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Hey everyone, I'm really struggling to help my betta Finnegan with this cloudy eye issue. It started last month, and I've tried a bunch of different treatments, but nothing's worked so far. His left eye is the worst, but I've also noticed some clouding in his right eye.

I've had Finnegan for about 7 months, and he lives in a planted 10-gallon tank that's heated to 78 degrees. There are a few nerite snails in there with him. I've been doing 10-25% water changes every week, and his water tests have all been good - 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, less than 5 ppm nitrate, and a stable pH of 8.0.

The only thing that was added to the tank around the time his eye started clouding up was a new resin filter media. I was hoping it would help with a mild algae outbreak, but I removed it right away because I thought it might be causing the problem. Now I'm not so sure - I think he might have just injured his eye and gotten an infection. He's a pretty energetic guy and has knocked off scales a couple of times before.

I've tried treating him with kanamycin and metronidazole, then aquarium salt, and then API Fin & Body Cure. I've also moved him to a hospital tank, but nothing seems to be working. I've stopped using medicine for now, and I'm just not sure what to do next. I don't want the infection to get worse, or for him to lose his eyesight.

I'm worried that I might not be treating the right thing - could this be a bacterial infection, or something worse like eye flukes? Has anyone else dealt with this before? I'd really appreciate any advice or suggestions.

I've attached a photo of Finnegan's eye - it's hard to get a good picture, but when he swims under the light, it looks like his whole eye is black except for the pupil.

I'm so sorry to hear about Finnegan's cloudy eye. I've been thinking, low PH can be a cause, but what about higher PH? It's at the top of the range for betta's, isn't it? Have you checked your water hardness lately? Has Finnegan always been in this 10 gallon tank, or was he moved there recently? Any big stressors in his environment - loud noises, pets, or is his tank near a busy door? I really hope you figure out what's going on and get his eye cleared up.

knightoak wrote: ↑Fri Dec 20, 2024 1:49 am I'm so sorry to hear about Finnegan's cloudy eye. I've been thinking, low PH can be a cause, but what about higher PH? It's at the top of the range for betta's, isn't it? Have you checked your water hardness lately? Has Finnegan always been in this 10 gallon tank, or was he moved there recently? Any big stressors in his environment - loud noises, pets, or is his tank near a busy door? I really hope you figure out what's going on and get his eye cleared up.

Thanks for the reply. I've had Finnegan in this tank for over 5 months now - he was originally in my office, but I had to bring him home when I started working from home. I'm not sure about the exact water hardness, but I know my city is notorious for having very hard water. It's never been an issue with my previous bettas, but maybe Finnegan is just more sensitive to it. I might try adding some almond leaves to see if that helps alleviate the issue.

As for stressors, the TV is on most of the day in the same room as him, but it doesn't seem to faze him. He does get a bit skittish when I'm doing tank maintenance, but otherwise, he seems pretty relaxed and active.

I'm thinking stress might be a factor here - moving from the office to home could've been a big change for him, even if he doesn't seem too bothered now.

I'm trying a different approach now, focusing on reducing stress for Finnegan. Since medicating him might have been causing more harm than good, I've stopped treatment and am concentrating on creating a peaceful environment. He's still in the hospital tank, which is in a quiet room, and I've added some cycled filter media and aquarium salt to try and improve the water parameters. I've also added some almond leaves to see if that helps. With a bit of luck, the reduced stress will allow his eye to heal finally.