Possibly sick Betta?

[Ara]

Hey! Sorry to hear you have been sick Mel.. and the knee and shingles to boot, that's awful!! I hope you are doing okay now??

Sonja is still fighting, but doing better I beleive..

After 2 days I got her water parametres back to normal (Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate ~5ppm). The greyness of her head has improved, and she has much of her old colour back.

She still has popeye though.. :cry: it actually got worse for a day, and that side of her head is still a little grey around the gills. But.. the eye seems to be a little less swollen today.. she is still eating normally, and swimming okay, and seems much more interested in watching me when I am near the tank.. so I am really hoping the eye will improve soon..

I will keep treating and watching her water and hoping for the best.


Thanks so much for all the care, it's so nice to have people to talk to about this stuff!

 

[mel_20_20]

Hi Ara, thanks for the kind thoughts... I'm feeling better, thanks.

I hope your sweet Betta girl, Red Sonya, is continuing to improve. I would keep up the frequent big water changes to help boost her immune system.

I was wondering, though, when you do water changes to you see zillions of tiny bubbles form on the sides of the tank, and on plants and decor, and on the surface of the fish? It's possible her popeye could be from supersaturation, which causes gas bubble disease and can make the eyes bulge out.

I don't know if you're familiar with that, but here's a quote from a post by Fish-Addict, who may have been quoting from a book he mentioned that he had.

"Gas bubble disease is not caused merely by air bubbles in the water, as the name might lead you to believe. It is caused by oversaturation of dissolved nitrogen gas in the water. Standard airstones and water changes don't harm fish by putting bubbles in the water. Pump, fountain or filter failure, increased temperature or excessive aeration, however, could result in this sometimes fatal occurance.

It is similar to when a scuba diver rises up from deep water too fast, and the change in pressure causes the "bends." The water (in this example, that which is within the bloodstream) is forced to contain more gas than it can normally hold, which causes supersaturation. When this difference between gas pressures occurs, the gas seperates too quickly out of the bloodstream, leaving gas bubbles behind.

Symptoms:
Fish affected by gas bubble disease may have visible bubbles under their skin/scales, or in their eyes. Or they may simply act sick if the problem is internal where you can't see it.

Solutions:
Stirring up the water may help hasten the degassing of the water a bit, but it doesn't do much for your fish at all. Examine equipment: if you have a submersible pump, be sure it's not sucking in air: be sure it's covered sufficiently with water. Equipment that is pulling air in with the water will cause problems."


How do you do water changes? Do you use buckets or a python siphon and fill? This may not be an issue at all, I just thought I'd mention it as a possibility.

Give us and update on Sonya's condition, please. I sure hope she's feeling much better.

 

[Ara]

Hey!

Well, it looks like the prognosis is good!

Her eye is improving immensely, almost back to normal. A little swollen still, but getting better day by day. Her head is back to it's normal colour, but she has a bit of a bumpy appearance to her nose now, albeit no signs of disease otherwise. She's swimming & eating normally..

When I do water changes I use a gravel vac to siphon out water, and then fill it back up with prime treated water at the same temp. I've kept up with doing 50% water changes either daily or every second day, and the water is now testing good.

She's doing so great, it's almost hard to beleive she got so sick. If she keeps getting better, she may get to go home in a week or so! But I will keep watching her closely... just releived she's still with me!

Thanks soo much for all the help!