Popeye Betta?

Hello everyone,

I was looking at my betta that I got about a week or so today, and he looked little odd to me. I'm pretty sure he has bilateral popeye, especially when looking back and forth between him in my other betta. He's in a new 10 gallon tank that I'm still in the process of trying to cycle with Seachem Seed and I've been carefully watching over the parameters to ensure that nothing spikes, and the tank is planted. Looking back on pictures from the past week, I've come to the conclusion I probably bought him with an very mild case of popeye that has continued to get worse over the past few days, with me not really noticing until it get to this point. His color is wonderful, he isn't lethargic, and he's eating, so I guess I was kind of blinded by that.

I guess moving forward I'm curious on how to treat it. Since the tank is planted, I'm not really sure how to treat him. I have an extra empty 5 gallon tank, but I don't have an extra heater or filter (? would I even need this for a hospital tank) so I'd have to use the same one from his other tank. I have kanaplex, but I want to make sure that that's a good treatment for him. I also have epsom salt and aquarium salt on hand. I've attached some pictures of him just to be sure, or get second opinions, but it seems like something is wrong (I feel like a mostly come on the forum for that reason, but aquarium keeping never seems to be simple...).

Thank you.

 

I would stay away from medications like Kanaplex and Bettafix. They can do more harm than good.
Dose the tank with Seachem Prime and do a salt bath with the epsom salt in the extra 5 gallon. Only leave him in there for about 10-15 minutes. If his breathing starts to get hard, take him out.
For hospital tanks, yes, you do need a heater and filter because sometimes fish can be in there for weeks on end.

 

I would stay away from medications like Kanaplex and Bettafix. They can do more harm than good.
Dose the tank with Seachem Prime and do a salt bath with the epsom salt in the extra 5 gallon. Only leave him in there for about 10-15 minutes. If his breathing starts to get hard, take him out.
For hospital tanks, yes, you do need a heater and filter because sometimes fish can be in there for weeks on end.

I did the salt bath yesterday, and although the popeye has not gotten worse I have a sneaking suspicion that this may be some sort of columnaris or fungal infection. There is discoloration around his mouth and I noticed something attached to him this morning. I think I made things worse because the temperature has been a bit higher here due to the season (even though it’s 76 in the house the tank can get near 80, which I know can be bad or good depending on what you’re dealing with). He has also started to bloat, his stomach distended. I can’t completely cross out it’s not from feeding yet, though.

Side note, also happen to be worried because I know I used the same siphon for both my betta tanks, so this may not just end up localized to him.

 

I did the salt bath yesterday, and although the popeye has not gotten worse I have a sneaking suspicion that this may be some sort of columnaris or fungal infection. There is discoloration around his mouth and I noticed something attached to him this morning. I think I made things worse because the temperature has been a bit higher here due to the season (even though it’s 76 in the house the tank can get near 80, which I know can be bad or good depending on what you’re dealing with). He has also started to bloat, his stomach distended. I can’t completely cross out it’s not from feeding yet, though.

Side note, also happen to be worried because I know I used the same siphon for both my betta tanks, so this may not just end up localized to him.

Is it possible for you to post some more pictures so I can see the rest of his body?
For the bloat, I would hold off feeding him for 3 days and then feed him a cooked and de-shelled pea.

 

His popeye still hasn’t healed, and in the meantime my other betta has passed away after a very sudden instance of dropsy. I’m wondering if this is my fault as I used the same water buckets, and only recent

Is it possible for you to post some more pictures so I can see the rest of his body?
For the bloat, I would hold off feeding him for 3 days and then feed him a cooked and de-shelled pea.

It's a bit difficult to tell, but he looks like a pug or a hammerhead shark to me, particularly when in comparison to my other betta (who just very quickly declined and passed today- I'm wondering if he caught whatever this guy brought in because I used the same siphon and water bucket without even thinking about the potential consequences of doing so. I'm really not sure and kind of in shock that he so suddenly passed in the tank I've had for over half a year now...).

His bloat has gone down, and he's still very active. I've been doing salt baths in my five gallon buckets instead of the extra tank and instead moved him to the tank as a sort of hospital, just as the ten gallon is heavily planted and has some rocks and I want to make sure he's not scratching himself on anything. I don't really know what to go about next for treating him, as there hasn't really been any changes in his condition. Still eating, made a bubble nest. I think he's very bored but especially after watching my other one pass today I don't really want to just move him back to the 10 gal.

 

His popeye still hasn’t healed, and in the meantime my other betta has passed away after a very sudden instance of dropsy. I’m wondering if this is my fault as I used the same water buckets, and only recent


It's a bit difficult to tell, but he looks like a pug or a hammerhead shark to me, particularly when in comparison to my other betta (who just very quickly declined and passed today- I'm wondering if he caught whatever this guy brought in because I used the same siphon and water bucket without even thinking about the potential consequences of doing so. I'm really not sure and kind of in shock that he so suddenly passed in the tank I've had for over half a year now...).

His bloat has gone down, and he's still very active. I've been doing salt baths in my five gallon buckets instead of the extra tank and instead moved him to the tank as a sort of hospital, just as the ten gallon is heavily planted and has some rocks and I want to make sure he's not scratching himself on anything. I don't really know what to go about next for treating him, as there hasn't really been any changes in his condition. Still eating, made a bubble nest. I think he's very bored but especially after watching my other one pass today I don't really want to just move him back to the 10 gal.

I would continue with the salt baths and hopefully you will see some improvement soon.

 

I would continue with the salt baths and hopefully you will see some improvement soon.

Still no improvement. Today I noticed a weird grey/white speck on the middle of his bottom fin that is visible from both sides. I don’t know if it’s pinhole finrot or something else.

 

Still no improvement. Today I noticed a weird grey/white speck on the middle of his bottom fin that is visible from both sides. I don’t know if it’s pinhole finrot or something else.

It could be rotting but none like I've ever seen. But hey, I've only been in the hobby a year so I could be wrong.
I would increase your water changing schedule just in case it is fin rot. Keep us updated if it spreads.