[Stubborn Popeye]

On 9/26/2023 at 3:24 AM, Colu said:

Keeping good water parameters is essential to help him heal you don't want to water change to often when you add the Indian almond leaves  it will remove the benefial tannins I would just keep up testing and water change as needed 

Anything I should look for while testing my water? I'll post an update in a week or so. Thanks!

[Stubborn Popeye]

On 9/25/2023 at 3:41 AM, Colu said:

No algae has nothing to do with Popeye excess algae is usually caused by excess nutrients or two much light I keep my lights on for 8 HR a day I don't get algae problem I forgot to mention another cause of Popeye is a growth behind the eye this isn't as common as a bacterial infection or injury to the eye if you don't have live plants you can add a higher level of salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons given the length of time Tue damage might be permanent 

I do have live plants so I will keep the salt concentration to 1 table spoon per 5 gallons. I ordered some Indian Almond leaves from aquarium co op today and am hoping to get them by the end of the week. Besides this, is there anything else I can do to help reduce the swelling and how often should I be do water changes while he is suffering from popeye?

[Stubborn Popeye]

On 9/24/2023 at 7:19 PM, Colu said:

Popeye usually caused by a bacterial infection when it effects both eye's when it's effecting one eye it more likely to be caused by an injury given the medication you have used and fact you you haven't seen any improvement would mean your more than likely dealing with an injury to the eye sometimes the damage can be permanent what I would do is is add Indian almond leaves as they have antibacterial and antifungal properties and leave a low dose of salt in the tank 1 table spoon for 5 gallons that will help reduce fluid buildup in the eye for two week 

I added 2 table spoons of fritz aquarium salt last week. I did a 50% water change today so I will have to add another tablespoon. Would a higher concentration of salt help? I will go out tomorrow and buy some Indian almond leaves from Petco. I also wanted to add that I do have a lot of diatom algae (the brown dust algae) that I have to clean up with weekly water changes. Would this have anything to do with his Popeye? Thanks for your help!

[Stubborn Popeye]

On 9/24/2023 at 4:21 AM, Colu said:

What are your water parameters can you take a picture of the sick fish @BlueTurtle25

Tanks size: 10 gallons

Heater and filter: yes and yes

tank temperature: 78 degrees Fahrenheit

Parameters: Ph 8.2, Gh 120ppm, Kh 240 ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 15ppm, Ammonia 0ppm.

*Parameters were acquired using the API master test kit and taken a second time using the API 5 in 1 test strips.

Tank and fish are both around a year and a half old.

I perform 50% water changes weekly and clean sponge filter every 1-2 months. I refill the aquarium with well water. This water has been tested recently and contains no ammonia or nitrate.

Other than my betta fish there are two nerite snails.

I feed 5-7 pellets of Hikari Betta Bio gold daily and feed frozen bloodworms once or twice a week as a treat.

Pictures of fish and aquarium: https://imgur.com/a/siK0Qym

 

[Stubborn Popeye]

I'm at a loss with what to do about treating my betta's popeye. He developed it 3 or so months ago and it has just been stagnant or worsening. I have tried 1 course of Fritz Maracyn (Erythromycin) and 2 courses of Sea Chem Kanaplex (Kanamycin) in this time frame. As well as multiple water changes a week and a low dose of salt (1tbsp for 5 gallons) in his 10 gallon planted tank. I even tried a salt bath with 1 tbsp of salt per 1 gallon and it just made him stressed and it took him a while to begin acting normal again. Any suggestions on what else I could try? He's still eating and swims around, but his eye looks awful.

[What To Do About Betta Popeye?]

On 8/7/2023 at 3:33 AM, Colu said:

I usually just use 1 gallon of water for salt baths 

I gave my betta a salt bath today and he seemed very stressed afterwards. I noticed for a few hours afterwards he just stuck to the top of his tank and gill breathed rapidly. Occasionally he would bat his pectoral fins really fast. I'm pretty sure it was shock from the bath. I plan on discontinuing the salt baths and just keeping a low level of salt in his tank for a another week or two. His eye has slowly, but surely been getting better. I removed the decoration, which I believe he injured his eye on as well.  

