ok so i had one betta fish by itself in a 10 gallon tank. i thought it was too much maintenance for one fish, so i put him in a 2 gallon tank, and i heard smaller tanks are better any way because bettas are territorial. well th eday after i put him in the new tank, i saw his eye get a bubble on it! thats pop eye right?? well online it says i should put some epsom salt in the tank, but i dont have money for it. it seems to be slowly going away, it is smaller, but he only hangs out by the heater. he wont eat! im afraid he will starve. is there anything i can do? 10 points!
Ok, first of all cycling has nothing to do with his eye. Yes, he has popeye. It's a bacterial infection due to poor water conditioners or other stressors that put him at greater risk for contracting illnesses. Don't buy epsom salt, that helps nothing but bloating, and only on occassion. For an illness he needs an actual med. If you don't have $ for epsom salt then go borrow some, about $ 8-9 should do. If you don't, he'll die. His not eating is a really, really bad sign as it's instinctual for them to do so for survival. Not eating is one of the signs usually a day or a few before death, so you need to get this tonight if you're on the West Coast or 1st things tomorrow if you're not. The best treatment med is Kanaplex, Kanamycin (online only), as it's best for any range of infections and easiest on the fish, but for the meantime I'd pick up Jungle Fungus Eliminator or Clear ( I like the powder kind better than the perforated pill, but that's just me). He needs a broad-spectrum antibiotic, so if you can't find that pick up Maracyn 1 and 2 (yes, both, since each only treat one type of infection). Maracyn is recommended under the other two because it's been around a lot longer and sometimes doesn't treat current infections and because it's not as potent. Please don't use anything else (erithromycin, penicillinn, bettafix, etc.) as it's either herbal and not a real med and he needs a real med or is old and often is ineffective on infections nowadays. If he's in a cycled tank, take out the carbon or it removes the med. Also, with any of the above meds, you can treat daily for 3 days (doing the appropriate water changes needed for your tank size) and retreat if necessary for another 3 days.
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Yes, bettas are territorial, but that has nothing to do with tank size. It means they'll flare and defend any "intruders" to their home but that doesn't mean they prefer smaller tanks. Ironically, once your 10 gallon is cycled it would be less work as it would only require about a 10-15% weekly water change and with your current 2 gallon you should be doing 100% water changes 2-3 x's/week.
Is the 10g empty? I would put him back in there and do frequent water changes. Water changes, water changes, water changes even if you have to leave him in the 2g. Adding Amquel + or Prime as the water conditioner will also help. I would do a full water change every day until he looks better.
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycl ...
Im not guna call you out but wth were u thinking you have to put little to no effort in a 10 gall to take care of .... Put it back in the 10 or get a 5 gall
Move him back to the ten gallon tank. The people at pet stores don't really know anything and they might tell you that they are better off in small spaces, but they are wrong. They need at least 5 gallons.
OK first i don 't know ... i'm sorry. BUT! i did want to say to IGNORE "patrick"
You are a jerk for putting it in an un-cycled 2G tank. I don't want your 10 points .
The pop-eye is probably caused because his tank is a) too small for him and b) uncycled.
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If you do not know what "cycling" is, please check this link out: www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
If your tank is not cycled, I would do daily 50% water changes using a product called Prime. It is pretty cheap, and the small bottle lasts forever. Do these changes for 4 weeks, when your tank will hopefully be cycled. If you have another established tank, steal a bit of media or gravel and transfer it to your Betta's tank to seed it with some good bacteria. This should speed up the cycle.
I would upgrade him to at least a 5 gallon heated filtered tank. True, Betta fish do not need massive tanks, but because they are territorial they like their own space. Not own small tanks, but own larger ones. Their natural habitats are expansive rice paddies, not mud puddles as many claim.
One other thing you can try is soaking some food in garlic juice. A little bottle of minced garlic (make sure it has no oil!) Will have a bit of juice in it. Use some on his food. Garlic is a natural immune system booster, so this will help him fight the pop-eye.
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Hopefully with some clean water, garlic food, and careful care, your boy will be on the road to recovery:)
