# Popeye diseased



## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

Hello everyone, I'm new to this site and I'm, very worry about my fish, Blue is 6 month old with me and he has the pop-eye disease. it has being a week that he is no acting well and i was treating him with melafix and fungus cure, but yesterday he woke up with the eye swolen and white like a bubble, and i bought Maracym 2 and i'm treating him with that since yesterday. he leaves in a two gallon tank with oxygen and air bubbles I also just add aquarium salt a little rocks. I don't have a hospital tank, so I'm treating him on his normal tank. my big concern is he is not eating, i put him in a small bowl and try to feed him with pallets and flakes, but i think he can't see the food, so he is not eating at all, i even try to feed him directly in his mouth and he didn't eat it. I'm desperate.. I love my blue and have no Idea what to do to save his life . please help!!!!


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

Please fill this out so we can help you better.

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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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

If he has pop eye go to the any pharmacy department and buy Epsom salt. Just plain Epsom salt without any additives(unscented). 
Make daily (100%) water changes for him now. Acclimate him slowly to the new water.
Do you know how to acclimate the fish?
How often and how much of the water you usually change for him ?
If you never did 100% water change , then do 2-50% about 3 hrs apart. And then do full water changes.
Pre mix 2tsp/gall of the Epsom salt. Make sure it dissolved. You can use one gall jug to prremix it. Shake it and make sure there is not salt crystals left. Add salt with every new water change.
Do 2 tsp/gall first and second time and third time add 3tsp/gall.
Stio ysubg Nekafix, it bad for betta labyrinth organs. And i would make a few 50% water changes right now to get rid of the Melafix.
If you already started him on Maracyn 2 continue it. You can do daily water changes and just add required dose of medication on that day. 
Also i just was thinking sorry if you have him on med's use just 1tsp/ gall of the aquarium salt along with medications. Epsom salt also will help with Pop eye.
You usually don't need oxygen for bettas but since you using so much medications do not take it out because medication take oxygen away, so keep it.
Edit sorry i didn't see the reply , i am always late


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## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 2 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 76 -78 F
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? yes
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? pallets
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice daily 5 pallets each time

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? he is weak, color changed and has a popeye
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? swims under the tank and doesn't eat
When did you start noticing the symptoms? a week ago, popeye happened yesterday
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? yes, for a week i treated with Melafix and fungus cure, yesterday after the popeye i started treating him with maracym 2
Does your fish have any history of being ill? not for that, once or twice when he was in a little bowl he got kind swiming slowly and not eating, so i treated with betafix, after i put him in a 2 gallon tank with oxygen it's the first time he got sick.
How old is your fish (approximately)? ___I have him for 6 months_______________


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## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

Hi ANHEL123 I changed his water 100 % yesterday to take all the meds away and just using Maracym 2, i added some aquarium salt two. in the instructions for Maracym says, to not changing the water until 7 days with the medicin, should i follow it? I also used zephyrhills spring water, so i wouldn't use any water condition, so it will be less quimic on his water. i'm afraid he die for not being eating at all. and also i turned off the filter since the carbon takes all the medicine away, i'm just using air bubbles.
Thank you or your tips.


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

I think he was had ammonia poisoning while he was in the little bowl and the stress of moving brought on bacteria infections. 

I think you do 100% wc every 4 days to make sure your water has no ammonia and maybe combine maracyn 2 with maracyn 1 to cover all the bacteria types. Try bumping the temperature to 82F, it might help.


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

I would not use aquarium salt and medications simultaneously, as it would put a lot of stress on the kidneys. 

For popeye, I would try Epsom salt at a dosage of 1 teaspoon per gallon, and daily water changes (still with the Epsom salt). If that isn't effective, then combine the Epsom salt and Maracyn Two.

I would not use Melafix. It can toxic to bettas.


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## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

I'm already using Maracym 2, so should I change his water daily? it says in the instructions to not change the water until 7 days treating him. should I add Epson salt into the water? I added aquarium salt this morning when i put the daily dose for Maracym 2. he is hiding behind the thermometer now and doesn't move.


