POPEYE PICS BETTA OSCAR

platytetrafan

platytetrafan

AC Members
Jan 20, 2007
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Yesterday morning when I went to feed my betta low and behold his left eye was swollen and cloudy and I think but am not positive that he has what looks like a white head or some sort of small white growth right below the affected eye. The eye looks like popeye which I am bummed the fish is suffering from now.

I was doing wc's every 2 weeks on his 3g tank but think now I should up the wc's to weekly. I did a wc this past Sunday so was suprised to see his eye like this yesterday morning. I thought something was wrong since the night before he was hiding in his cave. I did get Maracyn last night did a wc before adding the meds and then added the Maracyn to the tank water.

I was told to do a wc once a day prior to adding the med and to keep and eye on water parameters. Hopefully it won't bother the filter too much the tank has been cycled for quite some time. I don't have my QT yet so I have no choice but to medicate him in his tank the filter does not contain any carbon. Will medicate as directed has anyone ever treated for more than 5 days for popeye? Here are some pics in case anyone has never seen what popeye looks like.

Aquarium fish Oscar popeye 005.jpg Aquarium fish Oscar popeye 006.jpg Aquarium fish Oscar popeye 007.jpg
 
Betta is a good actor

Ok my betta fish needs to get an oscar for his performance this morning. He pulled a loach move on me. He almost gave me a heart attack. He was laying on his side under is silk plant breathing very slowly and was just looking at me sadly...I thought he was dieing and I freaked out :eek:. I realized that after doing the wc and adding the maracyn last night that I should have added aquarium salt to his tank so I did this a.m.

After adding the salt it was like he was saying ha ha ha I got you and he swam up to the surface of the water to greet me...as if to say I got you. :thud:

Oscar is doing better today he even ate his flakes this a.m. His eye ofcourse is still cloudy and a bit swollen but I think I caught the popeye before it got out of hand. Tonight am doing another wc will add aquarium salt and see how it goes. I have read that some don't do a water change until the end of treatment but I thought when treating popeye it is better for the fish to have real clean water. Will let you know how it goes. Seems like bettas can be quiet the actors when they want to be lol. :D
 
Just an update...Oscar is doing much better his left eye is less cloudy and less swollen I think I caught the popeye as it was just starting he has been swimming around and eating which is a great sign. This is the 3rd day of Maracyn so it seems to be working. Has anyone treated with Maracyn for popeye for 10 days? I have heard that reinfection sometimes can occur?
 
Popeye is often indicative of poor water quality. It's good that you have upped your water change schedule to weekly, but I'm not sure I would have chosen to treat with Maracyn. My experience with Maracyn is that it does affect the tank's bio filter (even though the packaging claims otherwise), and can cause a mini-cycle. If your tank mini-cycles, then you're back where you started with the poor water quality issue and that won't be good for curing the popeye. IMHO the best way to go with popeye is just frequent, large water changes. My advice at this point is to test your water daily throughout the course of treatment and be prepared to change water if you notice a mini-cycle. Hopefully, you won't. Good luck! :)
 
Ok so far so good I tested the water and 0 ammonia 0 nitrite the popeye is better swelling is down cloudiness is virtually not there. I have been doing wc's daily then adding the Maracyn also adding 1 tsp of aquarium salt and Oscar is so much happier. I think I caught the popeye before it got out of hand his left eye looks almost back to normal. I am wondering if I should treat for another 5 days just in case?
 
I do a 50% water change on my 3 gallon tanks every 3 days. None of my bettas have ever had a disease of any kind. Water changes and adding aquarium salt & aquarisol with each water change will prevent almost all diseases with bettas.
 
I wouldn't add any more maracyn, just keep up with those water changes more frequently. I would suggest a minimum of 2 water changes weekly as your regular routine maintenance. Glad to hear the eye is better!
 
Ok thanks since last Thurs the tank has gotten a daily wc and a dose of Maracyn and the betta is so much better. I will post pics of him before and after the Maracyn in another post. The Maracyn alone did do the job last time a while back one of the my other bettas got popeye and I did the combo Maracyn and Maracyn 2 and it worked very well. I do have to increase the water changes so this does not happen again. Since I have been doing the wc's daily since last Thurs should I keep doing them daily and for how long? I don't want to upset the biological balance of the tank it has been cycled for quite some time. So far all water parameters have been fine. Thanks for the advise :D.
 
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platytetrafan said:
Ok thanks since last Thurs the tank has gotten a daily wc and a dose of Maracyn and the betta is so much better. I will post pics of him before and after the Maracyn in another post. The Maracyn alone did do the job last time a while back one of the my other bettas got popeye and I did the combo Maracyn and Maracyn 2 and it worked very well. I do have to increase the water changes so this does not happen again. Since I have been doing the wc's daily since last Thurs should I keep doing them daily and for how long? I don't want to upset the biological balance of the tank it has been cycled for quite some time. So far all water parameters have been fine. Thanks for the advise :D.
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IME it is much more likely that the Maracyn (being an antibiotic) would upset your tank's bio filter rather than frequent water changes. The majority of the beneficial bacteria grows on surfaces in the tank, not in the water column. You shouldn't have any problems changing large amounts of water, provided you build up to it so as not to shock the fish. I change 50% or more weekly and have had zero issues.

The bottom line is, fish thrive in clean water.;)
 
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