The best treatment is prevention.

This means doing regular water changes, feeding appropriately, providing a thrivable environment, and always quarantining new fish.

However, if you find your fish isn't acting himself, or appears differently, he could have a complication. Review the symptom chart below to find out what it could be.

---

Symptom Chart

Be aware that not all symptoms may be present in your fish.
Mobile version here: Symptom Chart

Frayed Fins

White Fuzz

White Mucus

White Spots

Gold Dust

Lethargic

Won't Eat

Bloated

Red Lesions

Rubbing on Things

Gasping

Bumps

Clamped Fins

Color Loss

Enlarged Eye

Raised Scales

Pinholes

Septicemia

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Columnaris

x

x

Fungus

x

x

Slime Disease

x

x

x

x

Ich

x

x

x

x

x

Velvet

x

x

x

x

x

Internal Parasite

x

Fin Rot

x

x

x

x

x

x

Swim Bladder Disorder

x

x

x

x

Popeye

x

Constipated

x

x

x

Poisoning

x

x

x

x

Tumor/Cyst

x

Dropsy

x

x

x

x

Fish Lice

x

x

x

Hexamita

x

Click images for original sources.

Treatment

Poisoning - Caused by toxic water conditions.
-Perform a large water change and test water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.
-Fish may recover if water parameters remain stable and healthy.

Constipation - Caused by 1) Overfeeding or 2) Not soaking pellet foods before feeding.
-Stop feeding for a 1-2 days until blockage passes and bloating goes down.
or
-Feed daphnia; which acts as a laxative. Blockage should pass.

Swim Bladder Disorder - Caused by overfeeding, stress, or damage to swim bladder.
-Perform a 50% water change and test water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.
-Lower water level to make it easier for the fish to breathe.
-Feed small amounts of a varied, high quality food.
-Fish should recover on his own.

Tumor/Cyst - Caused by cancer, genetic defect, or rarely a viral infection.
-Usually not treatable.

Fin Rot

Fungal Infections - Caused by toxic water conditions; stress.
⬤Fungus ⬤Fin Rot
-Perform a large water change and test water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.
-Treat Fin Rot with KanaPlex
-Treat Fungus with Furan

Fungus

Velvet

Parasites - Caused by toxic water conditions; stress; introducing infected fish.
⬤Ich ⬤Velvet ⬤Slime Disease ⬤Fish Lice ⬤Internal Parasite
-Perform a 100% water change.
-Raise water temperature to 80-85°F.
-Treat Ich & Velvet with Ich-X
-Treat Slime Disease with Furan-2
-Treat Fish Lice with a bath of potassium permanganate. Drop 10mg of the product in a liter of water and bathe fish for 15 minutes.
-Treat Internal Parasites with Prazipro

Ich

Columnaris

Bacterial Infections - Caused by toxic water conditions; stress; introducing infected fish; fluctuations in temperature.
⬤Columnaris ⬤Septicemia ⬤Popeye ⬤Dropsy
-Perform a 100% water change.
-Treat Columnaris with Furan
-Treat Septicemia and Popeye with KanaPlex
-Dropsy is a symptom of organ failure and is usually fatal.

Popeye

Hexamita - Caused by an intestinal infection brought on by toxic water conditions or stress. Difficult to diagnose, as only the symptom is the fish not eating.
-Perform a large water change and test water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.
-Treat with MetroPlex
-Review the betta food page and consider if poor nutrition is the culprit.

---

Treating with Salt

Many of the above diseases, if caught in the early stages, can be treated with pure sodium chloride; salt. Ich, Internal parasites, Columnaris, and Popeye can be treated with salt as an alternative to medicinal treatment.

• Fill 1 cup with dechlorinated, clean water.
• Add 3 heaping tablespoons of pure salt.
• Mix until salt has dissolved.
• Add 2 teaspoons of the salt-water solution to every 5 gallons of water for treatment.
• Perform a water change every other day until improvement shows.

The salt controversy...

• Many report their fish getting worse after being exposed to salt. This is likely due to adding the salt before it dissolves in the water; as the salt will burn while it's dissolving.

• Salt should be added to a quarantine tank, not the home tank; because the only way to get rid of the salt is to do a 100% water change.

• Long-term exposure to salt can cause kidney and liver damage.

---

Prevention

As stated above, the best treatment is prevention.

• Regular water changes & testing.
• Feeding appropriately. (Soak those pellets!)
• Ensure your betta has stable water parameters and the temperature is around a comfortable 78°F. (This is so important!)
  
• Always quarantine new fish away from others.

Additional Prevention

Some people use low doses of salt as a preventative measure against diseases. However, long-term exposure and improper dosing can result in more problems then good. I prefer using Indian almond leaves in my tanks, which is a more natural method. The leaves release tannins which have antimicrobial properties, and flavonoids which have antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.

You can add a leaf or two to a tank and let it decay, or you can extract the tannins and flavonoids in a few simple steps.

• Boil 1 liter of water.
• Fold 1 large almond leaf and place in heat-safe container. Or place 6-8 small almond leaves in a heat-safe container.
• Pour boiled water over leaves.
• Cover and let steep for one day.
• Strain liquid into a bottle. (make sure to spell tannins wrong when labeling the bottle.)
• Add to aquariums while doing water changes. It's safe to use in small or large amounts.