If you've been to a fish shop, you've probably seen colorful little fish in separate plastic cups. These fish are the aquarium fish Betta splendens, or Siamese Fighting Fish. Unfortunately, these fish are often shipped from their home countries in Asia in unsanitary conditions. With this added stress, your betta may be susceptible to several dangerous diseases. Most of these diseases can be cured with timely treatment and care.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Recognizing Betta Fish Disease
Step 1. Observe if your fish's fins look lumpy or if the fish is not as active as usual
Your betta may also be a paler color than usual and have cottony patches on its body. These are signs of a fungal infection. Mold can grow in an aquarium that is not salted and Aquarisol once filled with water.
The fungus can spread quickly from an infected fish to other fish in the tank, so it must be treated immediately
Step 2. Examine the betta's eyes to see if one or both eyes are protruding from the head
This is a symptom of a bacterial infection called Popeye's (exophthalmia). Your fish may have a popeye from dirty tank water or from a more severe disease such as tuberculosis. Unfortunately, tuberculosis in fish is incurable and deadly for betta fish.
Step 3. Check if your fish has scales that are bulging or look swollen
This is a symptom of dropsy (basal) which is a bacterial infection in the fish's kidneys. This can lead to kidney failure and fluid accumulation, or swelling. This often occurs in fish that have weakened due to poor water conditions or from consuming contaminated feed.
Once you experience kidney failure as a result of fluid buildup, your fish will likely die. There is no cure for dropsy, but you can prevent your fish from getting dropsy by not feeding them live worms or contaminated food. If you suspect your betta has dropsy, separate it from other fish so it doesn't infect others
Step 4. Watch for white spots or dots that look like salt or sand on the fish
This is a sign of ick or ich disease in fish. The spots may appear slightly raised and the fish are likely to scratch them into objects in the tank due to the irritated and itchy skin. Fish can also have breathing problems and can be seen gasping for air on the surface of the aquarium water. Ick attacks fish that are stressed due to irregular water temperatures and fluctuating pH levels in the water.
Step 5. See if the tail or fins of the fish are frayed or look faded
These are signs of a bacterial infection that is causing your fish's fins, tail and mouth to rot. This rot usually occurs in fish that are attacked by other fish in the aquarium or injured by tankmates who like to pinch their fins. A poor aquarium environment can also add to spoilage.
- Fortunately, most betta fish can regrow their tails and fins if spoilage is treated in time. However, your betta's tail and fins may not be as active as they used to be when they grow back.
- Some betta fish can suffer from more severe body and fin rot when common fin rot is left untreated for a long period of time. Your fish can lose body tissue and fins when spoilage occurs. Once the decay reaches your fish's tissues, curing severe spoilage can be difficult and your fish will essentially be eaten alive.
Step 6. Shine a flashlight on the betta to see if the fish's body looks golden or rusty
This is a symptom of velvet, which is a highly contagious parasite. If your betta has velvet, the fish will also clamp the fins close to its body, begin to lose color, have a reduced appetite, and will scratch its body against the sides of the tank or into the gravel in the tank.
Since velvet is a highly contagious parasite, you should treat all fish in your tank if any of them show signs of velvet
Step 7. Check if your fish is floating on one side or not moving at the bottom of the tank
These are signs of bladder problems, a common disease in betta fish. Bladder problems are caused by overfeeding your betta, which results in an inflated bladder causing the fish to float to one side or lie on the bottom of the tank as swimming becomes very difficult.
Keep in mind that bladder disorders are easy to treat and don't hurt your fish, so you don't have to worry about fish dying from bladder disorders
Step 8. Watch for whitish green streaks on your fish's skin
This is a symptom of anchor worms (lernea), which are small crustaceans that burrow into the skin of fish and into the muscles. The anchor worms then lay their eggs inside your fish before dying, leaving damage to your fish that can become infected. Bettas can contract external parasites such as anchor worms from exposure at the pet store, from food, or from other infected fish introduced into your fish tank.
Your fish may scratch against objects to try to get rid of the anchor worm, and by the time the anchor worm attaches to your fish, it may swell up
Part 2 of 3: Treating Betta Fish Disease
Step 1. Quarantine the infected fish
If your betta lives with other fish in an aquarium, use a clean betta net to remove it from the tank and place it in a smaller tank with the necessary filtration system. This will allow you to treat the water and aquarium for any disease without harming your fish.
You should also ensure that the quarantine tank has the correct temperature for your betta, ranging from 25 to 27 degrees Celsius
Step 2. Use Ich Guard (or another drug like GESUND Magic Parasite) to treat ich
You can buy this medicine at your nearest pet store. You can also treat ich by increasing the temperature of the tank if your tank is larger than 19 liters. If your tank is smaller than 19 litres, avoid increasing the temperature as this can kill your betta.
- Slowly increase the temperature of the large tank to 29 degrees Celsius to avoid startling your betta. This method will kill the ich parasite.
