Cloudy eye vs. cataracts?

[JenNewbie]

After being treated for 6 days with maracyn, my female betta's eyes have not improved at all. The whole time her attitude and appetite have been good, so now I'm thinking I put her through the stress of being moved into a 1 gallon bowl and being treated w/ broad-spectrum antibiotics for no reason... If she does have cataracts, are they necessarily from old age? I know this is the drawback of buying adult bettas. The ONLY good thing I can say about Wally World and Petco is that their bettas appear to be juveniles. Anyway, my betta can see well enough to eat, so it should be safe enough to put her back into the community tank where she'll have to compete for food. Is there such a thing as a fish retirement home?

Meanwhile, I lost one of my corys last night. Ack!

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm sorry to hear about your betta. If she's eating, and seems ok, I would put her back in the community tank, and just watch to see how she does. It's a shame the meds didn't help, but I don't think you should feel that the treatment was for no reason You saw that your fish was sick, and you tried to help!

Anyway, here is an old thread that I found; it may help too.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=19633&highlight=

 

[JenNewbie]

I don't know. My betta's eyes are completely cloudy, not just the pupil. I guess it would be the equivalent of our cornea, only the outer layer is affected, but apparently she can still see because she follows my movements and she knows exactly when the food is dropped in the bowl. I'll just finish the maximum 10 days of treatment and then I've done all I can do.

 

[JenNewbie]

And what should I find this morning, but a betta with completely clear eyes. I'm going to have to lecture her about taking so long to get better!

 

[An t-iasg]

That's great! Sometimes you do have to keep using the treatment for another 4-5 days. I'm glad to hear that your betta is ok now!

 

[TankGirl]

Yay! Cloudy eye is never good, and is not from cataracts, so you can rest assured that your antibiotic treatment was definitely the way to go. It is one of those fishy illnesses that is often successfully treated (there are not too many of those, unfortunately!) and almost always comes from a bacterial infection. Treated promptly the fish's eye(s) return to normal. Congrats!

 

[10art1]

I have a common plecostomus, and it contracted the same problem. Turns out it's not cataracts. It is a bacterial infection which occurs from poor water quality. The best cure is to change regularly and salt your water lightly (with special aquarium salt). And yes, i know plecostomi are fresh water fish. So far mine still has it, but i am going to change the water soon and add MarOxy to help control it.