betta close-up, originally uploaded by Stephie189. Q: SU wrote: I am a college student at Radford University. My poor betta has developed fin rot. I have had my betta for almost a year now. He has had ich before and has cleared up fine. But now he has fin rot. I first thought the light [...]

Q: SK wrote: I came across your website by the recommendation of a few people. My betta seems to be having a pseudo-unique health problem. He seems constipated but really grossly, but he swims as energetically as always and his appetite hasn’t waned in the slightest. He is however, grotesquely swollen. For the past week, [...]

Photo provided by reader JE. Here you can see all the floating debris suspended in the water. Is this detritus or something else? Q: JE wrote, I hate to be a bother but I can’t find any literature that describes what on earth is going on with my Betta Elton. I’ve had him since October. [...]

Fish Out Of Water: DOA, originally uploaded by mybluemuse. Q: TSM wrote, How do I know when I should put down my betta? He has all the obvious signs of dropsy (bloated abdomen and pine coning scales) and is laying on the bottom of the tank gasping for air. I feel terrible watching him suffer. [...]

IMG_3573, originally uploaded by +kdis. Q: KW wrote, Your website and blog are very useful to a first time betta owner, but I am having trouble deciding whether or not my betta is sick. I bough two bettas five days ago and have noticed some changes. When I first got them, Redfish was very active, [...]

Close up of betta gills by EM Photo of fin rot provided by EM Q: EM wrote, Hi Christie- Thanks so much for the website! It has been so helpful to me already, but my poor Betta Warren seems quite sick, so I’m writing for a little more help. It turns out the pet store [...]

Q: JK wrote, I am a new Betta owner and I have a dilemma. I have one very healthy Betta in a Biorb (do you think he hates the bubbles?) and one that is very sick. The sick guy was in a group tank with mollies and a cory catfish. He is (I think) suffering [...]

portrait of a fish, originally uploaded by olya. Q: SF wrote, I have a betta who is about 2 years old. He’s not well. He is quite lethargic, sits at the bottom regularly, has just developed a few white patches and has had popeye in one eye only for about 7 months. I have tried [...]

breeding tank overhead, originally uploaded by revs45. Indian Almond leaves (Terminalia catappa) are one of those homeopathic additives Betta breeders swear by. They are commonly found all over Southeast Asia and India and are imported to many western countries and available in the U.S. To the best of my knowledge, no serious scientific studies have [...]

Bacteria Bloom, originally uploaded by attack11. Bacteria blooms are caused by heterotrophic bacteria not the autotrophic nitrifying bacteria that are responsible for the cycling process. Q: RM wrote: Hi Christie, I thought I’d give you an update as I’m still looking for some advice. I have been making sure to put in enough Amquel and [...]