severe pop eye in male betta

HI,
I HAVE A 1 1/2 YR OLD BETTA. HE HAS SEVERE POPEYE IN ONE EYE. I DID A 100 % WATER CHANGE, USED ALMOND LEAVES AND WATER CONDITIONER. THERE IS NO AMMONIA, NO NITRATES, THE PH IS 7.4, BUT HAS ALWAYS BEEN AT THAT FOR YEARS.THE WATER CHANGE DID NOT HELP.
I THEN USED MARACYN2 FOR THE 5 DAY TREATMENT. HE IS IN A 5 GALLON HOSPITAL TANK WITH A HEATER AND SPONGE FILTER. HE LOOKED WORSE. I DID ANOTHER 100 % WATER CHANGE. WAITED 2 DAYS. I THEN USED A SMALL AMOUNT OF EPSOM SALT, 1 TBL. SPOON, AND MARACYN 2 AND JUST MARACYN. ITS GOING ON THE 4TH DAY, THE FISH IS NO BETTER. HE ONLY EATS MAYBE ONE LIVE BRINE SHRIMP A DAY. HE WONT EAT ANY MORE THAN THAT. I ADDED ANOTHER AIR STONE, AS THE WATER IS GETTING CLOUDY FROM THE MEDICATION, AND I FEEL MORE OXYGEN IN THE WATER WOULD HELP.
MY QUESTIONS ARE: SHOULD I BE CHANGING ALL OF HIS WATER OR SOME OF IT DAILY? STOP TREATMENT, OR CONTINUE WITH THE TREATMENT . I DO NOT WANT TO LOOSE THIS BETTA. ALL ADVISE APPRECIATED. THANKS IN ADVANCE

Hi, ALWAYS do a water change when you feel your fish are sick, I would reccomend one 50% change a day, what I reccomend for all Bettas are tannins, which are prominatley found in driftwood and almond leaves, these strengthen Bettas immune system and help fight off disease. The fish appears to be in rough shape, how is he now?

hi, thanks for the responce. i do use almond leaves in all my betta tanks, and i do alot of water changes, probably more than nessesary. he is not getting better. i did not dose his medication today, im going to do a large water change tomorrow, put in a few almond leaves, and see what goes. the meds, maracyn and maracyn2 dont seem to do anything. this has been going on for over 3 weeks. have you used epsom salt, ? i tried it in the beginning, but only two days. i was not exactly sure how much for 5 gallons, so i only used a tablespoon. thanks again, jim

I've used epsom salt before on a Betta with dropsy, however it didn't not work and it died
I'd give the fish the best water conditions possible, there's obviously something internally going on if it's not eating. If it is the eye, I would recommend sedating the fish and removing the eye, this is the worst case scenario of course however this is the worst case of Popeye I have ever seen in a betta

you are not kidding. his eye is almost as big as his head. i thought about trying to remove it, but didnt know how to sedate him. i think he is in alot of pain from his eye. he swims when he sees another betta, but then lies down all day. he only eats the shrimp when they swim by his mouth. do you know how to sedate a betta? i also do not know how large the eye socket underneath is, and dont want a huge hole in his head.

There are two main things that concern me: You shouldn't do 100% water changes, as this will do more harm than good. Your will just be messing with your nitrogen cycle. 50% would be fine. Second, when using epsom salts, (Byron mentioned something like this in another thread) make sure they're not dyed and don't have chemicals on them. But that eye is massive.

So, as for sedating your fish, google it and cross reference websites. For the hole in his head after the procedure, I honestly don't know what you could do about it (if left the fish would die). If possible, maybe get a specialised vet to look at him and do the surgery; it would be more professional and probably betta (get the pun?) for him.

Clove oil works the best for fish sedation, you can find it in pretty much any store, try Walmart

hi, thank you both for the info. i saw the use of clove oil on line last night. i'm going to do a 50 %water change today, and another 50 % change tomorrow. i am gonna stop the medication, and after the second water change, i'm going to try some epsom salt, (no dyes or fragrance is what i have), at 1 teaspoon per gallon. then change 50 % of the water daily and see what happens. what do you all think? thanks again, jim