How do you know if your betta fish is sick? (REMEDIES)

How do you know if your betta fish is sick? (REMEDIES)

At the time of breeding betta fish, you need to be responsible about their illnesses as well.

In other words, you need to spot the common health conditions of betta fish. Upon discovering the common health conditions, you need to go ahead and provide appropriate treatments to betta fish as well.

This article will provide you with a clear picture on that.

I have provided information on betta fish health condition. The betta fish contracted a betta fish disease and now you do not know what kind of betta fish disease it might be.

It is best that you have to diagnose them properly in order to have it corrected immediately.

In order for your betta fish not to contract a disease, it would be essential if you have followed the Betta Fish Care Guide that i have made a comprehensive outline and easy to follow maintenance procedures.

But sometimes things happen so I have outlined below some of the comprehensive summaries on the betta diseases.

How to figure out a sickness in your betta fish?

As the first thing, it is important to understand how to find a sickness in your betta fish.

Here are the common signs that indicate a sickness in the betta fish. When you are observing your betta fish tank, you need to pay special attention towards these signs.

It can help you to spot a sickness immediately and direct your betta fish to appropriate treatments immediately.

Betta Fish Behavior

As I have mentioned before on betta fish disease symptoms.

Since you have been properly feeding and taking care of your betta fish then you may have observed some strange behaviors.

The behaviors that don’t seem to be natural may be the onset of contracting a disease.

Here is the rundown on the behavior problems.

  • Is constantly rubbing its body on plants or decors inside the fish tank
  • Always at the surface gasping for air
  • Doesn’t seem to consume food as it should be.
  • Betta fish body color is not normal
  • Doesn’t seem to show any signs of aggressiveness anymore
  • The waste seems not to be the usual brown matter but white

These behaviors certainly need action on your part. These are the early symptoms that you can still cure and treat your betta fish.

If you just ignore the symptoms it will ultimately lead to its death and also will affect all the betta tank mates if the disease is parasitic and bacterial in nature.

If there is contamination then the whole fish tank will be in danger.

Betta Fish Diseases Table Format

DiseaseSymptom(s)Cause(s)Treatment(s)
VelvetRubbing on PlantsPoor water parametersClean water, 76-81 degrees
Yellow Gold dustingImproper temperatureFahrenheit.
Mardel Copper Safe
Swim Bladder DisorderCannot swim properly, No Depth ControlBacterial invasion, Overfeeding, Bad genesFast for 3 to 4 days
Maracyn II
DropsyUnnatural Body SwellingBacterial, Virus invasionKanamycin Sulfate
Pinecone ScalesParasitic invasionMaracyn II
Ich / IckSmall White dots all over the bodyPoor water parametersClean water,
rubbing on décor and plantsStressRid Ich Plus
Cantagious fish matesMardel Copper Safe
Fin or Tail RotReceding Fins edgesPoor water parametersClean water. Put some aquarium salt
Fins are getting rottenMaracyn II, Kanaplex
TumorNoticeable bump or lump on bodyPoor water parameterscannot be cured
Poor diet, Bacterial invasionclean water all the time to observe
Bad genetics
PopeyeNoticeable bulging eyePoor water parametersClean water
tuberculosisMaracyn II, Kanaplex
Hole In HeadNoticeable holes above the eyePoor water parametersClean water
Poor dietProper nutrition on betta food
ColumnarisNoticeable cottony white growths onPoor water parametersClean water
the bodyStressAnti Fungal medicine

When you absolutely know what kind of disease that your betta fish has contracted then you can safely follow the medicine instructions.

If the betta fish tank contains only one fish which is your betta fish then just put the medicine in your fish tank.

If the betta fish tank contains a lot of fish then you have to see if the disease is contagious or not and isolate your betta fish on a separate fish tank labeled as a hospital tank.

If the disease is contagious then simply just treat the community tank since to treat everyone inside it.

Some treatment is simply making daily water changes which can drastically improve all the occupants’ health.

Betta Disease Summary and Images

What are the most common diseases among betta fish?

Most of the ailments can be treated quite easily just by changing the water parameters. You have to check the behavior is it is not normal.

You would know if your betta fish and its tank mates don’t consume fish food voraciously as expected during feeding time.

Velvet

wiki commons velvet disease
wiki commons velvet disease

This is a disease that is caused by a parasite, its show on the image with gold-yellowish or rust like the color on the betta’s body, gills, and fins.

