My fish is sick!

October 2, 2006 11:43 AM

Very bizarre betta behavior: could my fish have suffered brain damage?

We've had a betta for about 9 months now, and he really thrived until about 3 weeks ago. At that time we noticed he had what appeared to be a bad case of popeye, and some whitish discoloration on his face. He was also extremely lethargic and wouldn't eat. These problems came on very suddenly, with no apparent cause -- his bowl is kept very clean and he's never had any type of illness before. We first tried the antibiotic Maracyn (along with a new bowl, new rocks and plants, and a complete change of conditioned water). When that didn't work, we tried Maracyn 2.

The Maracyn 2 seems to have mostly cured the popeye, and he doesn't look as discolored as he previously did (not so much whitish stuff on his face, though there is one red spot near his mouth). The thing is, he now spends all of his time motionless, floating around in the center of the plants in his bowl. The only time he moves is when we open the lid to his bowl, put in some freeze-dried bloodworms, and then tap very, very hard on his bowl -- at that point, he almost seems to snap out of his "coma" and will move to the surface of the water, sort of snapping his mouth and blowing bubbles. If we continue tapping hard, he'll eventually find the worms and eat some. This can continue as long as we'll keep tapping and putting in worms. But it's almost like he's become blind and unable to locate food on his own, and has lost all his previous energy and interest in what's going on around him in the room.

Is it possible he's brain damaged/blind/actually comatose most of the time? And if so, is there a way to cure him?

posted by justonegirl to pets & animals (7 comments total)

No real answers, but my beta started doing that bubbling,mouthing at food but not eating it at all. He died about a week after those symptoms started.
posted by stormygrey at 12:05 PM on October 2, 2006

I have no idea of the legitimacy of this site, but they do mention a possible "depression" diagnosis. Betta Diseases
Honestly, their life span is 2-5 years, and you will never be able to tell how old they were if they were purchased from a pet store, so I'm afraid the odds are against you. Good luck...
posted by Asherah at 12:23 PM on October 2, 2006

I don't think the bubbles are anything to worry about as male bettas blow them to form bubble nests for the purpose of mating. Your betta may just not be feeling well after his recent illness; I believe bettas can definitely suffer from depression. My college roommate had a lethargic betta who livened up immensely after I put my bowl of three little fishes next to it. Though sites will tell you bettas are fine being solitary, I think they end up much happier with company (no need to put fish in the same bowl as bettas can get aggressive). If you don't mind, try getting another type of fish in another bowl to put next to him. I had one of those mini self-sustaining ecosystems with three little fish, a snail, and a plant.
posted by pinksoftsoap at 12:34 PM on October 2, 2006

Maybe a change of scenery?
Our beta seemed fairly lethargic. We had him in a bowl with some plastic plants. We took out the plants and put in a small hollow castle that he can swim through and hide in. He really perked-up with that change.

Also, what sort of light does he get? Our beta is in a somewhat dark part of the house (necessitated by a very curious housecat), so we make sure to leave some light on for him during the day. That seems to help him, too.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:00 PM on October 2, 2006

To combat Beta depression, place another Beta nearby so that they can see each other. If you can't do that, just place a mirror or a CD so that the Betta can see himself.

Just do that for 4-5 min per day, and it will keep him happy.

I am not joking or trying to be cruel.
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 1:55 PM on October 2, 2006

Blindness is not an uncommon outcome of popeye (which is not a specific disease but a symptom of a number of diseases or injuries). If he doesn't react to his reflection, he's blind.

I used to feed a blind goldfish by jetting water at him with an eyedropper to get his attention, and then squirting the food right into his face. You might also consider switching him to live food (mosquito larvae, brine shrimp), which he can track by movement.
posted by jamaro at 3:04 PM on October 2, 2006

I'm sure you've heard all this:

Meds are tough on fish. I found Mardel products to work the best (I see you used them to no avail, sorry). Normally I only used half a dose.

You should always do a partial water change before adding new or more meds. You may have, but you didn't mention it in your post.

I can't stress enough the importance of regular, partial water changes as prevention. A freshwater tank is not self-sustaining.

Don't overfeed. It's hard to resist, because often that's the most interesting part about fish. But waste builds quickly.

I don't know how large your tank is, but often times that is a large factor in a fish's health. The more water the better, no matter the size of the fish. The more water, the more stable the environment.

I realize some fish do ok in stagnant water—particularly betta fish—but that doesn't mean they are best kept that way. Without live plants, at least some filtration/aeration is best. Without aeration, a good bacteria cycle won't establish.

The tough parts:

If you have a community tank, it's best to throw a half treatment in the tank and euthanize the infected fish. If two treatments have not worked for a solitary infected fish, I would cut your losses.

Good luck.
posted by mealy-mouthed at 7:11 PM on October 2, 2006