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## tngirl92 (Jul 16, 2012)

Ditto on cutting out the Melafix. Even though it is usually good to try plain epsom salts first, your fish sounds like he is pretty deep in the throes of a bacterial infection since he is not eating, changing color, and the popeye sounds like it is worsening. My advice would be to continue using the Maracyn 2 and combine it with the epsom salts people have suggested you use. I also recommend that you go to your pet store and buy Maracyn 1, too. Maracyn 2 is either for gram-positive or gram-negative bacteria (can't remember which) but since we don't know exactly what is attacking your fish, you need to treat for both. Maracyn 1 attacks whichever spectrum of bacteria that Maracyn 2 is ineffective against. The two maracyn antibiotics will combat whatever bacterias are CAUSING your betta's popeye, and the epsom salts will combat the swelling of the eye itself. 

Using Maracyn, Maracyn 2, and epsom salts in the tank together should not harm your fish. You may also consider conditioning your water with API Stress Coat when you do your 100% changes. It has aloe in it, which will not react with your other medicines, but is very therapeutic for healing any kind of fish injuries, including popeye. You may be able to save the eye that way. Don't panic if the eye falls out, though. Your fish can still live a full and happy life without it.


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## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

tngirl92 Thank you for your advice, i'm going to get Maracym 1 now and stress coat, and see how he reacts.. thank you


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## tngirl92 (Jul 16, 2012)

Yes watch him very carefully. Some fish react differently to medication than others, so if he has a bad reaction, you can always move him to freshwater and go to plan b. The maracyn line is pretty gentle as far as fish antibiotics go, though. Just follow the directions and don't overdose.


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

(@tngirl - Maracyn (Erythromycin) is a gram positive antibiotic. Maracyn 2 (Minocycline) is a gram negative antibiotic.)


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## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

*My little blue*

I'm trying to upload my blues picture here, and i don't know how to do it..


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## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

Never mind, it works, that's how my little one looking now, it's so sad.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I hope he will feel better and medications along with Epsom salt and water changes will help. Give us update


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I just want to mention keep his tank aerated , because antibiotics reduce atmospheric oxygen .


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Don't forget Epsom salt or the popeye swelling will not go down this is not the same as AQ salt. AQ salt will not help this condition. It's sold at CVS and Walgreens and very cheap. Get the unscented.


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## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

Hello Everyone, thank you for all the help, i did a 100% water change today for blue, i add 2tb spoon of epson salt and i mixed meracyn 1 and 2 little dosage like 1/8 of spoon and he is there, the only thing is he is not eating at all.. his tank'stemperature is 80F and he doesn't move from behind the Thermometer. Today, when i bough the meracyn 1 to mix the guy in the store told me that blue is dying little by little, that there's no med that will help him survive if he is not eating. I started to cry and left the store disappointed.. let's all get good vibes for my blue to get better.


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

Bettas can survive a long time without eating. A really long time. So I wouldn't worry about what the guy in the petstore said. (You'll see a lot of stories on this forum about the various things that petstore employees say or do. Yes, some of them are excellent. But a lot are pretty clueless about the animals they sell.)

Bettas love garlic. If you want to entice him to eat, you can soak a pellet in garlic and feed it to him. Or, you can try to feed other foods that he likes. 

Another option is a vitamin/mineral supplement that gets added to the water. Here's a link to it: VitaChem info.

Finally, you can read the Diseases sticky thread about Popeye. Go to this thread. Scroll down to the second post, and read the information there about it.


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## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

Hello everyone, after i did a water change today, blue starts to swim in his side, the popeye seems like isn't swollen anymore, but he is so debil that is very weak. Now he is laying down on top of the thermometer doesn't look that good.. I think he won't be here anymore soon.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Oh sorry how he doing today? Don't give up. Sometimes bettas are so unpredictable. Just continue and finish medications. Not sure if you using Epsom , if you are continue.


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## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

Hello everyone, My blue is getting better , yesterday he started to eat again 3 pallets and the popeye is gone, but he has this white spot on his neck and he swims like his body hurts completely, i'm still using epsom salt and Maracym 1 and 2. I'm doing this for 9 days now, and i don't know when i can stop the meds and the salt. I knoe he is not recovered completely, but i'm afraid he is sick from something else.. What should I do? keep using the meds and salt? for how long? i don't want it to harm him instead of making better.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I think you can do only 2 full treatments of the medications , longer than that you overmedicating him. What are the instructions for the medications? How long is one treatment?
As for the Epsom you can use it for long time. I am assuming you using it about 8 days? So you can continue it at least for another 7-8 days. How much of the Epsom salt you been adding?


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