How do you recognize if your fish has come down with a betta fish illness?
- Your betta is mostly docile and inactive
- Your betta is unresponsive to stimuli
- Your betta's body shows signs of deterioration, discoloration, uneven skin texture, ruptured fins, or even bloating.
- Your betta isn't interested in food.
What are some examples of betta fish illness?
- Fungal Infection - Patches of white on the body or on the head, along with discolored fins and tail. The fish may be less active than usual,eating very little, if at all.
- Tail / Fin Rot - The betta's fins and / or tail appear to be getting shorter in length, falling apart, losing their luster, or deteriorating altogether.
- Ick - A parasite found in frozen live food. Your fish will end up with white dots all over the body head, and even the eyes. Your fish will be less active, stop eating. Due to the itchiness of the dots, your fish may dart about the tank and scratch itself against rocks, plants, or anything else that can provide it with relief.
- Popeye - A bacterial infection, usually due to poor water condition, causing the fish's eyes to bulge out, usually a symptom of internal infections.
- Dropsy - Your betta fish's scales are raised up, giving your fish a "pine cone" look. Normally caused by bacteria transmitted through feeding your fish live worms.
Swim Bladder Disorder - Your betta's underbelly is swollen, normally caused by overfeeding.
You rescued your betta's life from the pet store's tiny cup. Now you must learn how to make your betta into the most comfortable, safe, and cared-for fish in the world. If you are a true betta fish lover or animal enthusiast in general, then you should know that taking care of betta fish involves a great deal more than just doing the bare minimum, which is to change its water and feed it. There is a lot more involved in properly caring for your fish, such as water quality, water temperature, the nature of the fish's habitat in terms of volume of space, rocks, plants, lighting conditions, whether or not you wish to breed your fish, and your fish's social interactions with other fish versus being kept in isolation. If you want to keep your fish healthy, beautiful, active, energetic, and alive for as long as possible, then you have to be willing to go the extra mile in order to provide a better quality of life for your fish. And it all starts with a little bit of education.
Taking care of betta fish can truly be an extremely rewarding experience, so why not go the extra mile and learn everything that there is to know about the proper care, feeding, and nurturing of our little marine friends, the betta splendens (otherwise known as siamese fighting fish)?
Who else wants a beautiful, healthy betta fish, swimming happily in a stunning tank, without having to spend a bundle or constantly worry about your betta's health?
