Top Tips For Curing Your Sick Betta Fish
- Dec 12, 2021
- Anshika Mishra
- 501 0 0
If you are someone who takes care of their Betta fish by giving them the right sized tank, providing them with an interesting diet, and keeping their water clean. Then you are doing everything there is to prevent diseases. But, if you have a Betta that has come down with ick or internal parasite, or fungus infection, then this article is for you.
Preventive Measures
It is easier to prevent a disease than it is to treat it. So if you are doing preventive maintenance, you won't need to go any farther. If you are keeping your fish in a properly sized tank and keeping them with proper tank mates, if you are using the right filtration, and you are doing your scheduled water changes, then you are doing everything you possibly can to keep your Betta happy.
You also want to ensure that you have proper decorations for your Betta. The last thing you want to do is put something in there that might tear their fins. But, on the other hand, you don't want to cause injury to your Betta because you put the wrong kind of decoration in.
Soak plants or even live plants are best for your Betta.
Last but not least, it is immensely important to have a carried diet for your fish. Of course, they need to have high protein food, but it is also good to have something along the lines of spirulina. It helps in keeping your Betta's digestive system healthy.
Betta Diseases
There are a ton of diseases and outbreaks that this article will not shed light upon. But, we want to focus more on the common diseases.
Ick
Ick is a parasite that is pretty common in a lot of fishes. This parasite spends a part of the life living on the fish's skin and feeding off the tissue, but healthy fish are typically immune to the infections. Remember that this parasite will manifest when changes happen in the aquarium, like poor water conditions or extreme temperature changes.
This will weaken your Betta's immune system and make them more susceptible to infections.
How do you treat these white spots on your fish?
The best way is to quarantine them in a tank by themselves. Keep the lights off to prevent stress and do 50% water changes every other day. Increase your temperature and aquarium salt. In more severe cases, you should use medications, but make sure you follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Fungal Infection
Does your Betta have white cotton-like patches on its body and fins? Then it most likely has fungus. This disease is contagious to other fishes, therefore catching it in time is important, and take care of it before it spreads.
Considering your Bettas are in a tank by themselves and need to treat them, you want to do a 100% water change and use medication for the disease. Make sure to follow the manufacturer's directions and keep up with your water changes.
Preventive measures would include adding aquarium salt to your Betta's water and Catalpa leaves. Another Fungal infection is fin rot. This is when the edges of your Betta's find look jagged or eaten away. Again, the best treatment would be a 100% water change and a fungus medication.
Make sure to do your regular water changes every other day until you start to see the regrowth of the fins. Adding Catapa leaves will also help with the repairs since they have chemicals with antibiotic properties.
Internal Parasite
If you are vigilant to your Betta's behavior and obsess over how they are doing, then you will notice if your Betta is losing weight or acting lethargic. This could be a sign of an internal parasite, which is very contagious to other fishes.
It's not always easy to know if your Betta has an internal parasite. You might think your Bettas are just sick.
So, if you observe it, start with a 100% water change in aquarium salt. Repeat your water changes every other day and if you don't see improvement in a few days, try antibiotics. If you start to suspect that it Is an internal parasite and the antibiotics are not working, you have to treat the internal parasite with intense medications.
Bacterial Infection
There are a variety of bacterial infections that are caused primarily by poor water conditions. The fact is that your fish is more susceptible to diseases when their immune system is compromised by dirty water and stress. Believe it or not, stress can be caused by something just as simple as temperature fluctuation.
Popeye is pretty easy to identify. You will notice that your Betta has either one or both eyes protruding from a socket. Treatment starts with a 100% water change and adding aquarium salt. Severe cases should be treated with antibiotics.
Dropsy is when your Betta's stomach is bloated and raised scales. In severe cases, it might even look like a pine cone. This infection is usually fatal and very hard to treat. So, preventive maintenance is key to ensuring that your Betta doesn't get this infection.
Swim Bladder is usually caused by overfeeding. A varied diet is a key to keeping your Betta healthy and preventing so many of the illnesses we're talking about. It is also important to keep your temperature at the right level.
You want to keep it from 70-80 because having it lower will cause your Betta's digestive system to slow down. If you notice that your Bettas have difficulty swimming, it may be caused by the Swim Bladder. In this case, it will most likely float to the surface and not swim down to the bottom of the tank when the swim bladder decreases. The Betta will struggle to swim upwards and rest at the bottom of the tank.
Treatment for swim-bladders is as easy as just fasting your Betta for a day or two.
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