BettA hEaLth...(english version)

A Guide to Possible Betta Diseases, their Cause, Symptoms, Treatments and Prevention

Most, but not all diseases, can be attributed to a few causes -
· Poor water conditions
· Stressed fish due to inappropriate tank conditions and/or tankmates
· An injury leading to secondary infection

Other causes of disease can be brought into your tank by
· New stock
· Plants
· Live food

Despite your best efforts, it is inevitable that at some stage in your fish keeping career you will encounter some kind of disease or illness. Its how quickly you diagnose the problem and how quickly you get started on the correct medication, that will determine the final outcome. For this reason it is best to have a few treatments to hand.

Whats in my Medicine cabinet?
· Myxazin - Fin rot & Ulcer treatment. Also treats body rot, cloudy/pop eye & other bacterial infections
· Interpet Anti Internal Bacteria - Treats internal bacterial infections
· Interpet Anti Slime & Velvet - Treats Skin & gill parasites
· King British WS3 - Treats external parasites including whitespot
· Parazoryne - Non chemical external parasite treatment
· Sabbactisun - Non chemical treatment of bacterial infections
· Melafix - Antibacterial remedy to aid healing (use with caution)
· Epsom salts - Treatment of Dropsy
· Aquarium salt - It is important NOT to use normal table salt. Aids healing and can assist other treatments

Aquarium Salt - Some keepers always have a baseline of salt present in their tanks at a ratio of approx 1 Teaspoon per 2 1/2 UK gallons of water. This may assist in helping to prevent some diseases.

Melafix - I thought I would cover Melafix seperately, as there appears to be some concerns over its use with Bettas. A study has shown that the ingredients, although natural, may be a cause of irritant to the Bettas Labyrinth organ. Due to this, it is advised to use no more than half dose on a tank containing Bettas.

Carbon & Treatments - If you need to use a medication, you will need to remove any carbon from your filter. Carbon normally comes in the form of a cartridge containing small black chips that look like coal, or a black filter pad. The carbon can be replaced after treating, but remember that any carbon needs to be replace regularly as there are reports that it can lead to problems once it becomes saturated in bacteria and can release toxins into the water. Carbon is not a necessity in your tank.


Fungal Infection

Causes - Poor water quality, injury, Introduced (new stock)

Symptoms - White cotton wool type patches. Maybe anywhere on the fish. Maybe less active & pale. Fins stuck together and lack of appetite. The spores of the fungus can be released and infect other fish.

Treatment - 50-75% water change. Use Anti Fungal meds such as Myxazin. Aquarium salt can assist at a ratio of 1 Teaspoon per 2 1/2 UK gallons of water. Bettas normally make a full recovery.


Fin Rot

Causes - Poor water conditions, Damage leading to secondary infection

Symptoms - Fins appear ragged and uneven. They may appear to be dark at the edges, but can be white. Maybe less active and not eating. May appear pale.

Treatment - 50-75% water change. Use a anti bacteria treatment such as Myxazin or Tetracycline. Again Aquarium salt may assist at the ratio stated above. Keeping the water conditions in perfect order will assist the recover and re-growth of the fins.


Advanced Fin Rot/Body Rot

The Fin rot advances quickly to destroy the fins completely. This is particularly hard to stop and attacks the body once the fins have gone.

Symptoms - Fins and or tail start rotting away, usually starting from the edge, but sometimes it starts at the base of the fin (especially dorsal) and attacks the body directly. Diseases progresses rapidly and as the tissues are being eaten away, you might see the fins bones stick out. Once fins have been consumed, rot will proceed onto the body. At this stage the disease is hard to reverse although the betta might continue to live for months if treated properly. If not treated, it will die promptly.

Treatment - Do a full water change. Preferably provide a new tank (although that’s expensive disinfectant should clear all problems just make sure you rinse it fully as disinfectant WILL kill your fish). You must combine several medications to have a chance to stop this thing. Use Ampicillin and double the dose if needed, and use at the same time tetracycline. These medications usually come in capsules. A full capsule usually treats 10 gal of water. So for a 1/2 gallon of water, open the capsule and take the right proportion of powder and sprinkle onto a jar of water. You may stir gently with a disposable plastic spoon. Tetracycline might turn the colour of the water to a dark yellow or red. Change water every third day and add a new dose of same medication. Continue until fins/tail stop receding and start showing some new growth. It may take up to 4 weeks to work, so don’t give up. Once healing starts you should treat for one more week to be sure.