This cannot be noticed immediately. You need a strong flashlight to see this on the body of the betta fish.

You have to make sure that this is the disease before bringing in the medications.

I have outlined that the symptoms are constant rubbing on the plants, decor, and objects inside the betta fish tank. This disease is highly contagious and if it is inside a community fish tank then simply treat everyone inside.

If you ignore this disease then eventually if the fish tank contains just the betta fish then it will die and if it is a community tank then all the occupants’ will die one at a time,

This kind of disease is caused mainly by poor water parameters, stress and also improper water temperature.

The betta fish is a tropical fish and the temperature should always mimic the natural habitat in rice paddies of Thailand or Cambodia.

Columnaris ( Mouth Fungal Infection or Cotton Wool )

fungal infection
fungal infection

Did you notice that there is white foam on the middle part of the body? Also some form of white substance on the mouth of the betta fish? See the illustration or picture above for the visible symptoms.

Fungal infections are extremely common among betta fish as well.

You will not be able to overcome fungal infections by adding salt into the betta fish tank. Betta fish who have fungal infections tend to spread the disease to others in the tank as well.

Due to the same reason, you need to rush to appropriate treatments as soon as you see the signs and symptoms

This kind of disease is very easy to cure since this bacterial infection is from filthy water conditions.

Make sure to have regular water changes and for sure you will never see this cottony patches on the gills, mouth, body and all the visible fins of your betta splendens.

This may also be the onset of too many habitats living in a small tank. Overcrowding can be also the result of this disease.

If you do not change water frequently and if left untreated this will lead to lesions on the body. Gill damage may also result if left untreated.

Popeye

popeye disease
popeye disease

Did you notice the illustration or picture depicting the bulging of one eye of the betta fish? This kind of disease sometimes can cause two of the eyes that bulging outwards.

Popeye can be considered as one of the most notable health conditions that you can see in betta fish.

Popeye can also developed due to unclean water found within the betta fish tank.

Hence, you should take appropriate steps to clean water inside the betta fish tank in regular intervals.

In fact, Popeye is a bacterial infection. You will be able to add a small amount of ampicillin to the fish tank in order to clean water as well.

Primarily cause of this kind of disease is poor water parameters.

One of the factors that will cause this problem is always feeding live food to your fighting fish.

Live foods sometimes are not cleaned properly and carrier of various bacteria. If you are not careful on the sourcing of the live food it might contaminate your whole community fish tank.

I myself feed frozen betta fish food, pellets, and flakes which are clean thereby eliminating the possibility of live food bacteria infection.

But of course, if you can culture your own live food such as daphnia, brine shrimp or worms in which you are certain that they are clean and full of nutrients then it is a very good occasional option.

Popeye can be easily cured by regular water changes.

But sometimes this Popeye can be a symptom of a more severe disease which is tuberculosis which is very fatal to a betta fish.

Ick or Ich

ich disease
ich disease

Did you notice that there are many white spots on the betta fish?

This is caused by parasites.

You will be noticing that your betta fish is always rubbing its body the plants and decor all the time.

The betta fish wanted to remove the annoying parasites which are attached to the body.

Ich is another common health issue that betta fish can get. It can be considered as a type of parasite.

Your betta fish can get this health condition through the consumption of frozen live food.

In most of the instances, this health condition can create small white colored dots in the body of betta fish.

You can easily overcome this health condition as well. All you have to do is to go ahead and add small amount of salt into the fish tank.

This is a very common disease and sometimes this is caused by an introduction of a betta fish tank mate and contaminating everyone in the community fish tank.

Thankfully this is a very common disease and can be easily cured in less than a week.

Tail and Fin Rot

severe case of tail and fin rot
a severe case of tail and fin rot

This picture above indicates that this is a severe case of fin and tail rot.

Tail rot and fin rot is one of the most common health conditions that you can get in your betta fish. These two health conditions can take place together.

Tail rot and fin rot can take place when your betta fish comes into contact with dirty water.

If you want to keep your betta fish away from getting this frustrating health condition, you need to keep the betta fish tank clean at all times.

You can easily spot this health condition through the clumped tail or fins in the betta fish

This is caused by poor water parameters. If you do regular water changes all the time you will never see this fin rot condition on your betta fish.

This is a very common disease and the good news is that this is a very easy and quick treatment.

Also, if you notice that your betta fish has fin or tail rot this is not contagious and there is nothing to worry about on your other betta fish tank mates.

