Home > Betta Health & Care > Diagnose and Treatment

Contact Us via Email
Send To Friend
Printer Friendly Version

Diagnose and Treatment
By:
Submitted: 1/30/2005


Affected Parts: Symptoms:

Suggests:

Remedy:Prevention:
Eyescloudy/hazy,
or protruding
PopeyeMela-Fix
Maracyn Two Ampicillex
Penicillin
Fresh, clean water; avoid over-aerating, rough handling, extreme temperature changes
Headloss of appetite, swims unevenly, pin-sized holes or lesions in the head area and color intensifies.Hole-in-the-HeadHole-N-Head GuardFresh, clean water
Body pale, gray or dull;
stays at the bottom of the bowl only coming up for air
cold, stressed, vitamin deficiencyBettaMaxprevent stress; add vitamins; don't overfeed; maintain constant temperature in the 72º - 80ºF.
reddening on or under the skin; open soresBacterial infectionMelaFix
Tetracycline
Furacyn
MarOxy
Fresh, clean water, aquarium salt
white stringy or cottony patches anywhere on the body, fins, tail, mouth, eyes or on open wounds..True Body, Mouth & Eye Fungus (Saprolignia);
Body slime
Jungle Fungus Eliminator
MarOxy
Methelyne Blue
Keep your fish in very clean conditions during and after an illness
White or gray stringy growth or film on most of the body, but may spread to tail & fins.BodyFungus(Columnaris) is actually a bacterial problem. Maracyn
Clout
Keep your Betta clean.  Disease may be introduced by live foods.
red streaks on fins close to the bodySepticemia (internal bacterial infection)Maracyn Two and /or medicated food for bacterial infections. 
Acraflavin (note: may cause sterility)
Fresh, clean water. Buy live foods from reputable sources.
thin, listless; rapid breathing;  lumps under the scales or skin.Internal parasitesMaracyn-TwoBuy live foods from reputable sources.
white spots that resemble grains of salt or sugar; clamped fins, labored breathing; appears to 'scratch' himself on objects in bowl. Ich Aquari-Sol
Quick Cure
Maracide
Rid Ich
MarOxy for fry
Note:
Raise temp to 80º-85ºF during treatment.
Add Aquarium Salt and Aquari-Sol to your water conditioning regimen. 
gray or gold/yellowish brown colored dust spots all over its body and fins, clamped fins, labored breathing Velvet (common cause of fry loss)Coppersafe, Malachite Green, or 5 pennies to a quart of water for 24 hours Note: raise temp to 80º-85ºF during treatment.Add Aquarium Salt and Aquari-Sol to your water conditioning regimen. 
Body (cont.)visible thread-like worms clinging to the body; clamped fins; darts around his bowl & appears to be scratching himself on the sides of the bowl or objects or, rapid gill movement, mucous covering the gills or body, the gills or fins may be eaten away, the skin may become reddenedParasites:

fish louse/flukes, worms

 

Formalin 3 (Kordon), Permoxyn (Kordon)Clean water, buy live foods from reputable source.
floats to the surface on his side and can't seem to get his balance; belly may be swollen, loss of appetite Constipation (not contagious)Do not feed for one day then feed vegetable flakes or the inside of a cooked pea. As a last resort do a short Epsom salt bath (15 minutes only!) using 1 Tbsp salt per gal.  Rotate foods on a regular basis including live foods and do not overfeed. 2-3 pellets, shrimps, bloodworms, etc. two or three times a day is plenty.
swollen bloated body with protruding scales, clamped fins, lethargic, loss of appetiteDropsy (bacterial infection of the kidneys)Tetracycline, Maracyn Two, Antibiotic food (if it'll eat) and warmth.Fresh, clean water is essential.

Note: This is a very deadly disease with only a small percentage of fish that survive.  If you notice your Betta swelling up and not eating, even if the scales are not protruding, treat it immediately.

Gillsswollen, discolored, gasping for air, inactiveGill DiseaseMaracyn Two Fresh, clean water
Finsholes, split, frayed or falling off.Fin & Tail rotNeosulfex, Ampicillex, Mela-Fix, TetracyclineRemove objects in bowl that could tear fins
Otherslides across the bottom of bowl and only comes up for air.Swim bladder disorder (not contagious)In extreme cases, euthanasia might be the kindest thing to do.Do not overfeed

unexplained death with no physical symptoms.

Old age usually between 2-3 years old.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Poisoned by aerosol room freshener, perfume, spray cleaners, etc.


Sorry, there is no remedy for old age… sadly, your fish is going to die.

 * * * * * * * *

No remedy

You did your best.

* * * * *  * *

Avoid all sprays around fish containers.




RESOURCES:

Mela-Fix

Maracyn and Maracyn Two, Maroxy, Maracide, Coppersafe

Ampicillex, Penicillin, Tetracycline, Furacyn, Bettamax, Neosulphex

Hole-N-Head Guard, Fungus Eliminator

Methelyne Blue, Rid Ich, Malachite Green, Formalin-3, Permoxyn

Clout

Aquari-Sol

Quick Cure



Category: Betta Health & Care

Contact Us via Email
Send To Friend
Printer Friendly Version

What's Your Opinion?
Post your 2 cents here. Let us and your fellow readers hear your views on the articles we have here at bettysplendens.com. Your posts will appear on the front page along with a link to this article. It helps everyone participate in the conversations such posts generate.
Name:

What's Your Opinion?:

Featured

Macrostoma, the Treasure of Brunei
From the land of Brunei in the northern part of the island of Borneo comes a truly remarkable wild betta with a unique history.


Going On Vacation
What to do with your betta babies when you need to get away from it all.


Branching and Fin Rays
The longer you stick around the hobby, the more you're going to hear terms like ''Eight Ray HM'' and ''This little beauty branches 4 times!'' Being able to identify fin rays and branching on your own will both impress your message board buddies and make it harder for unethical sellers to pull a fast one on you.


The Ever-Changing Marble
It is easy to become intrigued with marble bettas. For one thing, they are among the most beautiful betta patterns in the world, with their splashy spotted color and variety. Those that decide to breed marbles are faced with one of the greatest challenges in Bettadom; that is the definitive instability of the gene.


Defining a Good Crowntail
For the purpose of showing in the CT class, Crowntails are defined as bettas exhibiting at least 33% reduction in webbing versus ray length in each of the three primary fins (caudal, anal and dorsal). This requirement must be demonstrated in all three primary fins but does not need to be exhibited between all rays to meet the minimum requirement to be classified as a Crowntail betta.


Breeding Marbles
Mastering the Marble, and Where Did All These Butterflies Come From?


© 2010 Victoria Parnell. All Rights Reserved. All Logos and Trademarks are property of their respective owners. Powered By The Alfred Web Publishing System v3.1