NatureGirl
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2017
- Messages
- 53
Several days ago, I noticed my longfin female betta, Skeye, was acting lethargic, and both eyes were swollen and cloudy.
She has been in a 26 gal. tank with four other females, seven otos, and, seven ghost shrimp, and 3 amano shrimp. It has a heater, and I've had it as high as it will go (84° F) to combat a recent bout of ick. (I also dosed with salt during that time, but no meds because of ottos and shrimp).
But when I saw Skeye was sick and the sorority bettas were picking on her because she's weaker, I moved her to a cycled ten gallon tank with two berried ghost shrimp. In it I use a sponge filter meant for up to 20 gallons. There is no heater in this tank (the temperature is about 72°-75° F).
I'm still not sure what the underlying cause for her cloudy eyes are... I know most everyone instantly goes to "WATER QUALITY!!!", but I checked after I moved her, and it was pristine. None of my other bettas had this eye problem either. So, maybe she injured herself? But both her eyes are the exact same (cloudy and protruding). My only other ideas are either bacterial infection/viral infection or parasitic infection (no visible signs of parasites). Bacterial infection seemed most probable, so I've been dosing 1/2 dose of Melafix and Pimafix for two days now. I am aware of the controversy considering these two products and bettas, but I had read several articles disproving the ill effects. It was all I had on hand at the moment, so I thought it was better than nothing.
But my betta seems to be getting worse every day. Right now, she's resting listlessly on top of the sponge filter (the current isn't too strong, I already checked). She's still upright, which I think is good. But whenever she swims around, every few seconds she'll kind of "flash" or jerk around, almost like some unseen thing is irritating her. (I noticed this behavior before I medicated with Pimafix and Melafix) I don't think she's having trouble breathing, because she can access the surface of the water very easily but she doesn't swim up for air much. She is breathing slightly faster and harder than my healthy bettas. I'm so worried about her. The most frustrating thing is that I can't even figure out what's wrong so I can fix it. [emoji20]
Thanks for reading through my book of a post. I'd be very happy for anyone's suggestions, and I know Skeye will be too.
She has been in a 26 gal. tank with four other females, seven otos, and, seven ghost shrimp, and 3 amano shrimp. It has a heater, and I've had it as high as it will go (84° F) to combat a recent bout of ick. (I also dosed with salt during that time, but no meds because of ottos and shrimp).
But when I saw Skeye was sick and the sorority bettas were picking on her because she's weaker, I moved her to a cycled ten gallon tank with two berried ghost shrimp. In it I use a sponge filter meant for up to 20 gallons. There is no heater in this tank (the temperature is about 72°-75° F).
I'm still not sure what the underlying cause for her cloudy eyes are... I know most everyone instantly goes to "WATER QUALITY!!!", but I checked after I moved her, and it was pristine. None of my other bettas had this eye problem either. So, maybe she injured herself? But both her eyes are the exact same (cloudy and protruding). My only other ideas are either bacterial infection/viral infection or parasitic infection (no visible signs of parasites). Bacterial infection seemed most probable, so I've been dosing 1/2 dose of Melafix and Pimafix for two days now. I am aware of the controversy considering these two products and bettas, but I had read several articles disproving the ill effects. It was all I had on hand at the moment, so I thought it was better than nothing.
But my betta seems to be getting worse every day. Right now, she's resting listlessly on top of the sponge filter (the current isn't too strong, I already checked). She's still upright, which I think is good. But whenever she swims around, every few seconds she'll kind of "flash" or jerk around, almost like some unseen thing is irritating her. (I noticed this behavior before I medicated with Pimafix and Melafix) I don't think she's having trouble breathing, because she can access the surface of the water very easily but she doesn't swim up for air much. She is breathing slightly faster and harder than my healthy bettas. I'm so worried about her. The most frustrating thing is that I can't even figure out what's wrong so I can fix it. [emoji20]
Thanks for reading through my book of a post. I'd be very happy for anyone's suggestions, and I know Skeye will be too.