Betta with fin rot, possible popeye and not eating - please help!

[AmandaT]

Betta fish with fin rot, possible pop eye and not eating

My betta fish Kiko has fin rot and stopped eating around the 22nd December. I started treatment with Esha 2000 as recommended in my local aquarium but it didn’t help at all. I stopped that treatment, did a 100% water change and started treatment with King Fish fin rot. The only way I could get him to eat was to get him into a bowl and feed him that way which I managed to do successfully for three days and then he perked up on Christmas Day and seemed to be in a better mood and swam around a bit more.

His fin rot hasn’t really improved and he seems to have deteriorated again and has started sitting as the bottom and not eating. I’ve been keeping his water pristine with water changes every two days and we’ve bought him a new 21L tank with plants, new moss balls and a cave hoping that would cheer him up (he was previously in a 12L tank but I’ve realised that was too small, despite being advised by the shop that it was ok). The tank is fully cycled and the water parameters are good).

I’ve bought some Waterlife Myaxin and I’m thinking about stopping the other treatment and starting this. I’m worried that he could be depressed and maybe in shock after all the water changes and me feeding him in a separate bowl which may be contributing to his fin rot not improving. I noticed yesterday that I couldn’t see the pupil on one of his eyes, and it’s bulging slightly. Could be a cataract or popeye, I’m not too sure. I’m thinking about giving him a 48 hour break from the current medication and starting with the Myaxin. I’ve added lots of info below so hopefully that’s helpful.


I’d really appreciate any advice on what I can do to make him better. I’ll try and include a photo. Thanks!



Housing:
How many gallons is your tank?
21L (upgraded 3 days ago from a 12L)
Does it have a filter?
Yes
Does it have a heater?
Yes
What temperature is your tank?
25 degrees Celsius
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?
No

Food:
What food brand do you use? North Fin Betta Bits
How often do you feed your Betta? How much?
Twice a day (3 pellets each time). Used to feed a combination of this and temperate flakes but decided to stop as I don’t think it provides enough nutrition. (I’ve ordered some gel brine shrimps in the hope that will help).

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Every two weeks.
What percentage of water did you change? 25%
What is the source of your water?
Tap.
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
Vacuum
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? Seachem Prime.


Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 40
pH:7.6
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
2 weeks
How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
Raggedy fins and skinny
How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
Not eating and sitting at the bottom or in his cave/on a plant and breathing heavily
Is your Betta still eating?
Only if I put a pellet near his mouth
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
Previously with Esha 2000, then King British fin rot treatment. Have decided to try Myaxin after a 48 hour break.
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
Yes. He got fin rot after a few weeks of having him as tank was not fully cycled. I was badly advised by the shop where I bought him and they said it would be ok to use Fast Filter Start and that he would be ok. Once I learnt about cycling, I cycled the tank with him in using Seachem Prime.
How long have you owned your Betta?
A year and four months.
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?
No.

 

[Colin_T]

It could be a dragon scale betta, they get scales growing over the eyes.

If the fish is skinny, it's probably the diet. Try feeding it more variety of foods including things like brineshrimp, daphnia, bloodworm, prawn.

Stop adding chemicals. The best treatment for fin rot is big daily water changes and salt. use 1-2 heaped tablespoons of rock salt (aquarium salt) for every 20 litres of water. Keep the salt in the water for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks. When you do water changes while using salt, add salt to the new water before adding it to the tank so the salinity (salt level) in the tank remains constant.

 

[Essjay]

How long have you had the betta?
It's hard to tell from the photos whether it's a dragonscale but it does take a while for the scaling to grow over the yes. If it's a recently bought betta, it is probably something else, but if he's at least a few months old, it could be.

I had a dragonscale betta which developed scaling over the eyes. He lived a good while with the scaling. They have other organs they can sense things with, and I made sure that I put his food in the same place and if I moved the decor to clean the tank I put it back exactly the same. This is him





PS the stripey plant looks like a dracena which is not an aquatic plant! But shops will insist on selling them as aquarium plants.

 

[Colin_T]

They have had the fish for 1 year and 4 months.

 

[AmandaT]

It could be a dragon scale betta, they get scales growing over the eyes.

If the fish is skinny, it's probably the diet. Try feeding it more variety of foods including things like brineshrimp, daphnia, bloodworm, prawn.

Stop adding chemicals. The best treatment for fin rot is big daily water changes and salt. use 1-2 heaped tablespoons of rock salt (aquarium salt) for every 20 litres of water. Keep the salt in the water for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks. When you do water changes while using salt, add salt to the new water before adding it to the tank so the salinity (salt level) in the tank remains constant.

Thanks for getting back to me Colin. I forgot to mention in my original post that I originally tried aquarium salt and the finrot didn’t improve.

I’ve had a look at some photos and it does seem possible that he’s a dragonscale.

As for his skinnyness, he stopped eating for 3 days and I had to feed him in a separate bowl. He isn’t eating at all now unless a pellet lands near him and he manages to pick it up off the substrate. Myxazin seems to be the only solution left to try.

 

[AmandaT]

How long have you had the betta?
It's hard to tell from the photos whether it's a dragonscale but it does take a while for the scaling to grow over the yes. If it's a recently bought betta, it is probably something else, but if he's at least a few months old, it could be.

I had a dragonscale betta which developed scaling over the eyes. He lived a good while with the scaling. They have other organs they can sense things with, and I made sure that I put his food in the same place and if I moved the decor to clean the tank I put it back exactly the same. This is him
View attachment 151239




PS the stripey plant looks like a dracena which is not an aquatic plant! But shops will insist on selling them as aquarium plants.

Thanks for getting back to me. We’ve had him for a year and four months. Someone else told me that it’s a good age - if he’s almost two (considering he might have been a few months old when we got him) do you think it might be possible old age?

Thanks for letting me know about the plant. Looks like it might need replacing again.

 

[Essjay]

He's old enough for eye scaling to have started if he is actually a dragonscale (sorry, I missed how long you'd had him in your first post )

He isn't that old, but these days bettas do seem to have shorter and shorter lives. Colin knows much more about diseases than me, try what he suggests and see if they work.