[What To Do About Betta Popeye?]

On 8/6/2023 at 6:30 PM, Colu said:

 I wouldn't do another course of antibiotics if your going to do salt baths I would do 1 table spoon for 1 gallon for no more than 15 minutes for 5 days and keep a low dose of salt in the tank for a week give an update in week  if your seeing no improvement @BlueTurtle25

I added 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of Fritz aquarium salt to my betta's 10 gallon tank yesterday, like you suggested. Nothing really seems bothered by the salt thankfully! Is there a minimum amount of water I should use for the salt baths? I plan on using a 2-4 gallon plastic container and just filling it up with the same water that I use for water changes. And water temperature should be identical to his main aquarium? I started the low dose of salt in his 10 gallon yesterday, so a week will be Saturday (the 12th) and I will start the salt baths tomorrow everyday until Friday! Thanks again for your help! It means a lot to me! I'll give you an update Saturday!

[What To Do About Betta Popeye?]

On 8/5/2023 at 3:18 AM, Colu said:

With Popeye if it's only affecting one eye it's more than likely caused by an injury what I would do is add a small amount of aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 5 gallons at that level it shouldn't harm your plants and it will help reduce some of the fluid buildup in the eye for week and monitor it can take a couple of weeks with an eye injury before you Will see significant improvement sometimes the damage is permanent @BlueTurtle25

I'm wondering if I should do a water change and trying dosing Fritz Maracyn instead of Kanaplex? Kanaplex is obviously not doing very much considering his eye is still swollen. Should I try salt baths as well? I really appreciate your help! I hope I can get this solved it's been almost a week now with minimal improvement.

[What To Do About Betta Popeye?]

On 8/5/2023 at 3:18 AM, Colu said:

With Popeye if it's only affecting one eye it's more than likely caused by an injury what I would do is add a small amount of aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 5 gallons at that level it shouldn't harm your plants and it will help reduce some of the fluid buildup in the eye for week and monitor it can take a couple of weeks with an eye injury before you Will see significant improvement sometimes the damage is permanent @BlueTurtle25

I bought some Fritz Aquarium Salt today and i will start dosing it alongside kanaplex.

[What To Do About Betta Popeye?]

Hi! I started noticing very slight Popeye symptoms in my Betta's left eye on Sunday, when I was feeding him. I ordered some Fritz Maracyn antibiotic powder from Aquarium Co Op and was just going to let things be until it arrived. Unfortunately, my package was not expected to show up until Friday and by Tuesday his symptoms had gotten way worse. I panicked and immediately found many posts online about people treating their Betta's Popeye with SeaChem's Kanaplex. I did a 75% water change and drove an hour to a fish store that had Kanaplex in stock. The employee was very helpful and told me to increase my aquarium's temperature from 78 to 79 and that kanaplex usually does the trick for Popeye. I have been following SeaChem's directions. Dosing every other day, his eye isn't as swollen, but it has gotten cloudier. His last dose of Kanaplex is tomorrow and I have only seen minimal improvement. I'm very worried about irreversible damage to his eye. I have attached some photos. How should I proceed? Thanks!

• pH: 8.0
• Nitrates: 20ppm
• Hardness: 120gh
• Nitrite: 0ppm
• Ammonia: 0ppm
• KH/Buffer: 240KH
• Water Temperature: 79 Degrees F
• Aquarium Capacity: 10 Gallons
• Other Inhabitants: Nerite Snails x2

(I got these number using both the API Master Test Kit and 5 in 1 Strips)

Attached Pictures Below.

[Is Rescaping a Solution for a Tank that has massive algae issues?]

