Having trouble keeping him healthy

[burrower]

I've got a male betta that just refuses to get healthy. I've tried everything - salt, Pimafix, ick cure blue, daily water changes. I even took out all the decorations and stuff from the tank, but nothing's working. Any suggestions, guys? And what's going on with him, anyway?

[cichlidgirl22]

He's really not looking great, to be honest.
Are all the water parameters okay?

[burrower]

I probably should check the parameters, but honestly, I've been doing so many water changes, I'm pretty sure they're fine. Before all this started, I'd go about two weeks before nitrates became a problem, but back then the tank was more heavily stocked. Now, it's basically been a hospital tank for my betta for the past month.

[starweave]

I'm pretty sure he's got diamond eye, where the scales grow over the betta's eyes and it's basically incurable.

[starweave]

Diamond eye is pretty common in fluxeon scale bettas. The condition's gonna cause blindness, but lots of fish with it live long lives. Since he's got it, I'd say just keep things consistent - don't change his decor, and feed him in the same spot, maybe even give him a signal to let him know it's feeding time. As long as he's eating and swimming fine, he looks healthy to me.

[burrower]

Glad I could finally narrow it down. I was thinking cataracts too, but this seems like a way better fit.

[burrower]

I'm curious, do you guys think it's still possible for him to breed, or is that out of the question now that he's got diamond eye?

[coltin]

I've got a male betta that just refuses to get healthy. I've tried everything - salt, Pimafix, ick cure blue, daily water changes. I even took out all the decorations and stuff from the tank, but nothing's working. Any suggestions, guys? And what's going on with him, anyway?

I strongly advise against breeding him. Passing on that defective gene would be irresponsible. Those mass-producing breeders in Asia need to be held accountable for prioritizing aesthetics over animal welfare, it's just cruel.

[burrower]

I read that some people actually like the look of diamond eye bettas, which I guess is why it's still being bred. I'm still on the fence about it, to be honest. And yeah, I can imagine it'd be tough for them to breed naturally, since they rely so heavily on visual cues to find a mate.

[coltin]

Honestly, I'm starting to see this more often than I'd like - every few weeks, someone's posting about a male betta losing its vision due to some kind of growth over its eyes. It's not as rare as you might think, and it's really sad that it's becoming so common.