# My Betta has popeye?



## dapom (Mar 23, 2011)

I'm a college student and I recently bought my first Betta fish as a room companion from a Petsmart... I had heard that they were easy to take care of and perfect for dorm life, but now my fish is getting sick and I dont know how to help it and I am afraid I am killing him. His name is Alpha.
Alpha was doing fine for the first month that I had him. At first I was feeding him way too much and he had a lot of excess food in his tank, but then I read that that was bad for him so I reduced it to two or three little pellets twice a day. I clean his bowl twice a week by taking him out, dumping the water and rinsing the rocks, then I wash the plastic plants and scrub the bowl with a sponge.
But last week I went on spring break and left Alpha in my room with one of those tablets that is supposed to feed them for seven days. When I came back, he looked like he had strange white patches on him, which I googled and decided they were from a fungus. I cleaned his bowl, hoping that would help. However, I had to wait a few days to get to the Petsmart because I dont have regular access to transportation. Today, before I left to go to the Petsmart, I noticed his eye looked a little bit bigger than the other one, but I thought it may have been my imagination. I went to the Petsmart and bought Tetra Fungus Guard (at the recommendation of a worker) and a bowl heater (I read that the fungus is more common in cold water). When I got back I cleaned his bowl again and noticed that his one eye had gotten HUGE! The Fungus guard says that it treats popeye, but the tablets are for ten gallon tanks, so I had to break up the tablet and dissolved a little piece to put in his bowl. The fungus looks like it has actually gotten a lot better after only about six hours, but the eye looks no better even worse. I am also afraid that I may have put too much of the Fungus Guard in his bowl because his water is tinted green.
Agh, so I guess my question is A) Am I killing my poor fish? B) will the Tetra Guard help his eye at all!? C) how did he get the popeye and how can I avoid it in the future!? Also, Right now he is swimming around a little happier, but he is still not eating, is this a better sign? And, I noticed too that his mouth looks like it is not closing all the way on the side with the popeye, is this just because that side of his head has excess fluid?
I am just afraid that I am killing my fish and I am afraid that he is suffering...

Here are as many of the questions that I can answer...
Housing 
What size is your tank? 1/2 gal
What temperature is your tank? Dont know... Was pretty cold but now it has a heater.
Does your tank have a filter? No
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? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon Betta Food
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice a day.

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? twice 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? Top Fin Betta water conditioner

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

Symptoms and Treatment
Look above (in the ridiculously long and frantic intro)

Thanks to anyone who can help me. I know I am a novice and I probably should have done more research before I got my fish, but someone told me they were easy and great for dorms. And I wanted a pet.


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## peachesxo (Jan 20, 2011)

You need to up your water changes to everyday or every other day at the very least with a tank that is 1/2 a gallon.
Also, when you are washing off your plants ect, only use hot water, NO SOAP!! And don't use that sponge you mentioned either, most of them have additives/soap/scented stuff/chemicals in them to help them clean muck and build up off of dishes, not something you want to expose your fish to.
The popeye could be a direct cause of the water being dirty from not having often enough changes/extra food ect sitting around the tank.

Up your water changes and it should hopefully improve, also, if you can get a bigger tank, that would probably be a good idea. 1/2 a gallon is super small


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## Abby (Jan 13, 2011)

i didnt read all this but my suggustiong (ive just beat pop eye) is dark and clean water every day-two days depending on tank
Dastan has been kept almost 80% covered constantly and with water changes hes almost 2 weeks since i found it and hes fine. but wait to medicate for another members reply lol


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## dapom (Mar 23, 2011)

Thank you! Ill start changing his water at least every other day, more if I can. Would you say I should do a complete water change like I have been doing or a partial one?
Also, do you know how long it should take before I start to see signs of his eye recovering?


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## Abby (Jan 13, 2011)

depends on the fish it took dastan almost a week i think but the only times i distubed him was for waterchanges and feeding


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## peachesxo (Jan 20, 2011)

you will need to be doing 100% changes with the half gallon..
and make sure it's treated water of the *same temp* as the old water, you don't wanna shock him with the temp change


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