I've had a young male betta in a 10-gallon tank with plants, driftwood, and sand. The tank had white worms, initially tiny like dust, but later grew to half an inch. I didn't overfeed my betta, just Fluval bug bites for small tropical fish, twice a day in small amounts. Reducing food didn't help with the worms.
I moved my betta to a 5-gallon tank since he was lethargic and had bulgy eyes. I treated the tank with a half dose of API geneflake cure, and my betta recovered. However, frequent partial water changes didn't improve his eyes.
I tried to eliminate the worms in the 10-gallon tank by using double doses of API geneflake cure and Seachem Cupramine, but nothing worked. I even used aquarium salt, but still no luck. Eventually, I threw everything away, including the plants, wood, and filter.
In the 5-gallon tank, my betta still had bulgy eyes despite regular water changes. I used less than half a dose of API E.M. Erythromycin, which didn't agree with my betta. He stopped moving, and I had to do a large water change. After that, he started moving again but was floating on the side with a bloated belly.
I noticed he didn't poop much after reducing his food due to the worms. He used to poop every other day when he had plenty of food, but after reducing it, he pooped only twice a week.
I fasted him for two days and increased the heater to 79 degrees. He pooped a bit, so I gave him 1/8 of a green pea. His condition worsened initially, but after pooping again, he improved significantly. As soon as he pooped, he started swimming normally.
I set up the 10-gallon tank with new equipment, and my betta loves it. He's very active and enjoys exploring. Although his eyes are still bulgy, he swims fine. I fed him a soaked pellet, but he struggles to stay at the bottom of the tank.
I'm unsure about post-care for swim bladder disease. Should I fast him more or feed him a blood worm daily? His eyes haven't improved despite months of treatment. I'm hesitant to use antibiotics again; is frequent water change the best option?
Other than that, he seems fine, always hungry, and runs to the glass when he sees me. I don't want to starve him too much. Any advice would be helpful.
care for fish with swim bladder disease
Re: care for fish with swim bladder disease
I think I can help you with your worm problem. I've had experience with planaria and detritus worms before, and I've found that regular gravel cleaning and water changes can really help keep them under control. The thing is, these worms usually only come out when there's something wrong with the water quality or the substrate. When things are good, they go back into the substrate and you don't see them. They're actually pretty common in aquariums and don't usually harm the fish.
If you're trying to disinfect a freshwater tank without any plants or fish, you can try using salt. You'd add salt until it doesn't dissolve anymore and there's a layer of salt at the bottom of the tank. Then you'd leave it for 24 hours, keep the filter running, and after that, you'd do a thorough gravel cleaning and drain the tank. Then you'd fill it with fresh water, drain it again, and refill it.
I also wanted to say something about antibiotics. I think they should only be used when you know for sure that your fish has a bacterial infection and other medications haven't worked. Using half doses of antibiotics isn't a good idea, it can cause drug resistance in bacteria, which can be really bad for both humans and fish. You should always use the prescribed dose and only use them when you're sure it's a bacterial infection.
I took a look at the picture of your betta, and his eyes don't look too bad to me. I can see a bit of excess skin under the left eye, but overall, he looks pretty healthy. I couldn't see the white fuzzy thing on his eye, though.
I think I know what might be going on with your betta floating around after eating. It's probably because he's got air in his digestive tract. When fish eat dry food, they can ingest a bit of air, which can make them float around. The easiest way to fix this is to feed him live or frozen foods that you've defrosted first.
As for pooping, I think fish should poop every day if they're eating well. But some fish have slower metabolisms, so they might only poop every couple of days. It really depends on what they're eating and how much. If you want to get your betta pooping more, you could try feeding him some high-fiber foods. And if you're feeding him a varied diet, that should help prevent digestive problems and floating around due to air in his intestine.
If you're trying to disinfect a freshwater tank without any plants or fish, you can try using salt. You'd add salt until it doesn't dissolve anymore and there's a layer of salt at the bottom of the tank. Then you'd leave it for 24 hours, keep the filter running, and after that, you'd do a thorough gravel cleaning and drain the tank. Then you'd fill it with fresh water, drain it again, and refill it.
I also wanted to say something about antibiotics. I think they should only be used when you know for sure that your fish has a bacterial infection and other medications haven't worked. Using half doses of antibiotics isn't a good idea, it can cause drug resistance in bacteria, which can be really bad for both humans and fish. You should always use the prescribed dose and only use them when you're sure it's a bacterial infection.
I took a look at the picture of your betta, and his eyes don't look too bad to me. I can see a bit of excess skin under the left eye, but overall, he looks pretty healthy. I couldn't see the white fuzzy thing on his eye, though.
