Crowntail betta, help!

Question
Hi Lynda, I have had my bright blue crowntail betta for almost a year and have changed nothing and he has always been healthy and energetic. In the past 2 weeks he has started acting weird. I have just realized that he has popeye on his left eye. And on top of that, he is constantly floating to only one side and tends to lay on the bottom of the tank with his nose to the bottom. Sometimes he will swim to the top to gulp air. His appetite is very low and he's not pooping much. I clean his tank every week, keeping the same temperature and feeding is always the same. I also suspect swim bladder disease. Is it possible to have both the bladder and popeye disease together? I don't know what to do!

Answer
Hi Candace,
Your little betta seems to have Swim Bladder Disease.  Swim Bladder is caused by overfeeding, and poor diet.  If left untreated this disease will lead to Dropsy which is very hard to cure, if not impossible.  Try feeding him a cooked pea with the outer layer removed.  Cut the pea into tiny pieces, and feed the pieces one at a time to your betta, making sure he eats them.  Feed him nothing else for one day.  He must waste.  Bettas are prone to constipation, and should have one pea a week, and on the day you feed him the pea, he should have nothing else to eat.  This is so he can clean out his system, and avoid Swim Bladder Disease.  If he does not waste, treat him with "Kanamycin" if you can find it.  Sometimes it is hard to find.  If you cannot find Kanamycin, treat him with "Tetracycline"  Keep his water very clean, and follow the directions on the package.  Once cured, vary his diet as much as possible.  Daphnia is very good for bettas, along with Betta pellets, Betta flakes, Plankton flakes, Bloodworms, Glassworms, Brine Shrimp, and Mealworms.  The more you vary, the healthier he will be.  Feed him 2-3 times a day in small amounts.  Example:  2 pellets or 2 flakes for one meal.  We must always remember that their tummy is the size of their eye when feeding our bettas.
Put a silk plant in your tank so that he can rest on the leaves.  This also helps her get to the top easily.
There are many reasons why a fish gets Popeye.  Usually it is poor water conditions, but it could also be caused by other things.  Tetracycline should help his popeye.  Treat him as quickly as possible.
I hope the little guy as a speedy recovery.
Lynda