# cloudy spot on one eye??



## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

sigh... just as i get over my mousey dramas, i get this with my fish. :|

so,... one of my bettas has been slightly off lately. just slightly. people that dont know him would think hes normal, but he hasnt been acting as active as before, and is it just me, or is it when hes resting he seems to clamp his fins a bit.. maybe im paranoid... 0_0 but now, theres a small little cloudy area on his eye. it looks like a small-scale cataract, the eyes arent bulged, and theres no raised surface or ring around the eye like popeye. i have a (crappy) pic of him, its the right eye, and no its not the reflection, that areas always there.. 

oh and also, hes been flaring a lot lately, so now hes got a gill cover that doesnt cover all the way. the insides arent inflamed or red, but its like maybe hes... overdone/worked it? his color hasnt faded or anything, and eats like a pig. tips or help appreciated! D:

Housing 
What size is your tank? 10 gal divided
What temperature is your tank? 80 F
Does your tank have a filter? yup
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? no, its already too hot. 
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? the other betta on the other side of the divider

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? pellets and frozen bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 times a day, 2-3 pellets each

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? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime water conditioner

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? one of his eyes has a tiny cloudy spot, no bulging or white ring around eyes though.. and one of his gill covers doesnt seem to cover all the way.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? still eats and active, but maybe not as active as before. fins not as open as before either sometimes. 
When did you start noticing the symptoms? yesterday
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? theres been salt in the tank for about 1 1/2 weeks. dosage of 1 tsp per gal. since both were acting a bit lethargic a while ago. havent gotten rid of the salt yet. 
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no 
How old is your fish (approximately)? 6-7 months?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

It seems like he might have a bit of cloudy eye. Increase the water changes to one 25% and one 50% a week for a few weeks and see if the clean water helps any. If the tank isn't cycled, then you probably want to continue with the same water change routine until the tank cycles. Also, I've been told that aquarium salt treatments shouldn't go over 10 days. Something about it damaging the kidneys after that point. 

If your little guy starts acting any stranger or gets any more symptoms, definitely post again. There may be some parasite problem going on.


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

the tank is cycled. its been running for like a year now. should i quarantine? is it contagious?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

No, it's not contagious. Cloudy eye, isn't anyway. What I don't get is cloudy eye usually happens because of poor water quality but yours is just fine. That's why I wonder if it might be an eye fluke or even a cataract - is your betta old? You don't have to quarantine unless you want to. 

Since I'm not 100% sure what this might be, you might want to PM DarkMoon or Oldfishlady.


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

no hes not old.. when i got him he was a dinky little thing.. and since then ive only had him for about 7 months? the betta on the other side is going great though.. so it might just be him.. but its wierd, since hes always seemed much more robust than his fellow tankmate on the other side.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Could he have rubbed his eye against something? Like maybe the divider trying to get to his tankmate? Maybe it's a scratch on the lens of the eye.


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

ah... maybe. lol that could probably also explain his gill cover... :roll: he probably got too excited whilst flaring.. and pulled something, just like how people can pull a muscle, if that happens in fish. DX


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Yeah, it could. He just got all worn out showing off to his tankmate.  Let's hope that's all it is. If it doesn't seem to be spreading and he's not showing any other weird signs, I'd say to just watch him for a few days, maybe step up the water changes for a week until he's back to normal. If you're worried about him flaring some more, you can always remove him or his tankmate for a few days. Maybe something happened between the two that just set him off and made him flare like crazy. Who knows what goes through a betta's mind?


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

lol seriously. theyr nuts with their quirkiness. :|
well ill be keeping watch on him. tomorrow is water change day so ill see if theres any change after that. thanks for responding!


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Sure. I'm sorry I couldn't be of any more help. I hope he perks back up for you soon.


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

did a water change yesterday, he seems to be a bit more like himself, but that spot..... sigh.. its still there. :|
curiousity, does pimafix do any good for anything? i know melafix isnt good, but what about pimafix?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

If pimafix has the tea tree oil in it just like melafix, then it's not good either. Something about the tea tree oil that damages the labyrinth organ, I think. I sure hope he gets better soon for you.


