Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 6: Prepare for illness
• Method 2 of 6: Treat specific ailments
• Method 3 of 6: Change the conditions of the aquarium
• Method 4 of 6: Disinfect the aquarium
• Method 5 of 6: Change feeding habits
• Method 6 of 6: Treat your betta with medication

Betta fish, also known as Siamese fighting fish, are beautiful, elegant aquatic creatures that live up to six years old. Females generally live longer than males.They are strong pets, but they run into problems. These are often caused by dirty aquariums, poor water conditions and overfeeding.

To step

Method 1 of 6: Prepare for illness

1. Make a first aid kit. Pet stores usually do not have any medications for bettas, which means you will have to order it online. If you don't do this until your fish is already sick, the medication will probably come too late.
   • Complete first aid kits are available on the Internet. However, you can try to save money by buying the necessary things separately. Basic medication is: Bettazing of Bettamax, Kanamycin, Tetracycline, Amplicillin, Jungle Fungus Eliminator, Maracin 1, and Maracin 2.
2. Prevent illness. Most betta diseases are caused by improper feeding and cleaning. These will be discussed in detail below. However, always keep the following in mind:
   • Clean the aquarium regularly. To keep it clean, it is good not to put too many fish together, add aquarium salt and disinfect regularly.
   • To limit the spread of disease from one fish to another, remove dead fish immediately, quarantine new fish for 2 weeks before entering the tank, and wash your hands after handling the fish.
   • Do not overfeed your fish or allow food to rot in the tank.
3. Know the early signs of illness. The most obvious way to tell if a betta is sick is to see if it wants to eat. If he's not eating or isn't really interested in eating, he's probably sick. Other signs of illness are a less bright color palette and strange discoloration.
   • Other clues that your betta is sick include rubbing against objects as if to scratch itself, eyes swollen and bulging, raised scales that stick out, and fins that are clamped together instead of spread out.

Method 2 of 6: Treat specific ailments

1. Start with water and food. Most fish diseases can be treated by thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the aquarium. For all conditions, try this treatment first, only move on to medication if you see no improvement.
   • Keep track of symptoms in case you need a specialist vet to treat your fish.
   • Remove sick fish from an aquarium immediately.
2. Treat a fungal infection. A fish with a fungal infection will be paler than normal, inactive and have its fins clamped together. What is striking are the white, cotton-like spots on its body.
   • Eliminate a fungal infection by cleaning the tank and treating the fresh water with a fungicide. Repeat this every three days until the visible signs of the fungus have disappeared. Treat the water with BettaZing or BettaMax to dissolve any mold residue.
   • Fungal infections usually result from aquariums that have not been adequately treated with salt and Aquarisol.
   • Fungal infections are highly contagious and must therefore be treated as soon as possible. Quarantine infected fish.
3. Treat tail or fin rot. In this case, your betta's tail and / or fins will turn black or red along the edges. The fins seem to dissolve and get shorter. You may see holes or cracks in the fins.
   • Clean the aquarium every three days. Add Ampicillin or Tetracycline to the water to treat it. Repeat until your fish's fins don't seem to be getting backwards. Add some fungicide to the water to aid recovery.
   • The tail will heal on its own over time, but may not regain its original shine.
   • If this condition isn't treated, the rot can progress to the point where it starts eating your fish's body. This is ultimately fatal.
4. Treat swim bladder problems. If the fish's belly is enlarged, the fish may have a blockage that needs to be corrected. You may notice a lack of feces in the aquarium. The fish may have difficulty swimming upright and may swim sideways or even upside down.
   • This is a sign of overfeeding. The condition can be easily treated by reducing the amount of food.
5. Treat ich. Your fish will have white dots all over its body and will not have an appetite. He will also try to scratch himself by rubbing against objects in the tank. It is highly contagious and the most common cause of death in fish.
   • To treat it, raise the tank temperature to between 25 and 26 degrees Celsius for 48 hours. Add formalin or malachite green to the water.
6. Treat velvet disease. Fish with velvet disease clench their fins to their bodies, lose color, refuse to eat, and rub against the gravel in the aquarium. It is treatable, but can be difficult to identify. To verify if your fish has velvet disease, shine a flashlight on it and check for a light gold or rust-colored layer over its skin.
   • Treat velvet disease by cleaning the aquarium and treating the fresh water with Bettazing.
   • Velvet disease should not occur if you have adequately treated your tank with salt and water conditioner. If your fish contract velvet disease, you should reconsider aquarium care.
7. Treat popeye. If one of your fish's eyes is bulging, it has popeye. Unfortunately, popeye is not caused by a single condition. Sometimes it can be treated, but sometimes not.
   • If multiple fish are showing signs of popeye, the water condition is likely to be the culprit. Test the water and replace 30% of the water daily for 4-5 days.
   • If one of the fish has popeye, it could have a bacterial infection. Place the fish in a separate tank and treat it with Maracine or Maracine 2 until it shows signs of improvement.
   • Popeye is sometimes the result of a serious, untreatable medical condition. If your fish does not respond to treatment, you may not be able to help it.
8. Check for dropsy. In case of dropsy, or dropsy, your fish's stomach will swell. When your fish's stomach starts to swell, the scales will face out, like a pinecone. It is not a specific disease, but a sign that your fish can no longer regulate its fluids. It is fatal.
   • Get it early, dropsy dropsy can be cured with washes of aquarium salt and medication. However, since it is difficult to determine what kind of medication to use (the wrong medication can make it worse), this is a difficult task. Vets can help. If your betta is already seriously ill, euthanasia is an option.
   • Dropsy is not contagious, but it can indicate that your water readings are incorrect. Check the readings and consider replacing the water.
9. Contact a specialist veterinarian. Find a veterinarian who specializes in treating fish. These are not as many as regular veterinarians who treat cats, dogs and other pets. Search the internet to find one near you.

