Should I Worry About My New Betta?

[nathan128]

i bought a really gorgeous opal betta and he is energetic, interactive, and being such a gentlemen by not bothering my harlequins or snails in my 15g. when i turned on my aquarium light for feeding i started to notice that his head and gills could look a little... rough? i've never had a betta that didn't have bright coloring on it, so i'm not sure if im missing a fungus or something just because it blends in with the white. i noticed it seems to look a bit " chalky" from his gills forward. almost cracked it seems. a different texture than i would expect. i noticed his eyes seem a little cloudy too but he sees and interacts just fine. the rest of his body is great. he is eating and resting, and playing when he is not. but does it look like he has something going on with his eyes and gills to anyone else? i will treat asap but i don't want to add anything to my water unless i'm sure it's needed. i've treated a betta with a fungus before but he was bright red and the fungus was noticeably fluffy. does my betta look okay or does he need attention? he's such a fun boy i want him to have a really good life. thanks

 

[OneLittleBubble]

Cloudy eyes aren't a good sign if you want him to live. You can do a saltwater dip and see how he looks, but try not to stress him out too much

 

[Rtessy]

What is your ammonia/nitrite/nirate at? I wouldn't start with a salt bath as Bettas can be pretty sensitive to salt but it may be an option later. Cloudy eyes can be anything from bacteria to fungus to ectoparasites, it's difficult to pinpoint. Start off by doing 50% water changes daily for about 3 days, and if there isn't improvement or if it worsens and you feel uncomfortable only doing water changes, we can try and help you with the next step. The one I'm looking after got cloudy eyes and after 50% water changes for three days it cleared up. It went away entirely by day two, came back on day three, and then was gone.

 

[nathan128]

yeah i've never done a salt bath and i don't really want to do that for the first time unless it's absolutely necessarily.... makes me nervous.
anyways about my water- i do regular water changes and use a conditioner because my local water is terrible. i keep temp tropical and my readings came up as:
Am 0
Ni .25
Na 0
i decided after looking into it to use a week of bettafix then do a water change, and his eyes are already clearing up. maybe i'm being paranoid but the marks on his head, is there any way he has hole in head disease?

 

[nathan128]

What is your ammonia/nitrite/nirate at? I wouldn't start with a salt bath as Bettas can be pretty sensitive to salt but it may be an option later. Cloudy eyes can be anything from bacteria to fungus to ectoparasites, it's difficult to pinpoint. Start off by doing 50% water changes daily for about 3 days, and if there isn't improvement or if it worsens and you feel uncomfortable only doing water changes, we can try and help you with the next step. The one I'm looking after got cloudy eyes and after 50% water changes for three days it cleared up. It went away entirely by day two, came back on day three, and then was gone.

sorry i'm new to this forum and i don't think i formatted my last reply right. here's goes again, hopefully this gets back to you lol.

yeah i've never done a salt bath and i don't really want to do that for the first time unless it's absolutely necessarily.... makes me nervous.
anyways about my water- i do regular water changes and use a conditioner because my local water is terrible. i keep temp tropical and my readings came up as:
Am 0
Ni .25
Na 0
i decided after looking into it to use a week of then do a water change, and his eyes are already clearing up. maybe i'm being paranoid but the marks on his head, is there any way he has hole in head disease?

 

[MissRuthless]

Your tank is not cycled. That could definitely cause some issues. If you aren't using prime as your conditioner you should pick some up asap. All in all he doesn't look bad, and you could just be seeing sensory pits on his face (not sure if bettas have them but gouramis do and they're related so), but with the cloudy eyes I would keep an eye on him. Hole in the head is a symptom, not a disease and is usually caused by prolonged exposure to bad water conditions.

How often are you changing water? I would not try to throw additives at it (bettafix is a natural antibacterial so not as harsh as actual medication but still) until after you have done daily 50% water changes for at least a week or so with no improvement. A fish who is living in dirty water may show slight improvement with meds, but you are not fixing the cause of the issue so it will recur. You really should be doing daily water changes with prime until the tank is cycled.

What is "tropical temperature" exactly?

 

[Rtessy]

I'm glad the eyes have cleared up. You should be doing enough water changes to keep the nitrite at 0, and prime is extremely helpful but IMO not necessary (I don't have it lol). Do you mind posting more recent pictures of his head?

 

[nathan128]

Your tank is not cycled. That could definitely cause some issues. If you aren't using prime as your conditioner you should pick some up asap. All in all he doesn't look bad, and you could just be seeing sensory pits on his face (not sure if bettas have them but gouramis do and they're related so), but with the cloudy eyes I would keep an eye on him. Hole in the head is a symptom, not a disease and is usually caused by prolonged exposure to bad water conditions.