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

ahhh okay, thanks.  
darn this kid. i swear. hes just making it difficult for me. D:< 
when i got home today, it seems like hes probably scratched himself somewhere.. theres a little line on his body thats little white too.. 
the eye hasnt gotten better, but it doesnt seem to have gotten worse either. hes acting the same.. this is just really strange. :-?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Do you have really high pH? I wonder if he has pH burns. And he has no white spots anywhere else, like ich?


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

Im pretty sure its not ich. He doesnt have the salt looking granules on his body, nor is he scratching on purpose. Havent tested my ph yet, but i cant imagine it being too high. I have live plants in there and lots of snails that poop XD so even if i have high ph.. It would have been brought down. And my water source has been the same. Irk, i just wish i know whats wrong w him!!


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

No pH burns then. Hmm. What does the white line on his body look like? Right now I'm leaning towards scratching himself on the divider, maybe trying to get at his neighbor. It's about all I can think of. You could try tannins and see if they help any.


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

Hmm.. I do have a piece of druftwoodin there..


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

the scratch on his body seems to have gotten a bit smaller... but THAT EYE... sigh. the spot on his eye might have gotten bigger... could it be fungus? i do have jungle fungus clear...


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I guess it could be a fungus, but it's odd that it's on the eye.


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

i dont know anymore. if this doesnt resolve on its own by the end of this week, im going to try treating it as fungus.. ive noticed that hes starting to act like he cant swallow pellets, which is wierd, since hes always been able to eat... :\


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

oh and so because of the swallowing issue his appetite doesnt seem as good anymore..


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

That's weird all right. What fungus med are you planning on using?


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

yup, wierd :|
i plan on using jungle fungus clear, since thats the closest fungal type medication we have here..


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Poor guy, I hope the meds help. Definitely do try them. Anything, at this point.


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

Sounds like cloudy eye. I believe it is the result of an infection but don't quote me on that. The scratch was probably unrelated. You can try 1tsp/gal Epsom Salt and Jungle's Fungus Clear. Daily 100% water changes.

The eating trouble could be just because he doesn't feel 100% or the pellets are either too big or not to his tastes anymore. Try offering frozen foods to see if that perks him up. Good luck!


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

yeah, i feed frozen bloodworms as well normally, he seems to appreciate those ones especially now. ive moved his diet to consist more of frozen bloodworms, and just one or two pellets. he will eat one pellet easy, but then the second one is where he stops.

and you said an infection? what kind of infection might it have been? 
and for the fungus clear can i prefizz the tablet into a desired amount of water and store it away? or do i have to do it right when i need it in order to work?


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

Frozen is the next best thing to live so it's perfect. As long as he eats those don't worry too much. If he stops eating frozen foods let us know asap.

I believe it is bacterial, but Fungus Clear works on both bacterial and fungal infections. In general, eyes are the window to their internal works. The fluid in their eyes is the same fluid that you find throughout the body. If something is wrong with the _inside_ of their eye that is a sign that they have an internal imbalance of some sort throughout their body. That's why it is so important to look for "clean" eyes when you are pet shopping. 

You can "prefizz" the tab in dechlorinated water and store it for a few days. I usually put the mixture somewhere dark since some medications are light sensitive. I wouldn't keep the mixture for more than 5 days... I'm sure they lose effectiveness after awhile. You can also premix some Epsom Salt but don't mix the medication and the Epsom salt until you add them to the tank. I don't know if storing them together will reduce their effectiveness but it's better to play it safe.


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## masshiimarro (Apr 16, 2011)

hmm.. i wouldnt say its the inside of his eye thats cloudy, just the surface of it. i mean, ive seen his eyes with his head directly facing me, and his eyes in that sense are clear. 
but anywhoo, how long would you reccomend this treatment?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

DarkMoon, I'm curious how he could get cloudy eye when the water is clean? I know cloudy eye is a result of poor water quality but I believe Masshiimarro practices excellent husbandry and keeps the water very clean. So are there other things that cause cloudy eye that are unrelated to water quality? I would definitely like to know so I can be aware of these causes with my own fish.


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