I think I know what might be going on with your betta floating around after eating. It's probably because he's got air in his digestive tract. When fish eat dry food, they can ingest a bit of air, which can make them float around. The easiest way to fix this is to feed him live or frozen foods that you've defrosted first.
As for pooping, I think fish should poop every day if they're eating well. But some fish have slower metabolisms, so they might only poop every couple of days. It really depends on what they're eating and how much. If you want to get your betta pooping more, you could try feeding him some high-fiber foods. And if you're feeding him a varied diet, that should help prevent digestive problems and floating around due to air in his intestine.
Re: care for fish with swim bladder disease
Hello Colin, thank you so much for your detailed reply, it really helps me understand what's going on with my betta. I was worried that his bulgy eyes might be the start of popeye, so I thought I should treat him with antibiotics, but I clearly made a mistake by using half the dose. I'm really scared to use antibiotics now, so I think I'll just avoid them altogether.coltin wrote: ↑Tue Feb 11, 2025 7:25 pm I think I can help you with your worm problem. I've had experience with planaria and detritus worms before, and I've found that regular gravel cleaning and water changes can really help keep them under control. The thing is, these worms usually only come out when there's something wrong with the water quality or the substrate. When things are good, they go back into the substrate and you don't see them. They're actually pretty common in aquariums and don't usually harm the fish.
If you're trying to disinfect a freshwater tank without any plants or fish, you can try using salt. You'd add salt until it doesn't dissolve anymore and there's a layer of salt at the bottom of the tank. Then you'd leave it for 24 hours, keep the filter running, and after that, you'd do a thorough gravel cleaning and drain the tank. Then you'd fill it with fresh water, drain it again, and refill it.
I also wanted to say something about antibiotics. I think they should only be used when you know for sure that your fish has a bacterial infection and other medications haven't worked. Using half doses of antibiotics isn't a good idea, it can cause drug resistance in bacteria, which can be really bad for both humans and fish. You should always use the prescribed dose and only use them when you're sure it's a bacterial infection.
I took a look at the picture of your betta, and his eyes don't look too bad to me. I can see a bit of excess skin under the left eye, but overall, he looks pretty healthy. I couldn't see the white fuzzy thing on his eye, though.
I think I know what might be going on with your betta floating around after eating. It's probably because he's got air in his digestive tract. When fish eat dry food, they can ingest a bit of air, which can make them float around. The easiest way to fix this is to feed him live or frozen foods that you've defrosted first.
As for pooping, I think fish should poop every day if they're eating well. But some fish have slower metabolisms, so they might only poop every couple of days. It really depends on what they're eating and how much. If you want to get your betta pooping more, you could try feeding him some high-fiber foods. And if you're feeding him a varied diet, that should help prevent digestive problems and floating around due to air in his intestine.
His left eye is actually more bulgy than the right one, and the cornea is also more swollen. I'm not sure if frequent water changes will be enough to help with this, do you think that's the best course of action? I've attached a closer picture of the white fuzz on his eyelid, it really does look like a fungus. He's had it for a few months now, and it's not getting any bigger, but it's still concerning.
I'll definitely try feeding him frozen bloodworms again, I think that might help with his digestion and floating issues. Would feeding him 1-2 bloodworms per day be enough for a juvenile betta like mine? I just want to make sure I'm not overfeeding or underfeeding him.
Thank you again for your advice, I really appreciate it.
Re: care for fish with swim bladder disease
Pop-eye disease in fish is usually caused by poor water quality or a dirty tank. Big regular water changes, gravel cleaning the substrate, and cleaning the filter can help prevent and cure minor cases. Salt can also be used to treat minor cases.
The white bit on the eye could be a fungal infection. If it looks white and fluffy, and sticks up a bit, it's probably fungus. I'd try using salt first, if I hadn't already.
You can add aquarium salt, sea salt, or swimming pool salt to the tank at a dose rate of one heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there's no improvement after 48 hours, you can double the dose rate to two heaped tablespoons per 20 litres.
If you only have livebearers, goldfish, or rainbowfish in the tank, you can double the dose rate straight away, so two heaped tablespoons per 20 litres. If there's still no improvement after 48 hours, you can increase it to four heaped tablespoons per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least two weeks, but no longer than four weeks. This is because high levels of salt can cause kidney damage in fish from soft water, like tetras, Corydoras, or angelfish. But it's not a problem for livebearers, rainbowfish, or other salt-tolerant species.
