Betta W/ Popeye?

[sahmof2]

I have a betta that I have had for at least a year and when I went to feed him this morning I noticed one eye is swollen, the other one is normal and I do not see anything abnormal with the rest of his body as far as I could tell, he kept turning the other way. I have looked at pictures of popeye and that is what it looks like. Little Meanie has been eating fine as far as I have been able to tell. He has been spending some more time in his little clay pot house recently. I checked his water:
nitrate - 40
nitite - 0
hardness is about 50
He is in a gallon tank and I did a total water change about 2 weeks ago and I rinsed off his gravel in a strainer in the sink then too because I do not have a filter in that tank. I was planning on moving him to a 2 gallon tank this weekend that does have a filter but I do not know if I should go ahead and move him (because of stress) or wait this out. What do I need to do? I am afraid to do a partial water change because I do not want to upset him (he is very tempermental) but I do need to do something about the nitrates. This fish and I have been through it (he jumped out one day when I left the lid off months ago but after a good lecture to him and myself he recovered) and I do not want to lose him now. He is alone in the tank because when I first got him I had him in a 20 gallon with other fish and he killed 5 of his tankmates (hence his name Little Meanie). Thank you for all of your advise.

 

[ICEEGRL]

If it were me... I would get him in a bigger tank with a filter asap! Just make sure the filter flow isn't too strong for him. Also you should get some meds in his water for the pop eye. Keep a check on his water stats, and do regular water changes. You may need to do them every day.
Stupid question... Do you use conditioner/dechlorinater? Prime is the best I have found.
Never be afraid of water changes. They are your best friend when it comes to fish!
Hope this helps

 

[sahmof2]

I did use a conditioner in the water when I changed his. I added the same water to three other tanks and I have not had a problem with two of them but I did lose my other betta that was in a larger tank than Little Meanie. That is the larger tank I am going to move him into, it is either 2.5 or 3 gal. I wanted to make sure that whatever the reason the other one died, Little Meanie would not have the same problem. I did not do a complete water change on the other Betta I just topped his water off. The two tanks that I have not had a problem with are 20 and 40 gal tanks. I only topped those off also.

 

[sahmof2]

I just wanted to give an update and ask another question. I have moved Little Meanie into the bigger tank that has a filter. He is swimming more and he is eating better. When I feed him he actually goes to the top to get the food or watches for it to come down to him. I think he is able to see it better now, I don't know if his popeye has gotten better or not. The eye looks like it is not as swollen as it was. Now he has fin rot. I have been using BettaFix Remedy everyday since all of this started. How long do I need to use this? I do not want to overmedicate him but I do want to do whatever I need to fix his finrot. The lady at the pet store said this was a cure all for Bettas. Do I need to get something different for his fins? He is able to swim to the top and it looks like it is getting easier for him too. He has been getting in his little clay pot too. Sometimes when he is on the bottom of the tank I think he is dead because he does not move when I approach, although this is not totally unusual with this fellow, I was wondering if he might be sleeping. When I feed him sometimes I have to get his attention to get him to move, other times just taking off the top gets him to the top. I have had other bettas and this one has not acted like the others in any way. What do I need to do now?

 

[*Fishkies*]

What is the temperature in the tank? Do you keep a heater in with him?
Does the temperature flucutate a lot?


Also popeye is brought on by poor water quality. Without a filter in the tank i suggest doing water changes every two days. Also if you don't have a heater I would consider purchasing a small one, this helps prevent the betta from getting more sick easily.

Also take a look at This article here. This will give you some info what to treat your betta with.



I currently have a betta do not find the bettafix to do it's job quickly like it should. I am currently treating with small dosages of API's Tetracycline.