Spotting and Treating Common Betta Diseases
How to Identify and Treat Dropsy, Fin Rot, Velvet and More
Sometimes bettas come down with symptoms that mystify even the experts, but the most common betta ailments are pretty easy to spot. Here are 6 of the usual betta diseases along with their symptoms and suggested treatments.
Fin Rot
Stress or injury from a bullying fish can make the betta's fins and tail more susceptible to the bacteria that are always present in the water. Fin rot usually starts with a brown spot on the fins or tail and leads to deterioration and ragged fins - and in severe cases, results in bits of fins floating in the water. Treatment: medications that are commonly recommended for fin rot include a salt bath or treatment with Melafix or Maracyn medications.
Dropsy
If the betta's body has swelled so that the scales are sticking out like the sides of a pine cone, that's a sign of dropsy. Dropsy can result from tumors, internal parasites, a bacterial infection, tuberculosis or other causes; it can be acute dropsy, in which the swelling comes on suddenly, or chronic dropsy that develops more slowly.
Whatever the cause, dropsy is frequently fatal - and by the time the scales start to protrude, it's sometimes too late. Treatment: Try salt baths to draw out extra fluid and medications for internal bacterial infections - treatments for external bacterial infections won't help with dropsy.
Bacterial Infections in Bettas
Symptoms of a bacterial infection commonly include sluggishness, loss of appetite, possibly ulcers and lesions on the body and sometimes red streaks on the body or fins. It's important to note that bacteria can be either gram-positive or gram-negative (though most bacteria that infect fish are gram-negative), and for that reason, different antibiotics are more or less effective against different bacteria.
In the absence of a clear diagnosis, look for a broad-spectrum antibiotic designed to treat both types of bacteria.
As a piece of general advice, whenever medications are added to the betta's water, any filter media (such as a charcoal filter) should be removed because it can remove the meds from the water before the fish gets them.
Swim Bladder Disorder
If the betta is having difficulty swimming straight and is lying on its side in the water, the cause is often swim bladder disorder (or swim bladder syndrome), which looks a lot worse than it is. SBD is caused by overeating, constipation, or a lack of variety in the betta's diet.
The first treatment to try is to fast the fish for three days. If the swim bladder disorder is still present after the fasting period, it may be due to a bacterial infection or an injury of the swim bladder. Resume feeding the betta but be careful not to overfeed it - its stomach is only about as big as its eye, and an inactive betta needs even less food than usual.
To prevent swim bladder disorder, make sure to give the betta variety - a diet of pellets alone is frequently a cause of swim bladder problems.
Velvet and Ich
Velvet and ich are both parasitic infections with a different appearance, but similar treatment. Velvet starts as tiny white specks on the fish's body and spreads into a yellowish velvety covering that is sometimes difficult to see without using a flashlight.
Ich is also a parasite that appears on the fish's body, but looks like white specks or spots. In both velvet and ich, the fish may twitch or rub against gravel in an attempt to remove the parasites.
Velvet and ich are contagious, so quarantine the affected betta right away. The FishJunkies website recommends raising the heat to the upper 70s (which is the ideal temperature for bettas) or up to 82 degrees Fahrenheit in order to speed up the life cycle of the parasites and kill them faster - but raise the temperature slowly, no more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit in a 24-hour period, so as not to stress the fish even more.
Treating velvet and ich is a two-step process: give the affected betta a salt bath, which causes the parasites to fall off, and at the same time treat the water with Coppersafe, Aquarisol or Rid-Ich. Treat the water every 3-4 days for two weeks to be sure all parasites are dead. (However, snails should be removed from the tank before using copper-based treatments because those remedies can kill them!)
Spotting Betta Diseases Early - and Preventing Them
Preventing most common betta fish diseases is usually as easy as making sure that water conditions are optimal (that the water is clean, the pH level doesn't fluctuate, the water temperature is steady, and levels of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates remain safe).
Knowing how to identify diseases, and having a variety of medications on hand so the betta can be treated right away, is also very important for quick treatment and the fish's best chance at survival. The FishJunkies website has a betta disease gallery with photos and detailed information about treating and preventing common betta problems.
But when in doubt, contact a local fish store or betta breeder for an expert opinion! For more information about getting started with betta fish, see Bettas for Beginners.
Preventing and Treating Betta Diseases
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