On 9/15/2022 at 3:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I think all of those plants will handle a blackout pretty well. Anubias definitely doesn't care.  I would honestly do a deep clean, black it out for 7-14 days, and then go from there.

Glad you're doing a bit better healthwise.  Hopefully this tank settles down for you!

7 day blackouts are fine, without an issue.  You do need to keep them wet, adding an airstone would be beneficial to keep flow and PH stable.

When you replant them, it is typically a good time to trim plants and leaves out that need it.  anything over 2" you can likely trim without issue.  I am sure you can go shorter and a lot of people do when they trim roots back to encourage new growth.

Thanks for responding! Like I told Guppysnail, I have a bit of an aquarium itch again so I think i'm just going to start a 20 gallon high tank and move these plants into it. Then turn it into a community tank for my betta. I'm glad to hear that these plants aren't that fragile. I was and still am a bit worried about killing them lol. I will definitely get a spare airstone and pump for this. 

[Is Rescaping a Solution for a Tank that has massive algae issues?]

On 9/15/2022 at 2:39 PM, Guppysnail said:

I’m glad it’s going to help you. 
 

My understanding of plants the roots have corresponding leaves. I never trim roots. Yes they will be ok in a bucket as long as they get light each day.  Try to add an airstone to the bucket of water while plants are in seltzer to make sure the bucket water is well aerated. Pull from seltzer and drop in bucket and you are good to go. 

Thanks again for letting me know about this! I was just going to follow the diluted bleach instructions I found online, but I was still hesitant about it. I didn't want to accidently kill anything. I've kind of got a aquarium itch again and I think i'm going to move all of these plants into a 20 gallon high tank. I want to play with aquascaping again. I'll definitely have to buy more plants though. I'm glad I know about reverse respiration now so I don't have a bladder snail infestation everytime I put in new plants. I still have a few things to get before I can start aquascaping a 20 gallon high tank, but i'll let you know how the reverse respiration works out!

[Is Rescaping a Solution for a Tank that has massive algae issues?]

On 9/15/2022 at 4:01 AM, Guppysnail said:

Your questions are very valid. Yes if you are gentle you can uproot them, store them, and replant them.  They may falter a bit when replanted, plants don’t like change but they should be fine. 
 

Reverse Respiration can help with removing algae from the plants. Non toxic non harmful to plants. The lotus may detach from the bulb. I’m also not certain  how well lotus do in RR. It’s one of the plants We did not have the opportunity to test. My Aponogeton did fine but those leaves are sturdier. So maybe if the lotus is not algae covered skip the RR. 

 

Thanks for your response! Reverse Respiration is exactly what i'm looking for. Do I need to store the plants in a special way or can I just put them in a bucket of water for a day or two? Should I trim the roots at all? I know the roots on some of my plants are pretty long and could make it a pain to replant.  

[Is Rescaping a Solution for a Tank that has massive algae issues?]

I have a 10 gallon planted tank that was algae free up until May or so. I'm pretty sure the tank getting 4-5 hours of sunlight when the days started getting longer caused the algae bloom. I was pretty sick with Crohn's disease so I wasn't able to nip it in the bud. Now I have an algae mess on my hands. I'm really considering just rescaping the tank and starting over instead of trying to battle the algae. I have 8-10 stems of Vallisneria, 2 amazon swords, anubius nana, java moss and a tiger lotus bulb. I also have a male shortfin koi betta that is the sole inhabitant of the tank. My plan is to set up a temporary quarantine tank for my betta, while I rescape. I can use the existing sponge filter and tank water for the quarantine tank. I just don't know what to do about the plants. Is it possible to uproot them, clean the algae off of them and store them temporarily with my betta or another quarantine tank until I have a permanent spot in my newly scaped 10 gallon for them? Sorry if these are stupid questions. This is my first attempt at ever trying to rescape a tank and I don't want to accidently kill my betta and plants. Thanks!