Popeye not Responding

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank?
5 Gallon
How long has the tank been running?
3 years
Does it have a filter?
Yes
Does it have a heater?
No - Live in FL
What is the water temperature?
Water temp 77.5
What is the entire stocking of this tank?
Male betta

Maintenance
How often do you change the water?
Just did but usually don't
How much of the water do you change?

What do you use to treat your water?
Reptisafe or use distilled
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water?
Have vacuumed the gravel

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?
None added
What do you use to test the water?
API testing strips

Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.0

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?
Twice a day
How much do you feed your fish?
A small pinch
What brand of food do you feed your fish?
Tetra Flakes and occasionally a freezedried bloodworm
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods?


Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish?
2 weeks
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?
About a week ago
Have you started any treatment for the illness?
Yes. Epsom Salts and 1/4 water change
Then Started API Erythromycin used as directed 2 cycles (4 doses) Just started again last night after 80% water change
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? The Popeye may have been starting. Just thought he had bigger eyes
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? No he's still very active and eating

Explain your emergency situation in detail.
Popeye doesn't seem to be responding at all. Getting worse in R Eye and L is affected as well now. But He can still see (finding his food)
Thanks for this forum.

 

Just a bit confused about the no nitrate reading. Is this a planted tank? Your fish has to be creating waste and typically it isn't just zero. The tank has been up for 3 years so it must've cycled at some point. Maybe you crashed the cycle?

What's the ammonia reading?
How much salt are you using?
What about water hardness?

The most basic reason for pop-eye is poor water conditions. I would suggest changing half the water out every other day for two weeks and hopefully, you will see an improvement then. Best of luck.

 

Hi and Thanks for the Reply. The tank was left empty except for mori balls for at least a year after our last Betta passed after a few years. Here are 2 pics of water tests. I did an 80% water change with distilled. looks like the strips I have don't show ammonia.
Hardness looks like 120
PH is 6.5-7

His Right eye has clouded over now. I have done 2 days more API Erythromycin. Will try Epsom Salts again.

 

What is the entire stocking of this tank?
Male betta

Maintenance
How often do you change the water?
Just did but usually don't
How much of the water do you change?

What do you use to treat your water?
Reptisafe or use distilled


*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?
None added

If you never change the water then that’s the problem. You need to change it out weekly. Also, just use tap water and put some dechlorinator in. It’s better than using distilled.

 

I don't think using distilled is a good idea. If you do you have to be sure not to change the TDS (or salinity) of the water too quickly. Too much distilled could also lower kH and make pH unstable and stall your cycle.

Erythromycin isn't absorbed from water very well (if at all) if that's how you're dosing it. Also, most bacterial infections of fish are Gram negative while erythromycin is effectively mostly on Gram positive bacteria.

Eye infections are one of the things that can be Gram positive so they're one of only situations where I'd try erythromycin. But not by dosing it in the water...

 

If you never change the water then that’s the problem. You need to change it out weekly. Also, just use tap water and put some dechlorinator in. It’s better than using distilled.

Change How much water weekly? its 5 gal with filter and Mori Balls.

I don't think using distilled is a good idea. If you do you have to be sure not to change the TDS (or salinity) of the water too quickly. Too much distilled could also lower kH and make pH unstable and stall your cycle.

Erythromycin isn't absorbed from water very well (if at all) if that's how you're dosing it. Also, most bacterial infections of fish are Gram negative while erythromycin is effectively mostly on Gram positive bacteria.

Eye infections are one of the things that can be Gram positive so they're one of only situations where I'd try erythromycin. But not by dosing it in the water...

So how to dose?
This is the tank.

 

Change How much water weekly? its 5 gal with filter and Mori Balls.

So how to dose?

In food or switch antibiotics. Not that many options for Gram positive bacteria though.

 

Change How much water weekly? its 5 gal with filter and Mori Balls.

does it have a heater? Also 50% weekly would be best.

 

In food or switch antibiotics. Not that many options for Gram positive bacteria though.

Any Suggestion on another antibiotic?

does it have a heater? Also 50% weekly would be best.

No Heater. We're typically at 77 degrees (Its Florida). We have had bettas for years at a time (one at a time) in this tank. It was just empty for the last year or so.

 

Any Suggestion on another antibiotic?

Ciprofloxacin. 1,000 mg per 10 gal per day.

Fish Antibiotics in Capsules and Tablets

There are a number of fish vets in FL and sometimes it doesn't cost much more to see one than to buy one medication after another.

 

Ciprofloxacin. 1,000 mg per 10 gal per day.

Fish Antibiotics in Capsules and Tablets

There are a number of fish vets in FL and sometimes it doesn't cost much more to see one than to buy one medication after another.

