betta diseases
Home Up

a close up look at Mr. Betta's foes  

 

Many of you have emailed me over the years with many questions about sick bettas. So I decided I would put together the most comprehensive listing of betta diseases and ailments, how to diagnose a sick betta, treat it, and hopefully save it. I also added a page on how to sanitize/sterilize jars and tanks that contained sick contagious bettas. If you have a sick betta, please read this page thoroughly. If you don’t have a sick betta, read it too, because you will get a sick betta sooner or later (probably sooner :)) ).  Thank you for caring for your sick betta with love and compassion. And remember, if you are not sure, or if you cannot find the answer on this page, don't take chances. I am only a phone call away. To receive personal attention and a betta health consultation, click here.

 

STEP ONE: be prepared, be very prepared!

I think the biggest problem people have when they have a sick fish is that they are not prepared. Oftentimes when a betta gets sick, people waste a lot of time. Because a)- they don't catch it early enough,  b)- they don't know how to diagnosis the sick fish and last but NOT LEAST,  c)- because they don't have the proper meds on hand!! 

Oh, I know what you are thinking. Heck you are thinking it sooo loud I can hear it all the way down here in Los Angeles LOL. And it sounds something like this:  "Well, if my betta EVER gets sick, I'll just run to the store and buy what I need then. Why worry about it now? Let's worry about it when we cross that bridge..."

Well, if you think you can just run to your local pet store and buy the medicine your betta will need, think again! Most effective betta medications cannot be found at pet stores, and many of you live in areas where even your fish store will not carry them. heck, some of you don't even have a fish store in your town! Ordering them online will take time (several days) before the meds reach you. By then Mr.Betta may be loooong gone. Hence, if you care about Mr. Betta at all, you should create a basic (but effective) 'Betta First Aid Kit" :). No, I'm not kidding. You will only need but a few meds in there to be ready to battles most of Mr. Betta's foes. And cause so many of you can't find all these meds at your local store, I have decided to step in to help out and now sell the  Betta First Aid Kit right here  :). And remember, when the going gets tough, the prepared get going. :)

medication  best used for where you can find it
BettaZing 
(a great substitute to bettamax - anti parasitic, anti protozoan & anti fungal)		 Great all around preventative. Very effective against velvet & clamped fins. Use anytime you add new fish or acclimate.

only sold on bettatalk
tetracyclin
(antibiotic)		 Good for bacterial infections good fish stores & 
right here on bettatalk! 
(see our Betta First Aid Kit)
kanamycin
(antibiotic)		 Good for serious bacterial infection top fish stores, few online stores 
Ampicillin
(antibiotic)		 Great for pop-eye and gram positive serious infections some online stores and 
occasionally, good fish stores
maracin 1 & maracin 2
(anti fungal and antibiotic)		 OK for mild infections such as slight fin rots, but not very effective for serious stuff. most pet stores

(note: these are hard tablets and can be  harder to administer in bowl applications)
jungle fungus eliminator
(anti fungal)		 Great for fungus infections a few fish stores, some online stores & right here on bettatalk! 
(see our Betta First Aid Kit)

 

 

STEP TWO: recognizing the early signs of a sickness

Everyday, when you feed your bettas you should examine them. Over time your eyes will become trained and you will be able to immediately detect the slightest change in your bettas appearance or body language. How can you tell if your betta is "under the weather"? Just compare the two columns in the chart below (note that having one or more of the red column apply to your fish probably means he is in deed sickly).

 

 HEALTHY BETTA

SICK BETTA
Eats like a little pig Does not eat at all or eats reluctantly and may spit out his food.
Swims around and is active Is not active. May lay at the bottom and come up only for air, or may stay at the surface in a corner.
Acts normal May darts and purposely runs into anything he can (gravel, rocks, etc) in an effort to scratch itself.
Is colorful and vibrant Looks paler, color is dull, may turn gray
Fins and tail are spread out like fans Tail and sometimes fins are clumped, closed, stiff looking or falling apart
Body looks slick and clean Body may have: open sores, white cottony patches, red spots, lumps or white spots.
Eyes are normal One or both eyes are protruding and swollen
Gills are normal One or both gills do not close all the way and stay half open (swollen/inflamed). They may look red.
Scales are smooth Scales are raised (like a pine cone)
Belly looks normal Belly looks too hollow or on the contrary is abnormally swollen and big.

 

 STEP THREE: Isolating the unhealthy betta
 

If your betta exhibits one or more of the above right column symptoms then it is sick. It must immediately be removed from any community or shared tank and isolated in a bowl/jar. I recommend using a one gallon bowl for sick fish, both to insure the water quality remains better between water changes and to make it simpler to administer the proper dose of medication.

Use the same tank water to avoid an abrupt change of water condition when you first jar the sick betta. before you do your next water change, you should acclimate the betta slowly to the water you will be using for the water change. I recommend that you remove 75% of the water and gradually add a bit of water every hour until the bowl is full. This will ensure the betta acclimate smoothly from the previous tank water to tap water or whatever other clean water you are going to add. Remember that tank water may be different in quality because of plants, rocks, heaters and filters you are using in there. Whereas a bare bowl adds nothing to the water. And that is why you should acclimate the betta when you do the first water change. After that you will not need to worry about doing a normal 100% water change.

Now if the sick betta was in a jar to begin with, then simply do a full water change to provide a clean environment for treatment. I recommend putting him in a new, sanitized jar. This way you will get rid of some of the koodies. :) Jar should be kept in a warmer room. 

Important: Be sure to wash your hands with a good antibacterial soap after handling your sick fish to not spread diseases to your healthy ones. Anything that comes in contact with the sick fish (fish net, fingers, spoon, jar, etc) will have to be disinfected prior to being used for other fish. Click here to learn how to disinfect/sanitize.

 

 STEP FOUR: Diagnosis and suggested treatment

Next you must try to make an accurate diagnosis of your betta‘s disease (goodluck!). Once you know what disease you are dealing with (hopefully), then you can pick the best course of treatment for it.

Below, I have listed the most common betta diseases, their individual symptoms, and listed the medications I have used in the past to try to fight each disease off. Please go down the list and see which symptoms/disease seem to qualify. Please note that I do not guaranty that the treatment I recommend will work and cannot predict what effect it will have on your specific betta. Therefore you use this chart and info AT YOUR OWN RISK.

 

DISEASE: FUNGAL INFECTION

uGENERAL INFO: 

If you always add aquarium salt to your betta’s water (1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per 2 1/2 Gal of water) and one drop of Aquarisol per gal, your betta will probably never get fungus. It is contagious, but bettas will more than likely recover if treated promptly.
uSYMPTOMS: 

Betta has white cottony like patches on its body or head. He may be less active, may have stopped eating, fins may be clumped, color may be pale.
uTREATMENT: 

Do a full jar water change. Add “Fungus Eliminator” by Jungle (included in our Betta First Aid Kit)