Method 3 of 6: Change the conditions of the aquarium

1. Get a bigger tank. For a single betta fish, an aquarium of at least 9.5 liters is recommended. If you have more than one fish, you will need a larger tank to accommodate all of the fish.
   • If you have a larger tank, you may not need to change the water as frequently. In a smaller aquarium, toxins build up faster and in higher concentrations.
2. Test the water in the aquarium. A good pH balance will help limit ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels, which will keep your betta healthy. The ideal pH value is 7.
   • Treat the water with dechlorinating agent. Follow the directions on the package regarding mixing in water.
   • Test the water for ammonia with a test kit. You will use a baptism test or take a water sample to test the water. The ammonia value must be 0 since you just used the dechlorinator. Measure the ammonia value every day until you see an ammonia value appear. This will let you know how long you have before you need to change the water.
3. Change and condition the water. You should change the water twice a week to ensure that dangerously high levels of ammonia, nitrite or nitrate do not build up. You can use distilled water, bottled water, or tap water, but any type of water should be treated before putting it in the tank to restore the correct balance of nutrients in the water.
   • Change 25% -50% of the water twice a week. This means that you add 25% fresh water and leave 75% of the old water (or 50% fresh and 50% old).
   • Use a water conditioner, available at a pet store for $ 5-10, to adjust the pH of the water. Use according to the manufacturer's instructions.
   • Add 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt and 1 drop of fungicide, such as Aquarisol, per 3.5 liters of water. Do not use table salt in place of aquarium salt. Table salt can contain additives, such as iodine and calcium silicate, which can be harmful to your fish.
4. Turn into the aquarium. Turning the tank means that you allow good bacteria to build up in the tank so that your fish thrive. These bacteria help keep ammonia levels low by breaking down your fish's faeces into nitrite and then nitrate. Start with a new tank with no fish to run it in.
   • Add a source of ammonia to start the process of bacteria build-up in nitrate. You can use fish food or ammonia solution for this. Use a test kit to check the water for the presence of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. The ammonia value will be 0 at the beginning.
   • Test the water every day, you will see a gradual increase in the ammonia level. The ammonia value will then decrease again while the nitrite value goes up. Then the nitrite value will go down and the nitrate value will go up.
   • Add a few flakes of fish food daily to keep ammonia production going, which increases nitrite and nitrate levels.
   • Be patient. It may take 4-6 weeks for the correct values ​​to be read in the aquarium. The improved water quality will keep your fish healthy and give them a longer life.
5. Regulate the water temperature of the aquarium. The water temperature in the aquarium should be between 24 and 26 degrees Celsius. Use a 25 Watt heater to keep the temperature constant. Heaters are available in the pet shop for 10-15 euros.
   • Place a thermometer in the tank and check it regularly to make sure the temperature is constant.
   • Place the aquarium in a warm part of the room. The aquarium must maintain a constant temperature. Placing it near a window exposes it to colder temperatures that can be harmful to your betta.
6. Use a filter in the aquarium. Place a filter in the tank to help keep the water clean. The filter should not create too much flow in the water, as bettas don't like boisterous water. You can buy filters at a pet store for $ 30-150, depending on the size of your tank.
   • If you don't want to buy a filter, try an air stone connected to a small pump. Air stones are for sale in the pet shop for 5-10 euros.
   • Buy a filter suitable for the size of your tank.
7. Add aquarium salt to the aquarium. Aquarium salt comes from evaporated sea water and can be used in aquariums to reduce nitrite in the water and promote healthy gill function. It can also help increase electrolytes, which is good for the overall health of your fish.
   • Add 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt for every 20 gallons of water.
   • Add aquarium salt to new aquariums when you change the water and when you are trying to identify a fish's health problems.
   • Do not use table salt in place of aquarium salt. It may contain additives such as iodine and calcium silicate that can be harmful to fish.