How often are you changing water? I would not try to throw additives at it (bettafix is a natural antibacterial so not as harsh as actual medication but still) until after you have done daily 50% water changes for at least a week or so with no improvement. A fish who is living in dirty water may show slight improvement with meds, but you are not fixing the cause of the issue so it will recur. You really should be doing daily water changes with prime until the tank is cycled.

What is "tropical temperature" exactly?

78 degrees sorry for confusion. a little over 25% water change each week, though i now suspect that should be amped up? always paranoid about getting rid of good bacteria

 

[nathan128]

I'm glad the eyes have cleared up. You should be doing enough water changes to keep the nitrite at 0, and prime is extremely helpful but IMO not necessary (I don't have it lol). Do you mind posting more recent pictures of his head?

i will get nitrite to zero, the tank is fairly new only a few months old i wonder if that's why the reading is a bit high? to be honest in the past i've only ever used api strips so i didn't know. i will be doing more water changes and then try my kit again. i will post pictures once i'm home

 

[nathan128]

I'm glad the eyes have cleared up. You should be doing enough water changes to keep the nitrite at 0, and prime is extremely helpful but IMO not necessary (I don't have it lol). Do you mind posting more recent pictures of his head?

pictures are 3 days apart: different eyes but they were equally cloudy. not 100% but there's a definite improvement

 

[Rtessy]

It doesn't resemble HITH if that's any consolation. Are they symmetrical on either side or no? If they're symmetrical, it's nothing to worry about. And actually, looking at close ups of betta's faces it's seems most have those. I think they just stand out on your guy because of the coloration.

 

[MissRuthless]

His eyes do look a bit better! 78 isn't terrible, but he would prefer 80-82 and will digest better at that temp. I would raise the temp now, do what I said food wise and see what happens. I did lose one of my bettas to extreme constipation while using a heater preset at 78 - it was too cold for him.

Water changes are a must, especially as you don't have prime - true it is not "necessary" I guess, but if there are any readings of ammonia or nitrite and you don't have it, you need to be changing at least 50% daily to keep it down - this is why most of us consider prime to be the most necessary item in fishkeeping. I don't know of any other additive that binds ammonia but still makes it available for your bacteria to process and grow.

 

[nathan128]

His eyes do look a bit better! 78 isn't terrible, but he would prefer 80-82 and will digest better at that temp. I would raise the temp now, do what I said food wise and see what happens. I did lose one of my bettas to extreme constipation while using a heater preset at 78 - it was too cold for him.

Water changes are a must, especially as you don't have prime - true it is not "necessary" I guess, but if there are any readings of ammonia or nitrite and you don't have it, you need to be changing at least 50% daily to keep it down - this is why most of us consider prime to be the most necessary item in fishkeeping. I don't know of any other additive that binds ammonia but still makes it available for your bacteria to process and grow.

okay thank you so much . i'll raise the temp now and step up my water changes

 

[nathan128]

His eyes do look a bit better! 78 isn't terrible, but he would prefer 80-82 and will digest better at that temp. I would raise the temp now, do what I said food wise and see what happens. I did lose one of my bettas to extreme constipation while using a heater preset at 78 - it was too cold for him.

Water changes are a must, especially as you don't have prime - true it is not "necessary" I guess, but if there are any readings of ammonia or nitrite and you don't have it, you need to be changing at least 50% daily to keep it down - this is why most of us consider prime to be the most necessary item in fishkeeping. I don't know of any other additive that binds ammonia but still makes it available for your bacteria to process and grow.

okay thank you so much . i'll raise the temp now and step up my water changes

 

[nathan128]

they

It doesn't resemble HITH if that's any consolation. Are they symmetrical on either side or no? If they're symmetrical, it's nothing to worry about. And actually, looking at close ups of betta's faces it's seems most have those. I think they just stand out on your guy because of the coloration.

are pretty much the same on both sides, that does make me feel a bit better

 

[WhatsUpGuys]

Yeah he’s fine. Never (never!) start treating a fish unless you’re absolutely sure that somethings wrong. Those holes on his head are just his sensory organs, they detect electric currents in the water so he can hunt in the dark. All bettas have them but you can see them daisies on white fish.

 

[nathan128]

Yeah he’s fine. Never (never!) start treating a fish unless you’re absolutely sure that somethings wrong. Those holes on his head are just his sensory organs, they detect electric currents in the water so he can hunt in the dark. All bettas have them but you can see them daisies on white fish.

okay thank you very much