- If you have a small tank, clean the tank completely, perform a total water change, and perform water maintenance with Aquarisol and fish salt. You can also transfer your betta to a temporary container and raise the water temperature to 29 degrees Celsius to kill any remaining ich parasites before you put your betta back into the tank.
- You can prevent ich from developing by maintaining a consistent water temperature and cleaning the tank weekly.
Step 3. Eliminate the fungus with Ampicillin or Tetracycline
These drugs can kill the fungus and prevent the betta from getting more mold which can prevent tail and fin rot. You should also clean the tank completely and perform a total water change. Add treatment to the new water with ampicillin or tetracycline, as well as mildew remover.
- You will need to clean the tank and do a total water change every three days, adding medication at each water change to permanently kill the fungus. Once your betta doesn't appear to have lost any tissue on its tail or fins, you can continue with your normal tank cleaning schedule.
- You can also use ampicillin to treat popeye in betta fish. Clean the aquarium and perform a total water change every three days adding ampicillin to each water change. Your popeye fish symptoms should go away within a week.
Step 4. Add BettaZing to the aquarium to kill any external parasites
If your fish shows signs of external parasites such as anchor worms or velvet worms, you should replace at least 70% of the water in the tank. You will then need to perform any remaining water conservancy with BettaZing to kill any remaining parasites and eggs.
You can buy BettaZing at your local pet store
Step 5. Avoid overfeeding your betta to prevent bladder problems
Betta fish have a small appetite, so you only need to feed the fish in small portions once a day to avoid overfeeding. Your betta should be able to finish all the food in its tank within two minutes of being fed. Leftover food in a fish tank can cause water quality to deteriorate and make your betta more susceptible to disease.
You need to feed your fish a varied, protein-rich diet. Look for foods for betta fish at your local pet store, as well as frozen or processed foods for tropical fish
Part 3 of 3: Preventing Betta Fish Disease
Step 1. Make a first aid kit for your betta
It is not impossible that betta fish will suffer from disease or infection at any time in their life, so be prepared to deal with it by preparing medicine to cure betta fish quickly and efficiently. Medications can be stressful for your betta, and should only be used when you have confirmed that your betta has a certain disease or infection and you need medication to treat the problem. You can find first aid for your betta at your nearest pet store. First aid should contain the following drugs:
- BettaZing or Bettamax: These drugs are antiparasitic, antifungal, and antiprotozoal. These remedies are useful for a number of problems, such as fungus and velvet parasites. You can also use these medications as a precaution if you are trying to get a betta to adjust to a new environment or whenever you introduce a betta into an aquarium.
- Kanamycin: This antibiotic can be found in many fish stores and pet stores. This medication may be used for severe bacterial infections.
- Tetracycline: This antibiotic is used to treat less severe bacterial infections such as yeast.
- Ampicillin: This antibiotic is useful in treating Popeye and other infections. You can find these antibiotics at specialty fish stores and online.
- GESUND Magic Parasite: This is an antifungal drug that works against some fungal infections and is useful for keeping betta fish owners.
- Maracin 1 and Maracin 2: These medications come in hard tablets and can be used to treat minor infections such as tail and fin rot. However, this drug is not as effective as other drugs for treating more severe infections.
Step 2. Perform 10-15% water changes once a week
This will help remove the buildup of dirt and decaying organic matter from food debris and dead plant roots or leaves. Performing a small weekly water change will also remove toxins from the water and keep the water clean.
- Do not remove any aquarium ornaments or plants from the aquarium or fishbowl. Removing or cleaning these items can kill the good bacteria that have been filtering your aquarium and degrade the quality of the filtration system. It's also a good idea not to remove fish from the aquarium or bowl when performing a partial water change. This can stress the fish and expose them to bad bacteria.
- To perform a partial water change, remove 10-15% of the water and replace it with fresh, dechlorinated tap water. You can use a siphon to suck up slime on gravel and decorations. Clean 25-33% gravel and trim with chiffon. It's also a good idea to use an algae scraper to remove any algae on the surface or aquarium ornaments before removing the water.
- If your tank is smaller than 37 liters, you will need to do a 50-100% water change at least twice a week or every other day. If your fishbowl doesn't have a filter, you will need to do a 100% water change at least once a day to remove any dirt or toxins from the water. Providing a fishbowl lid or filter can reduce the number of water changes you need to make daily and protect your fish from catching infection or disease.
- Check the water once a day to make sure it isn't cloudy, foamy, or has an odd smell. This can be a sign of a bacterial attack and you may need to do a thorough water change. Doing this will prevent your betta from getting any disease or infection.
Step 3. Add fish salt to get rid of any bacterial infection
Bacterial infections such as tail and fin rot can be prevented by adding fish salt to the aquarium water. Unlike table salt, fish salt does not contain additives such as iodine or calcium silicate.
