Swollen Eye

Question
I have a betta that was recently given to me.  She has been very lethargic from the moment I received her.  She mostly stays at the bottom of the bowl barely moving and appearing to be dead.  But then, unexpectedly she'll swim tot he top of the bowl, seem to take a breath of air and sink back to the bottom.  In the last couple of days I noticed that the scales seem to be raised. Now, this morning, I woke up and noticed one eye has a large clear whitish colored bubble over it. Also noteable is that all of the fins especially the dorsal one are very short. What is wrong with my betta and what can I do to treat this condition?

Answer
Hi Melissa,
 Female bettas naturally have short fins.  Only males have long fins.

Bettas are air breathers, so it is normal for them to go to the surface to breathe.

The white bubble over the eye is not good.   Are there other fish in the tank?  The white is usually the result of an attack by another fish.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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