cloudy eye issue with my betta
Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 1:12 am
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'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.