# My fish has swollen eyes and won't eat! help!



## uraqtkt19 (Sep 21, 2010)

Here's the deal, I don't know a whole bunch about betta diseases or anything and my fish is sick. I was away from home and my mom forgot to feed him a couple of times. Could that have something to do with it? I'm quite concerned! What do I do? I'll try to post a picture, but I'm not really tech savvy. His eyes are swollen and he hasn't eaten for a while. His mouth also looks strange, like, disconnected kind of. Is it too late to do anything?


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## Colibri (Sep 29, 2010)

Could you please answer the following questions as descriptive as you can?

Housing 
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?


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## uraqtkt19 (Sep 21, 2010)

Housing 
What size is your tank? Only 1/2 a gallon, I know, it's terrible
What temperature is your tank? I don't have a thermometer
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqua Culture Betta Pellet Food
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? I try for once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? All of it
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? None, but it's always been sitting out atleast a day and a night

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? I haven't

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? His eyes are swollen mostly on top and kind of cloudy. His mouth seems to be disconnected somehow. Almost like it became a bit unglued if you will. His scales are turned tan underneath his mouth. His fins are droopy and he was tail biting about a week ago.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He's VERY passive.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Yesterday is when I noticed he hadn't been eating.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No, I don't know the first thing about treatment
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? I think I've had him about a year.


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## dr2b (May 31, 2009)

It sounds like popeye from poor water quality. I'd start by doing 100% water changes at least every other day, if not everyday. Adding some epsom salt will also help him with the fluid and the stress.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

*DISEASE: POPEYE* 
this betta's eye has more than doubled in size
u*GENERAL INFO:* 
If you always keep your betta’s water very clean, he is not very likely to get Popeye. Popeye is a bacterial infection popeye can be the tip of the iceberg, the external sign that something inside Mr. Betta is going very wrong. For example, tuberculosis will sometimes result in popeye. In that case, the popeye may not be curable or even if it gets better the fish will die (because tuberculosis is not curable and always kills its host). In short the fish will have died, not of the popeye itself, but because of the more serious disease that triggered it.
u*SYMPTOMS:* 
One or both of Mr. Betta’s eyes start bulging out. In about 2 to 7 days the eye might look so grotesque you will be afraid to look at your betta. Casimodo on a bad day will look more attractive then your betta at that point!! Please do not destroy your betta! In many cases, the bettas make a full recovery from it and look normal again, as if nothing had happened. Only some of the popeye cases are caused by the terminal diseases mentioned above and will result in your betta dying. The rest will heal nicely if caught early and treated aggressively (see below). During outbreak, betta may be less active, may stop eating.
u*TREATMENT:* 
As I said, popeye is usually not fatal and Mr. Betta will often fully recover. On occasion he may lose an eye. But if you catch it right away, he should be fine. Immediately do a full water change. Keep his water very clean, changing it every third day. After putting him in clean water, add the antibiotic Ampicillin (included in our Betta First Aid Kit) to his water. This medication usually comes in capsules. A full capsule usually treats 10 gal of water. So for a 1/2 gallon of water, open the capsule and take the right proportion of powder and sprinkle on jar water. You may steer gently with a disposable plastic spoon. This is a white powder and will not affect the color of the water. Do not overmedicate! Once Betta’s eyes are back to normal, keep treating for one more week (just to be sure) and then stop the medication. And keep his water clean from now on darn it!!


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## uraqtkt19 (Sep 21, 2010)

Thanks for your guys' advice and information. I'll try those treatments!


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Yesterday i went to the pet store,and spoke to the girl who works there(she always gives me advice). she actually had a fish with the POPEYE,and she treated it with MARACYN BY MARDEL. And her betta recovered. The store sells it for $7.99 in a box with 8 packs in it.


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

In a container that size, you *need *to do a 100% water change every day. The reason he is like this is because the ammonia level in the container is way too high--ammonia is the substance that fish constantly excrete through their gills as waste. It's kind of like the fish form of urine. Ammonia is very toxic, and any detectable level is harmful to your fish. It can burn the delicate edges of his fins as well as his gills. Constantly being exposed to high amounts of ammonia also damages the internal organs, causing abnormal swelling in areas like the eyes.

You must use a dechlorinating product. Chlorine will evaporate if it is left to sit out for 24 hours, however, chloramine is equally harmful to your fish and takes weeks to evaporate. The exposure to excessive amounts of ammonia and chemicals in your water have placed so much pressure on your fish's organs that he has been reduced to this poor state.

First, I would go out and purchase a larger container--it does not have to be fancy or expensive. You can get a 2-4 gallon rubbermaid/sterilite plastic storage bin for about $3, which is easy to clean, safe for fish, safe to use with heaters, and is wonderful as a hospital tank because of its long and shallow shape. If you have one around your house already, you can use it as long as you rinse it thoroughly. Next, I would break the 1/2G container with a sledge hammer. 1/2 gallon of water is not enough to support any vertebrate animal, bettas included. It is impractical to heat and impractical to keep clean, and does not address the betta's environmental enrichment needs.

I would not medicate him until you've allowed him plenty of time to bounce back in clean, dechlorinated water. Once you've removed all of the environmental pressures on his organs, he should slowly begin to improve. During this time, you should feed him high quality food--frozen food and live food will be easiest to digest and easiest on his organs. You can find it in the freezer in the fish section of any pet store. I use frozen blood worms, brine shrimp, and daphnia regularly. Perhaps the more appetizing food will convince him to eat. If you can find live blackworms, they will be best for enticing him to eat. 

Hopefully you will keep us updated.


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## uraqtkt19 (Sep 21, 2010)

He's doing better today, I'm changing his water everyday. The swelling in his eyes has gone down and he's a little more active. He's eating again and so I hope his other symptoms go away quickly. I'll look for one of those rubbermaid containers. Are those any good for long term? I've always felt bad about his small home, but tanks are expensive and I'm a high school student with no money. Thanks again for your info!


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

They're great long term--they're not exactly the prettiest tanks in the world, but you can't beat the price, and bettas seem to love them. Try to get one that is clear plastic with a clear plastic lid so you can keep an eye on him without disturbing him too much. A 2 gallon bin will need to be changed every 3 days, a four gallon will need it about every 4-5 days. If you choose to get one that's 3 gallons or larger, you can buy a cheap sponge filter ($4) and an air pump ($6) and cycle the tank. Once the cycle is completed (it takes about 3 weeks) you will only need to do once weekly 50% changes instead of frequent 100% changes. If you're interested in this method of maintaining your aquarium, you should take the time to research the nitrogen cycle.


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