Common Betta Diseases with Symptom, Cause, Treatment and Prevention (updated)

        

Hello! This is Betta Aquarium King. Previous article I mentioned 4 common betta diseases and now I would like to update part II with 3 more. Hopefully it will be helpful for you.
  • Popeye
  • Eyecloud
  • Fish Fungus

1.  Pop Eye

Symptoms: Pop eye is one of common betta diseases with below symptoms:
  • Mycobacterial infection (which is easily treatable)
  • Tuberculosis (not so treatable)
  • Parasitic infection
  • Ichthyophonus or Ick (another bacterial infection and highly treatable)
  • Eye flukes
  • Internal metabolic disorders
    Common Betta Diseases with Symptom, Cause, Treatment and Prevention (updated) 

Cause: Could be viral, a tumor, parasitic, or tuberculosis infection.
Treatment:  If the cause of Popeye is a mycobacterial infection, you should go ahead and first treat the root of the bacteria itself. This is easily done by cleaning the tank water and ensuring that the pH balance of the water is just slightly acidic. On a side note, nearly all bacterial infections found in bettas and other fish that are pets can be prevented or in the very least you can reduce the risk of them by doing keeping the water clean and monitoring the pH balance.
Additionally, you can treat the water with Tetracycline or Terramycin, two very popular antibacterial medications that you can purchase at your local pet store. The standard is to add this in the water 100 mg of the antibiotic for every 4 oz. of food.
If this doesn't work, you can try these other methods for a quick fix that also work well as a preventative measure for your betta
Warm the water to 86 degrees. You will want to do this gradually at a rate of 1 degree per hour. The water temperature should already be in the high 70 degree range.
Add a little salt to the water- The key is "little". Don't give your betta fish a salt bath. The percentage of salt added to the water should be no higher than .6%
Both of these quick fixes will help to keep bacterial infections at bay. It is important to note that if your fix is exhibiting signs of Popeye, you should avoid contact. Although it is unlikely your betta has tuberculosis, it is transmissible to humans through open sores.
In conclusion, Popeye is treatable and like most bacterial infections, the cause is normally dirty water or a low pH. The best way to prevent Popeye is to make sure your betta fish is in a stress free environment. That means clean water, good food, and nice warm water.
Prevention:
  • Change the water regularly
  • Clean your fish tank every 1–2 weeks
  • Keep the tank water warm
  • Keep the tank water slightly acidic.
  • Carefully introduce new fish to the fish tank

2. Eyecloud

Symptoms: The fish eye becomes cloudy almost to the point of whiteness and the fish lose vision 
Common Betta Diseases with Symptom, Cause, Treatment and Prevention

Cause: The most common cause of cloudy eyes in aquarium fish seems to be poor water quality, especially when the pH drops too low.
Treatment:
Treating this condition requires an investigation of water quality by means of doing regular water tests with a good quality test kit. Once the water quality is high enough, the fish will usually recover by them selves within 1-2 weeks.
Prevention:
Always ensure your water quality is how it should be for the fish you are keeping and your levels are where they should be with zero ammonia, zero nitrite and low nitrate (around 20ppm or lower).

3. Fish Fungus

Symptoms: A Betta that is affected by a common fungal infection will have fuzzy patches of white growth, found on the head and flanks of the fish in most common cases. Bettas that are afflicted with a fungal infection may also become lethargic, becoming far less active than the fish might otherwise be.
Other symptoms of a fungus infection include a lowering in the appetite of your Betta fish, and in less common cases can cause your Betta fish to discolor.
Common Betta Diseases with Symptom, Cause, Treatment and Prevention

Cause: This is a bacterial disease
Treatment:
Once your Betta is afflicted with a fungal infection, it is vital to get the infection cleared up as soon as possible. Unless the fish is very severely affected by the fungus, or is left untreated for an extended period of time, Bettas survive these common fungal infections quite easily. It is vital that the offending culprit - most likely dirty water - is attended to.
Be careful when changing the water and cleaning the tank of a sick Betta fish. The water changing process is already rather stressful on them, and this can be even more so to a sick Betta fish. Carefully change 1/3 of the water each day for three days until you have a tank full of fresh, chlorine free water for your Betta. It is also recommended that you go to your local pet or fish store to buy anti-fungal drops. These will help to quickly clear up the infection on your Betta, as well as kill any fungus that may still be lurking in the tank.
Prevention:
Good tank "hygiene" is the easiest way to reduce your Bettas susceptibility to fungal infections.
The best way to avoid fungal infections in Bettas is to maintain clean, regularly changed water. It is not recommended that you change an entire Betta tank full of water at one time, as this is stressful for the fish. Bi-weekly changes of roughly 1/3 of the tanks water is the perfect regimen to keep the tank as clean and fresh as possible.
The proper feeding of your Betta is also an excellent form of preventative treatment.

Happy Betta Keeping!


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