Popeye in Beta Fish | Betta Fish Diseases

One day you wake up, go to feed your betta fish and notice that his eyes look like they are about to bulge out of his head. Congratulation. You fighting fish has something called "popeye" or exophthalmia. The good news is this new "look" that your betta is displaying isn't fatal and will go away if you do a few things.

First, understand that "popeye" or protruding eye syndrome is not a disease but rather is a sympton of many possibilities. For years, most experts suggested that exophthalmia was caused by a mycobacterial infection and the treatment for popeye was to eradicate the infection. The other possible cause is tuberculosis, which as you can imagine, is pretty much untreatable.

What causes the protruding eye in your Betta Fish?

From a scientific standpoint, that protruding eye you are seeing is caused by an abscess behind the eye. Like I said in the last paragraph, chances are great that the abscess is filled with an infection and luckily, provided that your siamese fighting fish doesn't have tuberculosis, there are various ways to treat this.

How to Avoid Getting Popeye in Betta Fish


Most bacterial infections are primarily caused by dirty water or water that is not kept in optimal condition. This causes the fish a deal of stress which in turn, manifests itself into Popeye (or other diseases such as Ick or Fin Rot)If you aren't using a filtered tank, then you will most likely want to change out the water of your tank at least once weekly and preferably twice weekly. Understanding this, there are four main deterrents to preventing bacterial infections in your betta or how to keep your fish healthy:

  1. Food
  2. Water Temperature (optimal is 80 degrees for Betta Fish)
  3. Cleanliness of Water
  4. Light

Treatments for Popeye in your Betta Fish

Once you have diagnosed that your Betta Fish has Popeye, the next step is treatment. Since it is hard to diagnose between the popeye being a mycobacterial infection or tubercolosis, the first step is to make sure that the water is clean and set at the optimal temperature.

Next step is to check the actual pH level of the water itself. This includes checking for the level of nitrates, nitrites and ammonia in the water. The pH level should be slightly acidic for betta fish.

You can also treat Popeye using a variety of betta fish medications.
Tetracycline or Terramycin is particularly good for bacterial infections and you should add about 100 mg per every 4 ounces of food.

If none of this is working for you (you have clean the water and ruled out a low pH balance in the water), you can try this method as it won't hurt your betta and may actually help (by the way, this may stave off all forms of bacterial infections)....

As an added note, you should be aware that Tuberculosis in fish is actually transmissible to humans through open sores. In other words, if your fish has popeye, it is probably not a good thing to have contact with your betta. It most likely isn't tuberculosis but why take that chance?

In conclusion, just like most fish diseases, Popeye can most likely be fixed by some simple methods....regularly cleaning the water, making sure you are keeping your betta fish in a warm water environment, temperature wise and giving it the proper diet.

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Should You Use a Filter for Your Betta Fish Tank?

Most Betta Fish pet owners typically will bring a betta fish and put it in a tank or fish bowl and not worry about a filter initially. However, as their interest grows, eventually these same people will graduate to an actual fish tank, normally the 10 gallon variety. Of course then comes the idea to put other different types of fish into the fish tank. But before they can do this, they normally will have to think in terms of what filter that they will need. After all, most fish aren't as hardy as the betta fish and need a flowing current in order to be able to survive.

So Should You Use a Filter for Your Betta Fish Tank?

and if so....

What kind of Filter is compatible with Betta Fish?


To understand what you should and should not use, you have to understand how the betta fish breathe and how betas operate in the wild. A betta fish's natural habitat is in rice paddies and puddles in Thailand. As you probably can imagine, there is virtually no current in their habitat and therefore, you are going to want to create a similar environment for them. Also, because of this, there is no need for a pump; Betta fish are unique in their ability to breathe air. They come equipped with something called a labryinth lung. This special type of lung will allow them to breathe air from the outside however, this makes it also harder to filter the air from the water, like most fish. What I am trying to get at is a filter for your tank is not necessary. For more information on this, check out my Fish Tank for Bettas post

Most people who graduate from a fish bowl to a larger tank want to opt for a filter that will yield the least amount of current as possible. Betta fish (the males in particular) have a tough time fighting water currents as their fins aren't equipped for it. Ideally, the only type of filter you should stay away from are the Power Filters.

It is also recommended that if you do use a filter, make sure that the tank is large enough so the betta can swim away from the filtration sytems and get away from the current. And ultimately, not all bettas will like the idea of water current. Some will even hide in order to avoid the current. In other words, it is a good idea to test the filter for a couple weeks and see how your fish react. If they act erratic, then it is probably a better option to remove the fish and place him in a more calm environment.