Ick or Whitespot (parasite) - Highly contagious

Cause - Stress, lowered immune system, Newly introduced fish.

Symptoms - White spots can be seen on the fish that resemble tiny grains of salt. The fish may be seen flicking and darting against aquarium decor.

Treatment - 75-100% water change. Raise the temperature gradually to 85F. Aquarium salt may be of benefit. Off the shelf treatments such as King British WS3 can assist. Keep aquarium lights off during treatment.

N.B. If your Betta is kept at the correct temperature (82F) you are less likely to experience Ick.


Velvet (parasite) - Highly contagious

Causes - Stress, lowered immune system, Newly introduced fish.

Symptoms - Often mistaken for Ick. An infected fish may be flicking on decor, may have clamped fins, lack of appetite, loss of colour. The velvet parasite is easiest to spot if you shine a torch on the fish. The parasite looks like a fine gold coloured powder covering the body.

Treatment - 75-100% water change. Treat whole tank with a parasitical treatment such as Interpet Anti Slime & Velvet. Again Aquarium salt may help. Keep aquarium lights off during treatment.


Popeye (bacterial)

Causes - Poor water conditions, Stress, Symptom of other disease present i.e. Tuberculosis

Symptoms - One or both of the eyes will protrude from the eye socket. It will appear enlarged and is very obvious. May have lack of appetite.

Treatment - Use Tetracycline or Myxazin. Usually improves quite quickly.

Tuberculosis will sometimes result in popeye. In that case, the popeye may not be curable or even if it gets better the fish will die (because tuberculosis is not curable and always kills its host). In short the fish will have died, not of the popeye itself, but because of the more serious disease that triggered it.



Dropsy

Causes - Poor water conditions, Internal infection

N.B. - The sick fish should be removed to a quarentine tank as the infection may be contagious. In the later stages the fish may release fluids which are toxic into the water.

Symptoms - Early symptom will be a bloated body. Later symptom is seen as a raising of the scales. When viewed from above, the fish will have the outline of an open Pine cone.

Treatment Early stage - Early diagnosis is important. Once the fish gets to the pine coning stage it is more often than not too late. Dropsy is a symptom of an internal bacterial infection, therefore treatment with an anti bacterial medication at the early stages is vital. Reduce feeding and offer a small pinch of cooked shelled pea. Epsom salts can help at the early stage by adding at a ratio off a quarter of a teaspoon per 10 UK gallons.

Treatment Pine coning - At this stage the internal infection will have caused damage to the kidneys, which leads to excess fluid building up inside the fish. This fluid build up is what causes the swelling of the body visible as pine coning. the excess fluid will also put tremendous pressure on the other internal organs. An Epsom salt bath can aid the release of fluids. Use a seperate container and add epsom salts at no more than a quarter of a teaspoon per gallon of water. *Remember to match the water temperature. Add the fish and keep a close watch for signs of distress as some fish will not tollerate it. Leave for a maximum of 15 minutes only.

If your fish has got to the pine coning stage it is highly unlikely it will survive due to the damage caused to the kidneys and other organs. Unfortunately, it may be necessary to euthanise the fish to prevent a slow death.


Swim Bladder

Causes - This is also a common betta problem. It is not contagious. It comes from overfeeding. It is especially common in very young bettas (30 to 60 days old) and can affect some Double Tail bettas when overfed or stressed

Symptoms - Bettas with a swim bladder disorder will have difficulty swimming, because their swim bladder (located alongside the spine between the belly and the tail) is either too short (causing them to not be able to swim horizontally) or it is swollen (causing them to float on one side). Double Tail bettas, because they have a shorter body, are especially prone to the “floaters” problem. In the case of a short swim bladder, the bettas will not be able to maneuver and swimming becomes so difficult, they prefer to just lie at the bottom, sliding on their bellies, which is why they are called “belly sliders”. And they do look like a pathetic bunch, at that point.

Treatment - Bettas may recover on their own, but since overfeeding induces swimbladder disorders in most cases, the first thing to do is feed a lot less. Brine shrimp and too much of it is the biggest culprit, so if your bettas are bellysliding, stop the brine shrimp for a while and thereafter learn to have a more balanced diet, alternating brine shrimp with microworms or worms (depending on how old your bettas are). DO NOT KILL a betta with a swimbladder disorder. It may recover on its own at any time, and is not suffering. Further more, the ailment is NOT contagious. To help the fish if it cannot eat, lower the water level.


