Sick Betta

[fishlove75]

Hello, I hope I have posted this in the correct section. Here is my issue, I have a betta fish have had him for a few months now. Over the last week or so I have noticed that is eyes appear more buldgy then normal. I have purposefully watched this closely for the last few days to ensure what I was seeing was correct. His eyes definately appear more "bugged eyed" then normal. I have come to the conclusion that this is probably pop-eye. If it is pop-eye it is very early on and not extremely obvious. He has NO other symptoms, eating, swimming, pooping and acting completely normal. His water stats right now are normal:

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 15 (due for water change today)
ph 7.2

He is in a 5 gallon tank, fishless cycled, tank up and running for over a year - previous fish was also a betta who died of old age (6 years) the tank was completely cleaned out before putting him in. He has been in this tank for approximately 8 months with no problems. No changes to his tank or environment.

So here is my questions.

I have purchased Maracyn for treatment, I know for 5 gallons I need to use half a pack per dose. However, I have been told that when treating Betta fish with medications it is reccommended to use half the usual dose - Is this true?

Also would I be better to treat him in his 5 gallon tank (also treating all ornaments and ultimately killing the filters cycle) or should I put him in my 10 gallon hospital tank (I have it for my larger fish in my bigger tank)? Please note that if I treat him in the 10 gallon hospital tank I currently do not have a working filter for that tank so he will be with out a filter.

Thanks

 

[loraxchick]

Did the tank have a temp swing recently. This can also cause popeye and if that is the case i would hold off on med and just keep up with waterchanges for a few days.
You could try epsom salt at 1tablspoon/5 gal if there are no salt intolerant fish in with him (cories, otos tetras etc). Epsom salt will help draw the fluid out of the tissues and will not harm filters or plants. From what i understand (and/or remember) is that Maracyn wont kill of filter bacs. I have used it once in the tank and filter was fine. But id try the epsom salt first and see you it goes. Especially since he is showing no othe rsigns of illness (ie not eating, lathargic, bloating, hiding, or any bumps/growths/spots). You really shouldnt use antibiotics if you arent positive it is bacterial and unless other remedies fail/they are going downhill despite trying other remedies.
Of course you could always make a sponge filter for q tank if you have an old fish food tub and an airpump with some tubing. You could use some media from the existing tank and clone a filter for him for Qtank (and in 10 gal and not much food the ammonia wont build up too rapidly anyway. You would be fine to medicate the course (if i remember 5 days?) Without a waterchange. Just feed once while in Q). If you want instructions on how to build a sponge filter (it will take you about 15 mins), just let me know. Made loads of them and they work great!
All the best
cheers

 

[fishlove75]

Thanks, I didn't even think of making a sponge filter, I have the equipment here I can make one up real quick.

There has been no change in his tank temp and every thing has been stable as far as I know, and nothing new has been added. The only thing I can think of is I was away for a couple of weeks, did a water change the day I left and another one the day I came back. So unless something happened while I was away, but my husband was home the entire time I was gone and he said nothing unusual happened. The nitrates were slightly higher than usual when I got back but nothing too shocking. The only other thing was I had a nerite snail in there with him that died 2 days before I left, but I think that was just coincedence, the nerite snails are only suppose to live for a year and I have had that one for a little over 3 years, so I don't think the snails death has anything to do with it.

I have been doing water changes more frequently (2x per week rather than once a week) and I added salt as soon as I noticed it, so he has had salt in the water for about 5 days now with no improvement. That is why I was thinking I might need to add the antibiotics.

 

[loraxchick]

Did you use aquarium salt? That would have an opposite effect to epsom salt and can lead to making the popeye worse (all salt is not created equal). You shouldt use aquarium salt for any issues that have to do with fluid retention in tissues as it makes it worse. I would do some waterchanges over the course of the week and see if it helps-minus the aquarium salt (epsom salt really would be best at first-coupled with waterchanges).
all the best
cheers

 

[fishlove75]

No I used epsom salt, I do have aquarium salt, but did not use it in this case.

 

[fishlove75]

Well I went ahead and started treating with the antibiotics since my other efforts did not produce any improvements, and as the pop eye is not extreme I figured I mide as well start treatment now while it is still early on in the process, before he gets any worse. So far so good. I haven't noticed any major improvement, but today is just dose number 2, so I am not surprised that there has been no noticable change. He is still eating and pooping normally, and seems to be really enjoying the larger tank (I put him in the 10 gallon QT tank) not sure how he will react when I put him back in the 5 gallon tank, but will cross that bridge when I come to it. Thanks lorachix for the advice will keep you posted on progress.

 

[loraxchick]

Was just checking in about the salt. Glad you chose the right one!
Fingers crossed for you. Keep us posted.
Cheers

 

[fishlove75]

Well his eyes definately look better today. They still look a litte "bug-eyed" but he no longer looks like he is wearing white eyeliner I think I definately caught it early on so that is a good thing. Still eating and swimming fine. Poo still looks normal. He has three more days of meds (including today's dose) so I will finish up the antibiotic round just to be safe. Hopefully he won't be too upset when I put him back in his 5 gallon tank in 4 days.

Thanks again