Method 4 of 6: Disinfect the aquarium

1. Empty the aquarium. If your fish need to be isolated, you will need to disinfect the tank to prevent health problems from being passed on to other fish. You should also disinfect the aquarium before you put your fish back. Pour out the water and remove all objects from the aquarium.
2. Discard any live plants. These cannot be disinfected, so it is better to place new plants if you are using live plants. You can also use artificial plants.
3. Remove the gravel. If you have natural gravel on the bottom of the tank, remove it completely and bake it on parchment paper at 230 degrees for 1 hour. Then let it cool completely. Do not fry the gravel if it has a coating as it will melt. In that case it is better to throw the gravel away and put in new gravel.
4. Make a solution of bleach and water. Use 1 part bleach and 9 parts fresh tap water and put the mixture in a clean spray bottle. Use normal household bleach without additives. Make sure you never put bleach in the tank with fish left in it, as this will kill your fish.
   • Spray the bleach solution into the empty tank and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
5. Rinse the aquarium well several times. You need to make sure all bleach residue is flushed out of the tank so that the water doesn't get contaminated after you put the fish back in. Rinse several times and then again to be sure. Wipe the aquarium dry with kitchen paper.
6. Place all other parts of the aquarium (filter, artificial plants, etc.) in the bleach solution in a bucket or bowl. Leave them in for 10 minutes and then rinse several times before returning them to the tank.

Method 5 of 6: Change feeding habits

1. Feed bettas the right foods. Buy pellets made from fish meal or shrimp meal. Occasionally, say once a week, top up with a piece of blanched pea or fruit flies, with the wings still attached.
2. Do not overfeed your betta. A betta's stomach is about the size of his eyeball, so feed him that amount twice a day. That is approximately 2-3 pellets per feeding.
   • Soak pellets in water for 10 minutes before feeding. This will prevent them from swelling in your fish's stomach.
   • If your fish has a round belly, you may be overfeeding it. If his belly seems a little sunken, you may not be feeding him enough.
3. Remove leftover food from the tank. Food that has not been eaten becomes toxic in the water, which contributes to bacterial growth and increased ammonia levels. Bacteria in the tank will attack your fish.
4. Have your fish fast once a week. If your fish seems to be having a hard time digesting its food or if it seems constipated, you can give it a rest once a week by not feeding it. This will not harm your fish and will allow it to properly process the food left in its system.

Method 6 of 6: Treat your betta with medication

1. Isolate your fish. If your fish has an infectious condition, it should be removed from the tank so that the condition does not pass to other fish. Prepare a temporary aquarium, put in fresh, conditioned water. Remove the fish from the original tank and place it in the new tank.
   • If your fish is experiencing stress from the presence of a new fish or a change in the conditions in the tank, temporary isolation may make it feel a little better.
2. Disinfect after handling the fish. Many ailments that fish have can be highly contagious. Anything that comes into contact with the fish or its water, including your hands, fishing net, spoon, etc., should be disinfected before coming into contact with any other fish. Use antibacterial soap to wash your hands.
   • Disinfect other items that have come into contact with the fish or its water with a bleach solution of 1 part bleach and 9 parts water. Soak the objects in the bleach solution for 10 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. Then rinse again just to be sure. Never add bleach to an aquarium that contains fish, it can kill the fish.
3. Give your fish medication. If you identify your fish's condition, you can give it a common fish medicine. Provide the correct medication for the condition and follow the manufacturer's directions.
   • Make sure to give your fish the entire course of medication as recommended by the manufacturer.
   • Use common sense when applying medication. Don't try different treatments at the same time, hoping that the right one is in between. If you are unsure, you can contact a specialist veterinarian.