The salt won't affect the beneficial filter bacteria, but the higher dose rate might affect some plants. The lower dose rate is safe for plants.
After using salt and the fish have recovered, do a 10% water change each day for a week using fresh, dechlorinated water. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. This will slowly dilute the salt out of the tank.
If you do water changes while using salt, make sure to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This keeps the salt level stable and minimizes stress on the fish.
If your fish are sick but still eating, feed them as much as they can eat, three to five times a day. This gives them more nutrients to fight off any diseases. Feed them a variety of foods, not just one thing. Raw or cooked prawn, aphids, small flies, or brineshrimp are all good options. Just make sure any insects are free of chemicals.
When you're feeding your fish more food or more often, keep an eye on the water quality and do big water changes and gravel cleans every day or two to keep the tank clean.
The white bit on the eye could be a fungal infection. If it looks white and fluffy, and sticks up a bit, it's probably fungus. I'd try using salt first, if I hadn't already.
You can add aquarium salt, sea salt, or swimming pool salt to the tank at a dose rate of one heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there's no improvement after 48 hours, you can double the dose rate to two heaped tablespoons per 20 litres.
If you only have livebearers, goldfish, or rainbowfish in the tank, you can double the dose rate straight away, so two heaped tablespoons per 20 litres. If there's still no improvement after 48 hours, you can increase it to four heaped tablespoons per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least two weeks, but no longer than four weeks. This is because high levels of salt can cause kidney damage in fish from soft water, like tetras, Corydoras, or angelfish. But it's not a problem for livebearers, rainbowfish, or other salt-tolerant species.
The salt won't affect the beneficial filter bacteria, but the higher dose rate might affect some plants. The lower dose rate is safe for plants.
After using salt and the fish have recovered, do a 10% water change each day for a week using fresh, dechlorinated water. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. This will slowly dilute the salt out of the tank.
If you do water changes while using salt, make sure to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This keeps the salt level stable and minimizes stress on the fish.
If your fish are sick but still eating, feed them as much as they can eat, three to five times a day. This gives them more nutrients to fight off any diseases. Feed them a variety of foods, not just one thing. Raw or cooked prawn, aphids, small flies, or brineshrimp are all good options. Just make sure any insects are free of chemicals.
When you're feeding your fish more food or more often, keep an eye on the water quality and do big water changes and gravel cleans every day or two to keep the tank clean.
Re: care for fish with swim bladder disease
Hello Colin, thank you for your information, I think the white fuzz on his eye is indeed fungus. I will try the aquarium salt method once he's fully recovered from the swim bladder issue, I really appreciate the detailed instructions.coltin wrote: ↑Tue Feb 11, 2025 7:25 pm I think I can help you with your worm problem. I've had experience with planaria and detritus worms before, and I've found that regular gravel cleaning and water changes can really help keep them under control. The thing is, these worms usually only come out when there's something wrong with the water quality or the substrate. When things are good, they go back into the substrate and you don't see them. They're actually pretty common in aquariums and don't usually harm the fish.
If you're trying to disinfect a freshwater tank without any plants or fish, you can try using salt. You'd add salt until it doesn't dissolve anymore and there's a layer of salt at the bottom of the tank. Then you'd leave it for 24 hours, keep the filter running, and after that, you'd do a thorough gravel cleaning and drain the tank. Then you'd fill it with fresh water, drain it again, and refill it.
I also wanted to say something about antibiotics. I think they should only be used when you know for sure that your fish has a bacterial infection and other medications haven't worked. Using half doses of antibiotics isn't a good idea, it can cause drug resistance in bacteria, which can be really bad for both humans and fish. You should always use the prescribed dose and only use them when you're sure it's a bacterial infection.
I took a look at the picture of your betta, and his eyes don't look too bad to me. I can see a bit of excess skin under the left eye, but overall, he looks pretty healthy. I couldn't see the white fuzzy thing on his eye, though.
I think I know what might be going on with your betta floating around after eating. It's probably because he's got air in his digestive tract. When fish eat dry food, they can ingest a bit of air, which can make them float around. The easiest way to fix this is to feed him live or frozen foods that you've defrosted first.
As for pooping, I think fish should poop every day if they're eating well. But some fish have slower metabolisms, so they might only poop every couple of days. It really depends on what they're eating and how much. If you want to get your betta pooping more, you could try feeding him some high-fiber foods. And if you're feeding him a varied diet, that should help prevent digestive problems and floating around due to air in his intestine.
I've started feeding him frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp for dinner, hoping it'll help him get better. I'll make sure to monitor his condition closely and adjust his diet accordingly.
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