that we do want to reduce the swelling then dose a good broad spectrum antibiotic (melafix won't be the best option in this case)

Do you have epsom salt on hand? That is great for reducing swelling

I'll await test results. Since you work at a pet store, can you test your water with a liquid test kit? It's just much more accurate than strips, but whichever you find easier!


Thanks!


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## Narny105 (Jun 6, 2013)

Also, forgot to mention. Popeye is a symptom, and not a disease. So in terms of having a popeye and bloating, the both of them are caused by fluid retention in the body most likely due to an underlying infection


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## jjb99 (Jul 2, 2013)

Narny105 said:


> In terms of housing, here is something I wrote somewhere else in regards to housing these guys. Please don't take it as 'I am judging you' etc, as I honestly am not. It's just easier to link then type lol, and it pretty much explains what I mean in regards to tank size. In terms of water changes, since you can't deviate from the bowl, could you increase these to twice weekly at 50%?
> 
> 75F is within the range for bettas temperatures but any lower is getting a bit too cold for them, 80F is the optimal temperature, but many people happily set it at 75-78F
> 
> ...


I'm not even quite sure I've seen Epsom salt anywhere around here. I've been hearing about it on pet care forums, and I'd like to have some on hand if I could find it.

Do you have a recommendation for a type of a broad spectrum antibiotic as an alternative to melafix? It's what we use in our store for our fish, and most of the time it works great, so I figured it'd be a decent choice.


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## Narny105 (Jun 6, 2013)

kanaplex will definitely work. However Marcyn as well. Kanaplex will be much better to have on hand.

Epsom will often be sold in supermarkets, but chemists will definitely have it!

If you want to have a stock on hand, I'd get:

rock salt 
epsom salt
praiziquantel (prazipro)
Kanaplex

This covers pretty much everything from bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral.

That being said, kanaplex is still quite a strong med, and shouldn't be used excessively


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## jjb99 (Jul 2, 2013)

Narny105 said:


> kanaplex will definitely work. However Marcyn as well. Kanaplex will be much better to have on hand.
> 
> Epsom will often be sold in supermarkets, but chemists will definitely have it!
> 
> ...


I definitely think I've seen Marcyn, and I'll look for some Epsom salt when I leave for the gym tonight while I'm out. Never heard of the first one though, and I'd rather not have to order something, since that won't be soon enough.


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## Narny105 (Jun 6, 2013)

no problem.I'm not sure how easily accessible kanaplex is to be honest, I just know it's available in the US. Kanamycin is prescription only here. But whichever you can get your hands on is fine


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

I have a 2.5 gallon with a 25w elite heater and its pretty great. 

In a 1 gallon, you have to change the water every 3 days, 1-3 weeks means your fish is getting ammonia poisoning. I think your fish had ammonia poisoning like mine and than developed popeye. Same thing happened to me. I didn't know at first but you should start changing them every 3 days.

I used Jungle's Fungus Clear to medicate the popeye, you can buy it at walmart for $4.

I think you should try to figure out a way to make the temperature higher, my betta use to not move around and kept getting popeye when he didn't have a heater. I eventually moved his 1.5 gallon to a really hot room but finally caved when and got him a new setup since in winter its going to cold no matter what. Bettas prefer 78f-80f, they became super active and is much healthier when they are warm.

If you have 4 bettas, maybe consider getting a this petsmart 10 gallon, its only $15 if your in the US or $18 if your in Canada! You can just divide it into 4 sections. You can also get an Elite 50w heater from Amazon for $13. 

That way, all 4 fish can have more room and warm water for under 30 bucks! You can either cycle the 10 gallon or do 50% water changes every week.


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