Diseases
    
 

Diseases

We must emphasize that if you keep your bettas in clean water all the time and feed them properly, your incidence of disease will be much, much lower.  However, sometimes bettas do get ill.  Behaviors that should send up a red flag that your betta is ill are clamping of the fins, lying on their side, panting, clouded or swollen eyes, inflamed gills, sudden pale color, rubbing on objects, spots, "dust", strings on the body, and a sudden lack of appetite.  That being said, this is a list of what we have found to be the most common betta ailments and diseases.

PARASITIC

Ich:  This is also commonly known as "white spot disease".  It is highly contagious and is evidenced by fish having clamped fins with intermittent darting around the tank, brushing against objects to try and rid itself of the parasite.  The best way to treat Ich is the turn the water temperature up to 82 -85 degrees to speed the ich life cycle and then treat with a medication containing malachite green or copper.  We have used Rid-Ich and Coppersafe with success.  Make sure you follow the directions on the labels.  Fish should be treated for at least a week to make sure the ich is gone.

Velvet:  A fish infected with Velvet, also known as Oodinium, will have clamped fins, rapid breathing, and small yellow spots or yellow dust over its fins and body.  With Velvet, the fish may dart around trying to scratch itself.  Fry are particularly vulnerable to this infection.  We have had success treating this with Maracide. Other breeders state they have had success treating this by raising the temperatue to 82-84 degrees and giving the sick fish a 3% salt bath.

Flukes:  These parasites attack the gills.  You are often able to see the flukes hanging from the gills like long threads.  The gills become inflamed, red, swollen, and may even develop fungus or bleed.  The fish will look miserable, clamping its fins and panting.  Again, they usually bash themselves against objects to try and rid themselves of the flukes.  We have had success treating this with Maracyn-Two and Tetracycline.

FUNGAL:

Fin & Tail Rot:  Fungal fin rot is extremely fast-acting, so if your fish has holes, tears, or lesions on its fins, treat immediately with a fungal medication.  MarOxy may be used for fungal fin rot, but we would follow this up with Maracyn-Two or Maracyn-Plus to prevent secondary infections from bacteria. Bacterial fin rot is a more stubborn form of fin rot and a regimen of Maracyn-Plus, tetracycline, penicillin, or Trisulfa may be given, changing the water every single day.  Bacterial fin rot will frequently recur.

True Body Fungus:  There will be whitish tufts of cotton-like material found on the fins, tail, and body at sites of injury.  This is very contagious. We treat with Fungus Eliminator or MarOxy and then use Maracyn-Two to prevent secondary infections.

Cottonmouth:   It will look like your fish has cotton growing out of its mouth and around its face.  We treat with Fungus Eliminator or MarOxy, and then use Maracyn-Two to prevent secondary infections.

BACTERIAL:

Internal infection:  The fish appears sluggish, hiding, not eating, or may have a swollen body or red sports, red streaks, or bleeding on the body area.  We treat with Maracyn-Two.

External infection:   The fish's gills are swollen, fins are torn or frayed.  Eyes may be cloudy, hazy, or protruding (popeye).  We use Maracyn-Two or tetracycline or Trisulfa OR Maracyn-Plus with CopperSafe or Maracide.