# Please help with my poor little betta :0(



## alienataris (Nov 15, 2009)

Maybe someone can help me with this..... I just bought a new Betta today. At the pet store the poor little guy looked like he had been on the shelf so long. His little cup was only half full and there was a dead bug in the water. I just had to take him home.

When I got home and inspected him i noticed his eyes looked a little puffy and had a clear round coating on the outside. Does my new fish have pop eye?? I feel so sad for him. The water he came in was REALLY dirty. 

Will this go away on its own??

He is now living in a fully cycled, heated and filtered 5 gallon tank. Other than the puffy eyes he seems to be doing well and eating okay.

Is there anything else i should do?? Could the pop eye clear up on its own since he is now living in clean water??

Thanks!!!


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Keep him in very good water and watch him. A lot of things like this will clear with good water conditions. If it gets worse you might want to consider looking into other solutions.


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## DavidAl (Nov 17, 2009)

Hello alienataris,

Clean water, that is, water low in nitrates, will do wonders for a fish. Do your best to keep the nitrates below 5ppm until the fish appears better. If that means doing water changes every other day, then it is what it is. Once the fish is better, keep the nitrates below 10ppm for about a months period. You'll ultimately want to keep the nitrates below 20ppm, but first focus on the sick betta. 

If you have access to Indian Almond leaves, go ahead and get it. The acids released by this leaf will go a long way in making your fish better. Bettas will also handle aquarium salt just fine. Perhaps a teaspoon added throughout the course of a day will help things move along. If you don't see an improvement in your fish's health, meds may be in order.

By the way, thanks for saving the betta from its stuffed closet.

David


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## katfemme89 (Nov 27, 2009)

Congrats on saving the betta! That makes me so happy! I'm sure he's thanking you for the new home. If you have a walmart near you, go there and there should be a reverse osmosis water cooler that you can fill up jugs of the water at. I do this. RO water is pure H2O, and by doing water changes with this water (no meds), I have cured ICK, fungus, fin rot, and I'm sure others. It's good stuff. Try getting some.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

RO water will not cure nor treat diseases..pure RO water will not support aquatic life as it lacks the essential materials found in unfiltered water..


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