As the owner of a betta, popeye is a bacterial infection that you need to be aware of.
Popeye is an eye infection in which the fish's eyes appear to bulge, or "pop" out.
Popeye is caused by the accumulation of fluid either inside the eye or behind the eye, in the socket, causing the eye to bulge out.
The causes of popeye include:
- Bacterial infections
- Viruses
- Parasites
- Water nitrogen supersaturation (gas bubble disease)
- Poor water quality
- Tumors
- Internal disorders
- Nutritional deficiencies
Here are some things you can do to cure popeye:
1. Isolate your fish if it shares its tank with other fish, to prevent contagion.
2. Thoroughly cleanse your fish's tank. Replace any deteriorating plants and rocks.
3. Raise the water temperature to 82 degrees.
4. Give your fish antibiotics. You can try include Kanacyn by Aquatronics or Maracyn 2 by Mardel.
5. Add aquarium salt (not the same as table salt!) to help "wash" your betta's eyes.
Fortunately, betta popeye is curable and can be completely eliminated within a few days.
The worst mistake is to simply "wait to see" if popeye goes away by itself. If you see signs of a swollen eye, you must take action as soon as possible.
Left untreated, popeye can cause blindness in your beta fish's affected eye. Even worse, the infected eye could even fall out completely!
But you won't let your little marine friend suffer from betta popeye now will you?
You liberated your betta's life from the pet store's tiny cup. Now 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?
