# Popeye disease



## bettinha (Jun 30, 2013)

Hello everyone, i'm new to this site and i', 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 bubbles I also just add aquarium salt a little rocks. 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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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Hey there bettinha, so far you need to stop using Aquarium salt. It's not good to be using long term as it will cause liver/kidney failure in your Betta. So here's what I suggest you do.

Stop using all the Maracyn 2 and salts and the other meds, this is just going to cause all sorts of stress that he doesn't need. So then do a 100% change and use your regular conditioner, you're going to give him a full day rest from all medications and salts.

Aquarium salt actually induces fluid retention so in order to release that fluid you need to use Epsom salt. Epsom salt can be found at walmart or any pharmacy for pretty cheap, you need to find it as 100% Magnesium Sulfate, no additives or scent just pure Epsom. It's a natural laxative in both humans and fish and it's much more gentle than medications.

So after his full day rest you're going to do a 50% water change so take out 1 gallon from your 2 gallon tank. When you go to put back the 1 gallon, use your regular conditioner and this time before you put it in I want you to mix up 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt. You can use a cup or something, scoop out some new water in the cup and put the 1 teaspoon of salt in there, mix it around or swish around until it's completely dissolved. It's very important that you dissolve your salts first because while it's dissolving it actually gives off heat which can burn your fish.

So once your salt is all dissolved, pour it into the bucket where your 1 gallon is waiting to be put back into the tank. Then use either that cup or a different one to scoop out the new water and gently pour it into your Betta's tank. Then after about 1-2 hours take out another 1 gallon and repeat the above process so now you have two full teaspoons of dissolve Epsom salt in the tank with your boy.

So that's day 1, after that, day 2 you can just leave him be and let him rest in the Epsom salt treated water. Day 3, do another 50% water change and when you go to put back that 1 gallon of water you have to replace the 1 teaspoon. Salt doesn't evaporate so you have to physically remove it and replace it, so say if you took out all 2 gallons you'd have to replace all 2 teaspoons of salt, make sense?

Continue this for 14 days but NO MORE! than fourteen days or until he get's better. So you change water on Day 1, skip day 2, change day 3, skip day 4 and so on and so forth. At the first water changing day that you add salt, do the 50% changing at once and then another 50% later. But the day after you can just take your boy out in a cup and dump all 2 gallons and replace it, use your conditioner, mix up 2 teaspoons of Epsom salt and then you can gently put him back in but make sure that his tank temp is the same as it was before. if you need to, run a thermometer under the tap to get the water just right at 78-80 degree's and then you're good to go!

It should only be a few days of this and you should see him start to get better, keep feeding him and all and he should be just fine


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