Thanks and Yes I wish we had started with a vet.

 

The Epsom Salts Baths daily seem to have helped a little. Ordered the Fish Aid Antibiotics. In the meantime looks like a Yellowish Algae has started in the tank, We are still running the tank with no filter (because of the Erythromycin). He's still very active and is still eating (and able to see his food).

 

UPDATE. We have tried the Erythromycin and just did 3 cycles or Maracyn 2 and his eyes still look terrible. Tested the water 0 nitrates and the other conditions are the same. Epsom salt baths seemed to help a little but worsened after stopping. It's been 2 months. He is still active and eating. Any ideas?

 

UPDATE. We have tried the Erythromycin and just did 3 cycles or Maracyn 2 and his eyes still look terrible. Tested the water 0 nitrates and the other conditions are the same. Epsom salt baths seemed to help a little but worsened after stopping. It's been 2 months. He is still active and eating. Any ideas?

I thought you were going to switch antibiotics?

Or did you put the erythromycin in food? It's not absorbed from water.

Tetracyclines such as minocycline in Maracyn 2 have a tendency to bind calcium and magnesium in the water as well as in the diet. There's also a fair amount of resistance to them as they've been around for a long time.

 

Thanks for the reply . We did switch to the Maracyn 2 " Maracyn 2 contains the active ingredient minocycline, which works for both gram positive and gram negative bacterial infections. " Not a switch?

 

Popeye generally also can take months to go back to normal, don’t lose hope of you don’t see results immediately.

 

Hi All; and thanks for the replies so far.
The popeye in his left eye has gotten worse if possible (Huge bulging out). We have been trying the Maracyn2 and epsom salts baths. Have gone to 30-35% water changes almost daily. Made some modifications to the Marineland Portrait tank as suggested in some YouTube videos (improving filter flowthrough by making extra holes in the pump tube. Changing the filter medium from the activated charcoal (it was out for the Maracyn) and adding Fluval Biomax to the filter area, Also added a tank heater (79 degrees now steady).
The tank now has some Nitrates and Nitrites starting to show on the test strips.
As a last ditch try to help yesterday we moved him to a 1 gallon bowl as a "hospital tank" started with dechlorinated water and a fresh dose of Maracyn2.
It's been 24 hours the water has turned cloudy. Any Advice? the Maracyn2 instructions say to add another dose daily? Should any water be changed?
Thanks in advance
Charles

 

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank?
5 Gallon
How long has the tank been running?
3 years
Does it have a filter?
Yes
Does it have a heater?
No - Live in FL
What is the water temperature?
Water temp 77.5
What is the entire stocking of this tank?
Male betta

Maintenance
How often do you change the water?
Just did but usually don't
How much of the water do you change?

What do you use to treat your water?
Reptisafe or use distilled
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water?
Have vacuumed the gravel

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?
None added
What do you use to test the water?
API testing strips

Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.0

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?
Twice a day
How much do you feed your fish?
A small pinch
What brand of food do you feed your fish?
Tetra Flakes and occasionally a freezedried bloodworm
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods?


Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish?
2 weeks
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?
About a week ago
Have you started any treatment for the illness?
Yes. Epsom Salts and 1/4 water change
Then Started API Erythromycin used as directed 2 cycles (4 doses) Just started again last night after 80% water change
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? The Popeye may have been starting. Just thought he had bigger eyes
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? No he's still very active and eating

Explain your emergency situation in detail.
Popeye doesn't seem to be responding at all. Getting worse in R Eye and L is affected as well now. But He can still see (finding his food)
Thanks for this forum.

go buy some tetra lifeguard its a general cure and it treated my old bettas popeye within 3 days and its crazy cheap

 

Hi All; and thanks for the replies so far.
The popeye in his left eye has gotten worse if possible (Huge bulging out). We have been trying the Maracyn2 and epsom salts baths. Have gone to 30-35% water changes almost daily. Made some modifications to the Marineland Portrait tank as suggested in some YouTube videos (improving filter flowthrough by making extra holes in the pump tube. Changing the filter medium from the activated charcoal (it was out for the Maracyn) and adding Fluval Biomax to the filter area, Also added a tank heater (79 degrees now steady).
The tank now has some Nitrates and Nitrites starting to show on the test strips.
As a last ditch try to help yesterday we moved him to a 1 gallon bowl as a "hospital tank" started with dechlorinated water and a fresh dose of Maracyn2.
It's been 24 hours the water has turned cloudy. Any Advice? the Maracyn2 instructions say to add another dose daily? Should any water be changed?
Thanks in advance
Charles

I changed 1/2 the water and added 1/2 dose Maracyn 2. Any advice on water changes and doses?