So, if your Betta Fish reacts better WITHOUT a filter, why bother using one?

The benefits of using a filter are numerous. Like I said earlier, if you intend to incorporate other freshwater fish into the tank, then it is likely that a filter will be a must. Most fish rely on the current a filter produces to be able to actually breathe.

Also, if you use a filter, you won't have to be constantly changing the water, as the filter will help remove some of the toxins and debris that a filterless tank would not (obviously). In other words, if you are not too keen on changing out the water every week or so, a filter will be the way to go.

I have two 10 gallon fish tanks and both use an underground filtration system. I have never had a betta fish not like it but I have heard from other pet owners that their fish didn't adapt so well. As strange as it may seem, deciding on whether a filtration system will work for you will largely depend on how your siamese fighting fish react to it.

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Fin Rot in Betta Fish |How to Treat and Prevent Fin Rot

Most people get fish because they are easy to care for and maintain. And there is no better fish, example wise than a betta fish since they are just about as hardy as a goldfish. Because of this, many people won't maintain their siamese fighting fish as well as they should. If you are one of those people that don't do things like cleaning your fish tank on a regular basis, then it is possible for your beta to get Fin Rot, a horrible disease that can be fatal. It actually affects all freshwater tropical fish.Let's discuss this for a second.

First of all, Fin Rot is a bacterial infection and thus could be easily prevented by simply regularly making sure the tank's water is clean. It is as easy as that. Think about this for a second. If you didn't have a toilet in your home and was forced to use the bathroom in your bedroom, do you think eventually that you would catch some form of bacterial infection?

Well, in a betta's world, the water is his bedroom. If you don't clean the water on a regular basis, then your betta fish will be swimming around in an unsanitary environment....fish feces and uneaten food particles. So the bottom line is that if you can keep the water clean, then you will be able to prevent Fin Rot and will likely never experience this.

If you have your Betta in a fish bowl or some other environment that is smallish, then it is absolutely important to keep the water clean. Since fin rot is due to an unsanitary environment, if you aren't using a filter or heater, then chances are that you will need to change the water out weekly and in the very least bi-weekly. Of course, the more frequently you change the water out, the more differientations in pH and temperature you will have which will stress out your betta even more (which is why you should go ahead and invest in a fish tank with a heater and filter). That is another story altogether though.

How to Treat Fin Rot


First, you need to determine if Fin Rot is the cause of your Betta's troubles. The easiest way to determine this is to do a test for the amount of ammonia in your fish tank. Ammonia is a by product of your Betta's feces. Any more than a pH of 7.0 for ammonia and you have a toxic recipe for a floating fish. Of course, ammonia even in the smallest of amounts can become an issue.

Once you have determined that Fin Rot is indeed the culprit, then you will need to start the treatment process. If you have caught it quick and early, the treatment can be as easy as simply changing out the water and if you have a gravel bed, changing out the gravel as well. You can also make the area less "hospitable" to bacterial organisms by adding a little aquarium salt to your tank. Aquarium salt will help speed up recovery. If you are going to use aquarium salt, a good preventative dose is usually 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon to every gallon of water....if your fish is already sick, you can up this to 1 teaspoon.

In really bad Fin Rot cases, you will most likely need to medicate the fish. Jungle Fungus Eliminator is one of the medications that most Betta Fish owners use. However, there are other medications that you can try as alternatives. These include:
You can use these two together along with other sulfur medications.

Once recovery has started, you can add Bettafix or MelaFix to the equation. Many Betta fish owners actually use BettaFix as the primary medication for treating fin rot. However, if your betta is suffering from an acute case of fin rot, you will likely need to treat with the above medications and move onto bettafix after the fact. BettaFix is great for helping your betta regenerate new fin tissue after the fact. If you are going to use MelaFix, then you will want to add 10 drops per gallon. If you use BettaFix, use 1/2 teaspoon for each gallon.

It is also important to understand that fin rot can be a real problem if you have more than one fish, as this bacterial infection can spread between fish. In other words, if your betta fish is suffering from fin rot, then the other fish you have in the tank could have it as well and should be treated to keep this condition from coming back.

What to do After Fin Rot has been Eradicated

Obviously the best way to prevent fin rot is to make sure that your betta is swimming in clean water. Trust me, once you have gone through this process, chances are great that you will never want to go through it again. Taking a little time out of your life every week to change the water will ensure that you betta fish will never get this dilapidating disease. And for god's sake.....buy an aquarium if you don't own one. You can usually find pretty good deals on Craig's list if the money is an issue.

Betta Fish and Siamese Fighting Fish

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