Inflamed Gills

Causes - Bacterial infection, Poisoning (nitrAte etc..), maybe defective gill

Symptoms - One or both gills will not close all the way (look at betta from the top it is easier to see it then), gills may look red on the inside (inflamed) or not, in the last stages, the betta may be gasping for air and unable to breath

Treatment - Isolate sick betta. Do a full jar water change every third day. Every time you change water, add antibiotic (Pick one that treats inflamed gills, like Ampicillin for example) to the water. In the case of nitrate poisoning, simply add one drop of methylene blue in betta’s jar.


External Parasites

Causes - Poor water conditions, Introduced

Symptoms - The fish will most likely be darting about, scratching angainst objects. Sometimes very difficult to visually diagnose. The use of a magnifying glass may help. The parasites come in varying shapes and sizes. Changes in the fishes behaviour may indicate the presence of a parasite i.e. racing around at top speed.

Treatment - Do a full water change for jars or a 70% water change for tanks. This will eliminate some parasites and eggs. Treat with a suitable medication.


Internal Parasites

Causes - Normally introduced through live foods

Symptoms - Bettas are losing weight despite their eating normally. WARNING: there are other serious diseases that mimic internal parasites because the fish start looking emaciated (fish tuberculosis). So it is easy to confuse the two.

Treatment - Do a full water change for jars or a 70% water change for tanks. This will eliminate some parasites and eggs. Treat with a suitable medication.


Bacterial Infection

Causes - Poor water conditions. Bacteria are always present in the water from the tap, and can get in the water from your hands and the air. It is the natural Immune system of your fish that protect it from these bacteria. Therefore, anything that lowers its immune system can leave it vunerable to bacterial infection.

Symptoms - Betta may have clamped fins, lay at bottom or at surface, not eat, lose its color, turn gray, barely swim around. In more advanced cases, its body may start developing red patches, open sores and all kinds of nasty looking stuff. Different bacteria affect fish differently.

Treatment - Do a full water change for jars or a 70% water change for tanks. (To get rid of some of the bacteria present). The tank will need a good gravel vac and the filter will need cleaning. The sick fish can be quarentined but the whole tank should be treated with a good medication. The type of medication will be determined by the symptoms.


Tuberculosis (TB)

This is probably the deadliest of fish diseases, yet most people have never heard of it or know very little about it. It can mimic a large variety of other diseases, making it hard to diagnosis. Only an autopsy can confirm mycobacteriosis. This is a slow blooming disease that may take up to 6 months to affect fish. Ultimately, the bacteria will attack the internal organs, especially liver and kidneys and cause organ failure (followed by sudden death). This is the only fish disease known to be contagious to man. The good news is, unless you have a very infected tank and stick your hands in there and have a big cut or a weak immune system, you will probably never catch it from sick fish. And even if you did, it will not kill you, mostly give you a nasty skin infection which may take a long time to heal. The bug does not like people much (it is a temperature thing), and seems to remain on the skin surface only. Also, just so you don''t become all paranoid now, I must add that there has been VERY FEW documented cases of fish TB infecting people. And in most cases, as I said, the people either had a deep cut or immune system deficiency. The only reason I am mentioning all this is so you are aware of it. Don''t worry, Mr. Betta is not out to get ya! LOL. Fish tuberculosis can be resident in water but has also been linked to live foods (researchers found cases of live foods infected by tuberculosis etc...), and is mainly passed by injection (eating contaminated live food, or eating a dead fish that was a carrier, etc...) Now you can understand the importance of staying away from fish stores where you can see a lot of dead fish! Pick your fish suppliers very carefully and favor a store or breeder that has high hygiene standards in their fish rooms or stores

Symptoms - Affected fish will start deteriorating for no apparent reasons, losing weight (or not), showing deformities (or not), having raised scales (or not), fin and body rot (or not), gray lesions (or not), red patches inside the belly (or not). Sometimes they will seem fine one day and be oh so very DEAD the next. The one thing all the bettas affected by this terrible diseases have in common is that they will all (as in every single last one of them) die. So if you suddenly find a large number of dead fish in your tanks, and more die each day, there is a strong possibility you might be at war with fish tuberculosis (careful though, other bacterial infections can also have similar dramatic death rates).

Treatment - I am sorry to break the news to you but you will NOT win that war because there is NO cure. Furthermore you will probably have to throw away all bowl, tank and fish gear because regular bleach does not kill this nasty bug.




sumber dari betta paradise..tapi sekarang ni laman web die dah tak de...

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