Baby Betta With Film On One Eye

[GuppyGoddess]

Hi all,

My son's fish (guppies) died and so he was super upset. I had found an ultra small female betta at Petco. She was less than 1" long when I put her in the 5.5 gallon tank.

Since being in there, she's been thriving and her fins are quickly growing. The problem is, this morning I noticed a film on one eye. Ugh. I just did a 100% water change and put 1/2 teaspoon aquarium salt in the water. Right now, she's floating in her cup and will be reacclimated to the new water over the next few hours.

What else should I do? Do I use Jungles' fungus stuff or just do massive water changes? I'm pretty much flat out burnt out on spending money on fish products.

 

[kizno1]

does the eye look swollen aswell? it could be pop eye that sometimes makes the eye look a little misty or make it look like theres somethink covering the eye like you said.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

does the eye look swollen aswell? it could be pop eye that sometimes makes the eye look a little misty or make it look like theres somethink covering the eye like you said.

Her eye doesn't look swollen at the moment. If it does begin looking so, should I add something? The only med I have is Tetracycling (plus metafix - which I wouldn't want to use on her). Since the tank isn't cycled, killing any good bacteria isn't an issue.

Oh, and how does popeye work? Does the eye swell up and then get the film or get the film first? How quickly will this generally develop?

We just had a cat die last week and my son is very upset about that so I've GOT TO figure out how to keep this little betta alive, you know! I don't mind doing huge water changes over the next few days. It's messy but do able.

 

[kizno1]

i dont know what meds would be best because i dont know what you have in us. lots of wc should help.
pop eye will look like this
http/static.squidoo.com/resize/squidoo_images/-1/lens5532722_1250705949betta-popeye-1.jpg
from what ive seen it tends too look like it has a film on it and look a little cloudy then not long after puff up out of nowere

 

[loraxchick]

i would not jump to the popeye conclusion until you actually see swelling. cloudy eye can be from injury, vitamin deficiency etc. water changes would help as well as feeding good foods. if popeye does present itself get some epsom salts (VERY cheap for a giant carton of the stuff-can find it in any pharmacy or store where they sell medicine. the salt is magnesium sulfate (do not confuse with marine/aquarium salts)). use 1 tablespoon per 5 gal in the tank, or 1 tablespoon per gallon for 30 mins up to 2X a day if using a dip to treat. will help draw fluid out of the eye to lessen the swelling (popeye and dropsy are similar treatments). i would discontinue using aquarium salt at this time. no need to do 100% w/c, just dont add anymore and regular changes will soon dilute it.
if it is from injury, should heal up just fine. could also have been born with congenital cataracts in that eye if you bought her that way. just some food for thought.
keep up with small waterchanges for the next week or so and watch for any improvement or worsening.
best of luck with her.
cheers

 

[GuppyGoddess]

i would not jump to the popeye conclusion until you actually see swelling. cloudy eye can be from injury, vitamin deficiency etc. water changes would help as well as feeding good foods. if popeye does present itself get some epsom salts (VERY cheap for a giant carton of the stuff-can find it in any pharmacy or store where they sell medicine. the salt is magnesium sulfate (do not confuse with marine/aquarium salts)). use 1 tablespoon per 5 gal in the tank, or 1 tablespoon per gallon for 30 mins up to 2X a day if using a dip to treat. will help draw fluid out of the eye to lessen the swelling (popeye and dropsy are similar treatments). i would discontinue using aquarium salt at this time. no need to do 100% w/c, just dont add anymore and regular changes will soon dilute it.
if it is from injury, should heal up just fine. could also have been born with congenital cataracts in that eye if you bought her that way. just some food for thought.
keep up with small waterchanges for the next week or so and watch for any improvement or worsening.
best of luck with her.
cheers

She didn't have it before she was born. Good news, though. . .whatever it is is not longer there today. Maybe doing the 100% water change helped enough to clear it up.

 

[FishStrings]

It cant hurt to treat even if you don't know what is wrong. Cloudy eye usually is a good indicator chance of popeye.
Do not change the water completely if possible as the stable conditions could change instantly with a full water change.
Do your water changes 25% intervals even in a small tank.

 

[loraxchick]

she most likely scraped it or got poked by something. glad it healed up well. its not always from popeye, but just keep an "eye" on her (yes, pun intended
all the best
cheers

 

[Tolak]

Sounds like an injury to me as well. Best thing I've found for injured fish is large frequent water changes. 50% daily for the first week, every other day the second week.