Do not worry because if your betta fish is treated then the tail and fins can grow back but with a slightly different color and shorter fins.

Always adhere to the proper betta fish maintenance procedures and your betta fish and the tank mates will never contract this ailment and other diseases.

Dropsy

dropsy betta fish
dropsy betta fish

As you can see the picture above that the betta fish body is bloated.

This disease is normally caused by feeding live foods too often which lead to viral, bacterial or parasitic infection.

The bloating inside the betta fish indicates that the internal organs specifically the liver and the kidney are not performing efficiently.

This bloating is caused by bacteria and can be contagious to the other betta fish tank mates too.

You will notice that your betta fish loss of appetite completely and also always gulping for air.

As a rule of thumb if you adhere to the regular water changes then these kinds of disease will not exist.

Also, try to avoid live foods if you do not know where it is coming from.

You can always culture your own live food.

Hole In The Head

hole in head betta fish disease
hole in head betta fish disease

Can you clearly see the pin size holes beside the eyes and above the mouth of the betta fish?

These are again caused by poor water parameters. Also, if you just feed your betta fish with only one kind of food you will cause it to be malnourished and these pinholes will be the result.

If you neglect the proper regular water changes and giving a variety of food then this will not happen in the first place.

This is very easy to cure. But if you ignore it then the holes will have larger lesions and eventually kill the betta fish.

Swim Bladder Disorder ( SBD )

swim bladder disorder betta fish
swim bladder disorder betta fish

Did you notice that the betta fish picture above is also showing signs of bloating?

betta fish internal organs
betta fish internal organs

The swim bladder of the betta fish is situated between the tail and stomach as shown in the picture above.

If you feed too much on your betta fish this will case the swim bladder the bloating.

I myself when feeding my betta fish is just one to three pieces of the betta fish pellets every morning or every afternoon when you get back from work.

You only have to feed your betta splendens once a day.

Sometimes it is also beneficial for your betta fish to go into fasting of two to three days probably over the weekend to cleanse its system.

The primary symptom is that there is difficulty in navigation especially horizontally.

Please keep in mind only to feed the proper portions.

Of course, you also have to monitor the water parameters.

Tuberculosis

tuberculosis betta fish
tuberculosis betta fish

Did you see that the betta fish is nearly motionless and seems to have a deadly ailment as shown in the picture above?

Again this disease is the onset of feeding too much live food to your betta fish.

You have to absolutely know where to source of the live food is since it can carry viral and bacterial infections.

This kind of disease is deadly because it develops in a span of six months.

Tuberculosis is very contagious and if it presents in your community tank then be prepared to bid farewell to everyone, the days of all of your betta fish tank mates will be a ticking time bomb.

There is no known cure for this ultimate deadly disease.

In order to avoid all kinds of ailments you just have to follow regular water changes and feed the proper portions.

Creating a betta fish first aid kit

As a betta fish owner, it is important for you to go ahead and create betta fish first aid kit as well. There are some essential items, which you need to get to the betta fish first aid kit. Here?s a list of them.

  • – Water test kit

You can use a water test kit in order to understand the quality of water in your betta fish tank. Based on the output you get, you will be able to take appropriate measures to replace water. You need to have the ability to measure nitrate concentration and pH amount with your water test kit.

  • – Almond leaves

Almond leaves can help you to prevent fin rot from taking place. It can also help you with fin repair. In addition to that, it can help the betta fish to develop a slime coat as well.

  • – Fungus clear

Fungus infections are common among betta fish as well. If you want to keep your betta fish away from the hassle of fungus infections, you have to get a fungus clear. This can help you to cure body fungus in betta fish effectively.

  • – Epsom salt

Adding Epsom salt into the betta fish tank can assist you to help your betta fish stay away from constipation. In addition to that, you will be able to treat swim bladder and reduce bloating as well.

  • – Super ich cure

Super ich cure can help you to cure ich in your betta fish within a duration of just 24 hours.

Go ahead and buy these items to create your own betta fish first aid kit.

Prevention

Since in the beginning, you have chosen to partake in caring a betta fish and probably installing a community fish tank.

Then it will be essential that you have the proper procedures in maintaining your betta fish tank.

Proper water changes and following good water parameters.

Proper heating equipment, giving out small portions once a day.

You have to observe that your betta fishes are very active and aggressive.

Also, a food variety with different options will be best.