Popeye and Swollen Nose

[goldenpuon]

Tank Size: 1 gallon
Age of the tank: Set up 6 or more months
pH: Not tested
Ammonia: Not tested
NitrAtes: Not tested (probably very low)
nitrites: Not tested
GH/KH: Not tested
Temperature: By the water's feel, it is about 78 F, I do not have a thermometer.
Fish:

Male Betta. His father and 2 of his sibling recently died. He is 1 1/2 years old. I snoticed he was not quite as active and enthusiastic about food last week when I did a water change. Last night I noticed his nose was swollen and today one of his eyes are protuding like he has popeye. He is still eating very well but he is lethargic and resting on the bottom a lot. He is due for a water change today which I will be doing a little in the afternoon.

I know he has popeye but I am wondering what is wrong with his nose and what to treat with? I hate to see my fish suffer and I don't want to lose him. He has been a great fish in the time I've had him. Any advice on how to treat this is appreciated!

Thanks!

Symptoms:

Swollen nose, 1 protuding eye, lethargicness (a sign of being sick)

[goldenpuon]

I gave the betta an epsom salt bath yesterday and when I looked at him last night his eye looked less swollen. But I may have not seen well because I was looking at him in the dark pretty much.

Today he is still eating but no better or worse. I noticed some of the brine shrimp I tried to feed him yesterday with the Kanaplex and Neomcyin must have gotten in the water. There was some saprolegnia starting to grow on it. I did a near complete water change and ran hot water over the plants and the container. I am still treating him with Kanaplex and Melifix in his water. I plan to do another epsom salt bath for him tomorrow.

[Carl]

Does this bath include sodium chloride salt as well (2 teaspoons per gallon minimum)?

Try and keep tabs on water parameters as well.

A saltwater dip, albeit harsh can also be performed (this is done for no less than 3 minutes and no longer than 5 minutes)

If you can get the courage to use the Methylene blue in the bath, this will increase the effectiveness and actually lower stress by increasing oxygen availability.

Carl

[goldenpuon]

No, I just used epsom salt. Should I include regular aquarium salt as well? I ahd the epsom salt in there at roughly 1/4 teaspoon per gallon.

I am skill scared of using MB. The last time U ised it in a bath after you convinced me when my guppy Renee died in the bath, I was supe super careful and I still the bathtub still got stained when I was rinsing the container out after I dumped the MB water into the tiolet. I would prefer just to use the salt.

For how he is doing, the male betta is doing better today. His eye and swollen nose still look the same but no worse. He is also eating and was begging for food today. He is refusing the new food made by Aqueon but he ate the old food made by Thera. He is more active than the 2 days past which is a good sign.

[goldenpuon]

Today he is eating like before and his eye seems a little better. His cheeks and nose are still swollen. I just did a water change for him and am treating him with Kanaplex and Melafix.

[Carl]

I am glad he is doing better Renee!

As to the salt, the Sodium Chloride salt is important for a more effective bath therapy and should generally be used along with Epsom salts (it is actually more important)

I understand your fear of MB, however something must be being over looked as in my tests I have given fish baths in much stronger solutions and even left fish in the solution for over an hour with no detrimental effect (human studies back up the low toxicty of MB as well)

Carl

[goldenpuon]

Thanks for the reply. I will use Sodium Chloride (aquarium salt I'm pretty sure) in his next bath. It's not the effect on the fish of the MB I worry about. They do quite well normally in a bath with MB. It is the carpet and bathroom I am worried about. I already have MB stains on my carpet.

I do sometimes use MB in my baths though when I muster up the courage. lol

Anyway, he is doing much better. He wants extra food right now but I'm not giving it to him. I'll keep you posted on how he does.

Renee

[murdock6701]

keep and old towel around for MB bath messes - works better than newspaper or a platic bag, or, get an eye dropper for the MB - less mess - glad your fish is getting better

[goldenpuon]

Thanks. I can't get enough towels. Now they're stained and I have to excercise extreme caution when they have MB on them before they are cleaned. When MB is on them, whatever they touch gets stained.

I tried a dropper for the MB and then when I rinsed it out, the MB from the dropper gto all over my bathtub. Not fun. But thanks for the advice. It is helpful. With lots of practice maybe someday I will be able to not stain anything and use MB.

[kagome]

When I use MB I put it in the bath with an eyedropper. I then make sure to immediately squirt the excess MB back into the bottle and put the top back on the MB so I won't knock it over and spill it everywhere. Then to rinse out the eyedropper I suck up water from the bath I have the fish in and squirt it back in the bath back and forth so that the strongest bit of MB goes back into the bath and the little bit of residue still in the eyedropper is very diluted. Then I rinse out the dropper the rest of the way in a plastic cup of water. You could even use a disposable plastic cup if you were worried about staining that, too, but I've never had that be a problem. As far as dumping out the water, what about dumping it outside or something? And maybe you should try giving the baths in a smaller container so that it would be easier to handle and not be quite so prone to spilling. I know I am really bad about spilling things so I found a really sturdy little container to do baths in that I couldn't knock over easily. I tend to be klutzy and messy so I have to take a lot of precautions. Anyway, I hope these suggestions are helpful and that your fish gets better soon.

[goldenpuon]

Thank you Kagome. I appreciate your input. Squirting the water back into the MB bath after I am done is a great idea as is using a disposable cup. I normally use a quart plastic container for the baths. I will try dumping it outside (if I don't in the tiolet which also seems to work for that).

I just got an idea. Maybe I could rinse the container I use outside as well with the hose now that it is warmer so there is no risk of staining the bathtub rinsing it out.

Maybe I can overcome this issue if I keep practicing using it and trying to make sure it doesn't get on anything. I printed out your instructions so I can read them when I do a MB bath. I am going to type some instructions for myself for doing MB baths. That way, I will know exactly what I should do when I perform a MB bath so I will be less likely to stain anything. I should have some time this weekend to do it. I will share it with you guys so maybe Carl can add it to the site in his articles if he wants.

Thanks so much for the help Kagome! You really gave me some great inspiration to solve this problem as well as some great ideas.

Renee