This entry discusses the best treatments for Betta fish diseases.  Before reviewing this entry, make sure to review Betta Fish Illnesses so you can correctly discover the type of sickness.  It will also show you ways to handle separating your Betta fish from other fish and other sea creatures in a secure and relaxing (for your Betta fish) way.

One of the most common errors you can make when treating the fish is inaccurately determining the appropriate dose.  The right dose is important, so make sure to measure carefully and dispense the correct amount!

Betta Disease – Fungus Infection
Review Water for Betta Fish and Water Temperature for Bettas to learn about Betta water needs.  Fungus is easily preventable by using either aquarium salt or Aquarisol to your fish tank with every water change.  While fungus is easily spreadable to your other fish, your Betta will make a full recovery if treated in the early stages.  When your Betta fish is healthy, be certain to sanitize the entire fish tank thoroughly.

The best treatment is to utilize Fungus Eliminator and BettaZing at the same time – this will eliminate almost any kind of fungus.  Deposit approximately 80 grains of Fungus Eliminator per gallon.  The correct amount of BettaZing is four drops for every 0.5 gallons of water.  You generally can buy both of these items at your nearby pet store, or buy them online.

Betta Illness – Ick
Ick is another highly contageous illness that is easily prevented by using Aquarisol or Aquarium salt to your water whenever changing the water.  Since Ick is so contageous it’s best to treat the whole fish tank, not just your Betta.

Try to slightly elevate (to around 85) the temperature of the water, either by utilizing a light or a heater.  Add one drop of Aquarisol for every gallon in your tank.  Do this every day until a day or two after your Betta fish is better.  It should not take more than five days to heal your Betta fish.

Betta Disease – Fin Rot
Tail or Fin rot usually comes from unclean water or a filthy tank.  Your Betta won’t catch Fin Rot if you are reliable about sanitizing and changing his water.  Fin or Tail Rot is not hard to cure and is not contageous to your other fish, so carefully place your Betta fish in his own tank prior to utilizing the meds.  Your Betta fish’s fins and/or tail usually will grow back, but may be shorter with another color.

If this has just started, you can normally just treat it with Maracyn I and Maracy II at the same time at 50% of the normal amount each.  Most local pet shops will sell Maracyn I and II.  Before depositing in your fish tank, the tablets need to be completely crushed.  Use half the required amount of both medicines.  Make sure not to go overboard!  Each full tablet is good for a 10 gallon tank, so if you own a 5 gallon tank, administer one fourth of each (not half!).

If the Fin Rot is in the advanced stages, you may require something more powerful.  You can administer Tetracycline or Ampicillin.  You may have to buy these medications online, since they might be tough to find at your pet store.

It can take as much as a month for the fins or tail to stop rotting, so make sure to administer the meds daily.  Once the missing parts start to grow back, you should stop using the medication.

Betta Fish Illness – Velvet
The biggest killer of Betta fries is the parasite Velvet.  Keeping your tank sanitized by using Aquarisol should prevent this disease from developing.  Velvet is very spreadable so you must use meds on your whole tank, but you should still quarantine your Betta fish in a small tank if it has Velvet and the other fish appear to be ok.  Make sure to disinfect your nets and any other things in or next to the tank.  Put your tank in a dark location, and deposit twelve drops of BettaZing for every gallon of water.

Betta Disease – Popeye
Filthy water is the main originator of Popeye, which is from bacteria when you do not clean the water often enough.  It’s generally not going to kill your fish.  Your Betta fish will probably make a total recovery if you catch it quickly (but he may not recover the eye if you start treatment too late).  To fix Popeye, it’s critical to make sure the tank water is super clean.  Replace the water every two days.  Ampicillin is extremely effective with Popeye, but is sometimes be challenging to deposit the most accurate dosage for smaller tanks, since it arrives in a capsule that is good for a ten gallon tank.  Keep to use the medicine Ampicillin until a full week to ten days after the Popeye is completely gone.

Betta Illness – Dropsy
Black worms and other unclean or contaminated live foods can spread Dropsy.  Be certain to quarantine your Betta from all remaining fish since the Dropsy bacteria can be very contageous.  There is unfortunately no known cure, but rarely with a very mild case your Betta could recover on his own.

Betta Disease – Tuberculoses
Tuberculoses is hypothesized to come from dirty live foods.  It may be as much as half a year before your Betta displays any signs of being infected.  Unfortunately, not only is there no cure, but it is extremely spreadable, lethal to almost all other sea life, and very tough to kill.  Even bleach doesn’t destroy it.  You will probably need to despose of your bowl, tank, fish net and all other gear.