Betta Diseases
Some Common Betta Diseases
Many betta diseases would be less serious if they were caught sooner. Some people are simply not prepared to handle a sick fish, so they wait too long to address the issue. And sometimes they may realize their betta is sick, but they don’t have the medications to treat it.
There are some medications you can pick up at pet stores, but other betta meds are special order, or you will need to find a store that specializes in bettas to obtain the correct medications. It’s best to have the required medications on hand, and then you’ll have them when you need them. Ordering them online when you need them is costly and you don’t even know if you’ll get them in time to help your sick betta. And you would probably need to call the store even if you could get it online, and talk to someone who knows his betta diseases.
You actually should have a betta first aid kit in your home, so you can handle health issues as they arise. Here are some of the medications that you might want to include:
Tetracycline is an antibiotic that is good for some infections bettas may develop.
Betta Zing or Betta Maxx are anti-parasitic drugs that also work as anti-fungal and anti-protozoan medications. This product is a good preventative against clamped fins and velvet. Use this drug each time you introduce a new fish to your aquarium or bowl.
Ampicillin is another anti-biotic that is helpful against such betta diseases as gram positive infections and pop-eye.
Kanamycin is a third anti-biotic that is mainly used for treating more serious bacterial infections.
Jungle fungus eliminator is especially useful in treating fungal infections.
You also need to be able to tell immediately when your bettas are sick. When you feed your bettas daily, examine them carefully. You will get used to studying them, and then you’ll notice if something is a bit “off”. Some early signs of illness include:
Laying near the bowl’s bottom, or in a corner at the surface, inactive.
Darting among gravel or rocks to scratch itself.
Coloring that looks pale, with fins looking stiff, closed or clumped.
Body has white fuzzy patches, open sores, white spots or red spots.
One eye may be swollen or protruding.
Gills don’t close all the way, or are inflamed or swollen.
Scales are raised.
Belly looks hollow OR swollen.
You will want to isolate any bettas that display these signs, so that you can limit it to as few fish as possible. Use the same water as you have in your tank for the sick fish’s bowl, as rapid temperature changes will possibly worsen the betta’s condition.