What Is Popeye?
Popeye is an disease that affects all fish, not just bettas. Its scientific name is exophthalmia. Essentially Popeye is when pressure behind the eye causes the eye to protrude. It’s a disease that’s easier to prevent rather than treat. If left untreated your fish can die.
What Causes Popeye?
Unfortunately, pinpointing what causes popeye is very hard. There are a whole range of causes of Popeye, and if you don’t treat the correct one it can get worse.
The most common causes of Popeye are:
Causes Of Unilateral Popeye
If you notice your fish has unilateral Popeye (if your fish has only one affected eye) then it may not be an infection of any kind. In most cases, one eye swelling is caused by physical damage. This can be a result of your fish banging into something, getting into a fight with another fish or even if you’re too rough when catching him in a net. If your betta is housed in a tank with others and only he has unilateral Popeye, then it’s almost guaranteed to be the result of physical damage.
Causes Of Bilateral Popeye
If you notice that your betta has Popeye in both of his eyes then it’s almost certainly an infection of some kind. The infection can be caused by parasites, fungus or bacteria. You can know for certain if it’s caused by an infection if you notice that your betta is also suffering from another disease as well.
What Are The Symptoms Of Popeye In Bettas?
If your fish is suffering from Popeye there are more than one symptom apart from the most obvious.
Eyes Popping Out
The most obvious symptom of Popeye is one or both eyes popping out. In fact, when you see this symptom alone you can guarantee that your betta is suffering from Popeye. As previously mentioned it can be one eye that’s popping out or both, and you’ll have to treat each case accordingly.
Eyes Changed Colour
As well as eyes popping out, your bettas eyes may also change color. They could look cloudy or milky (this occurs when the cornea has ruptured) but it could also look bloodstained. A bloodstained eye is most commonly associated with physical aggression.
A White Ring Around The Eyes
This is something to look for early on, and if you spot it you may be able to treat Popeye before it causes your bettas eye to pop out. If you do notice a white ring around your betta’s eye then you should start treating it for Popeye
Treating Popeye
Popeye Caused By Physical Harm. If you think that Popeye is the result of physical harm then there’s not as much you can do, unfortunately. The good news is that this kind of Popeye is less likely to be fatal because your betta isn’t in a dangerous environment. Here are the steps you should take:
1.Remove 10% of the water from your tank and place it into a container
2.Add your betta to the container and dose it with Epsom salt
3. There will be a recommended amount on the bottle as well as instructions on how to use it (but if not you should use 1 tablespoon per gallon). Just remember, that you should dissolve Epsom salt before adding it to the container.
4. You should leave your betta in the container for 10 minutes before adding it back to your main tank (remember before adding it back to the main tank it will need to be acclimatized for a couple of minutes).Make sure you float the container in your aquarium to keep the water warm enough.
Popeye Caused By Infection
If your betta is suffering from Popeye due to infection then the method of treatment is going to be different.
1. The first thing you’ll need to do is move your betta to a quarantine tank. (If you don’t know how to set up a quarantine tank then you can learn everything you need to know here.)
2. Once you’ve moved your betta from your main tank you should also perform a 100% water change. This is going to help reduce the chance of other fish getting infected.
3. Begin treating your betta with ampicillin and aquarium salt. You should use 1 capsule of ampicillin for every 10 gallons of water. Make sure you premix the ampicillin with a small amount of aquarium water before adding it to your tank. If you’re unsure about dosages you should ask a professional. Different medications will require different dosages.
4. Perform a 100% water change every 3 days and add ampicillin and aquarium salts. Make sure you don’t use ampicillin for more than 10 days (or the recommended amount).
5. Once you’ve finished fully dosing your betta, change the water one more time and leave your betta until you feel he’s on the mend.
6.Remember Popeye can take months before the eyes return to normal.