Betta has popeye - treatment questions

Chickadee

Chickadee

Snail addict
Dec 26, 2010
179
0
16
Traverse City, MI
My betta's heater stopped working and the temp dropped to 74 degrees. I replaced the heater and gradually raised the temp back up. After that he started laying near the bottom and acting lethargic and his left eye looked bulged out. Thinking it was popeye, I bought Maracyn Plus. The day after treatment he looked much better and was swimming around a little more. On day 3, I had to give him his next dose. He went back to the bottom, acting worse than ever and I had to coax him to eat. Today is day 4 and he's still not looking great. I replaced some of his water tonight and now he's acting much better. I'm almost afraid to give him his 3rd dose tomorrow. Should I continue with the treatment? If so, could I reduce the dosage? I'm afraid it's going to kill him.

This is what he looked like the first day of treatment. His eye is not bulged out anymore but both eyes still look a bit cloudy.

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Just a question- did you remove the filter media when you dosed? If not, you may be removing the meds, and he may not be getting the full benefit. Popeye can usually be controlled with Maracyn and water changes after the treatment. If you have no filtration, then you have to continue with the water changes, as popeye is often indicative of difficulties with water condition.

I am not sure about the safety of Maracyn with bettas and other air breathers. Maybe someone else could chime in on that.
 
The directions said to filter as usual, so I left the media in. I do know I can smell it in the water and it's quite strong. I'm just wondering if he's gotten enough of the meds in his system and I can just continue with water changes alone. However, I know with humans and animals you have to complete the entire course of antibiotics. Not sure about fish...?
 
pop eye is usually a secondary symptom of other problems. i would say your problem was the water too cool, that stressed the betta, and the pop eye was a secondary symptom of the stress.

i had just about the same thing happen with my Thim, he was in a 20 gallon that is close to a window and during a cold snap here the tank went down to 72ish. his eyes clouded over and one looked like there was a bit of a hazy protrusion coming from it. i treated with Betta Revive and he was looking better within hours. and then i saw the ich spot on his tail fin...... keep an eye on your guy for ich, since temperature fluctuations can help ich to gain a foothold, especially if you've brought the betta home recently.

i would say if the popeye is gone, his appetite is good, he's looking good, and his eyes are clear then stopping treatment would be ok (especially if treatment is causing adverse reactions). keep up the water changes and make sure the temperature stays around 78.

and i'd definitely stock your home fish pharmacy with a couple bottles of Betta Revive. works wonderfully for fin rot and a range of other problems. it's the only 'cure all' treatment that i have faith in.

ps - you need to remove carbon from your filter, not all the media, when medicating. carbon removes meds from the water.
 
That's a relief, thanks! I dreaded adding more meds today since it seems to set him back. There's no carbon in the media, just foam and the Biomax pellet things. Will get some Betta Revive and watch for ich. He looks a bit better this morning and is swimming around more.
 
Unfortunately he's gotten worse again. His eyes look normal again, but he's back to laying on the bottom and sometimes he leans to one side. He also rests on his leaf hammock and gets as close to the surface as he can. Sometimes his nose is pointed downard. He's not eating much at all. If this is bladder disease then what can I do? I put more Maracyn in the water last night and he's no better this morning. I can't see any signs of ich, fin rot or anything. He doesn't look bloated. When he does swim he doesn't appear to be struggling or anything, but his fins move very slow. I'm afraid I'm going to lose him.
 
sounds like it might be small swim bladder problem (i say small because he is still able to swim, albeit slow). or could just be him weakened from the course of meds.

if it's swim bladder, i would hold off feeding him for a day or two and see if that may help. have you noticed him poop since these new symptoms came on? he may be a little backed up, but not enough to show bloating, and that could be putting a little pressure on the swim bladder.

epsom salts are known to be a good aid when dealing with swim bladder issues, and a short bath (up to 15 minutes) is what i've read. i can't recall the amount of epsom, and have to run soon, but i can look that up a lil later today if you can't find it.

i'm not sure if i'd give him an epsom bath with him being so weak though. maybe try fasting him a couple days along with a good size daily water change every day and see if that helps perk him up first. if that works then it is most likely the meds that have caused the lethargy and lack of appetite.
 
Hallo,
Maracyn and Maracyn II need to be given a full 5 days.
Then a 25% water change is a must.
If meds need to be repeated, it will be again a full 5 days.

I hope he recovers.
 
but if the fish is showing really adverse reactions to the meds, as this betta is, then wouldn't treatment with said meds possibly be worse than not medicating? from what i gather, his only symptoms now are lethargy and lack of appetite.
 
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