Four Common Betta Fish Diseases

There are various diseases that can affect your betta. Most betta fish diseases are caused by poor water quality, so you can prevent many by keeping the water clean. Some of the most common illnesses include fin rot, velvet, and popeye. This article will discuss some of these illnesses.

Fin Rot

Fin rot is one of the most common diseases. If you keep a betta long enough, you will probably have to deal with it at least once. This condition is characterized by the tail or fins rotting away. It can quickly become a problem if you allow the water to stay unclean too long. Although the tail or fins will grow back once treatment begins, it will take some time.

Popeye

Popeye is also one of the most common betta fish diseases. Like fin rot, it's caused by unclean water which leads to a bacterial infection. This condition is quite easy to spot as your fish's eyes will literally bulge out of his head. It can be disgusting the first time you see it. Popeye needs to be treated with antibiotics and frequent water changes.

Velvet

Unlike the two aforementioned diseases, velvet is caused by a parasite. It is highly contagious and can quickly spread to other fish in the tank. Affected fish will attempt to get rid of the parasite by rubbing themselves against hard objects. Other signs of velvet include rapid gill movement, weight loss, loss of appetite, and lethargy.

This illness presents a problem because it's usually diagnosed in an advanced stage. Therefore, you would need to start treatment as quickly as possible. TO treat this condition, you will need to dim the lights, add copper sulphate to the water, and raise the temperature to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Your fish may also have a hard time breathing. Aquarium salt will help remedy this.

Dropsy

Dropsy is one of the most serious betta fish diseases. It is usually fatal. This illness results from kidney failure which causes fluid to build-up inside your fish. You can easily spot his swollen belly. If he also has raised scales, it's a pretty safe bet that he has dropsy. Unfortunately, there is no cure and most bettas die within a couple of weeks.

Newbie's Guide to Breeding Betta Fish

So, you've got yourself a male and female betta and want to breed some young ones. Before you begin, there are a few things you need to know about breeding betta fish. This article will give you a few tips to get you started.

Before you attempt to introduce the two, you have to spend some time getting them conditioned. You should feed both of the fish high quality foods starting two weeks before you put them together. Live food is best, but frozen blood worms and other dried foods will also suffice. You should also note that younger females usually produce more eggs, which may result in a larger brood.

Bettas are often referred to as Siamese fighting fish because males will battle each other on sight. Therefore, you should never put two males in a tank together. Males can also get rough with their female counterparts at times. When breeding betta fish, it's important to keep your eye on the female. You'll need to remove her from the tank if the male gets too rough with her.

So you've finally got the two together. At this point, the male will wrap around the female to prompt her to release the eggs. Upon release, the male will release his sperm to fertilize them. After she releases all of her eggs, you should put the female in a separate tank so she can recuperate.

Male bettas take care of the young. He builds a bubble nest to hold the eggs, and will return them to the nest should they fall out. Fry should start emerging about two days after the eggs have been fertilized.

The young fry have to stay in the bubble nest for two more days since their gills haven't developed well enough for them to swim independently. Once the gills have fully developed after the two days, the male needs to be removed from the tank. If you fail to do so, he may eat all of the young fry.