• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Bettas 101
    • Acclimation
    • All About Water
      • Nitrogen Cycle
      • Ph & Ammonia
      • Water Changes
    • Betta Fish Anatomy
    • Betta Vases
    • Choosing a Tank
    • Feeding Bettas
      • Food Myths
      • Frozen & Live Betta Food
    • Tankmates for Bettas
      • African Dwarf Frogs & Bettas
      • Apple Snails & Bettas
      • Neon Tetras & Bettas
      • Otocinclus Catfish & Bettas
      • Quarantine New Fish
    • Plakat Betta
    • Rosetail Betta
    • Veil-tail Betta
  • Sick Betta
    • Diseases and Treatment
    • Aging Bettas
    • Bloating and Constipation
    • Cotton Wool Disease
    • Dropsy
    • Fin Rot and Fin Loss
    • First Steps
    • Gill Hyperplasia
    • Ich
    • Popeye
    • Septicemia (Infection)
    • Swim Bladder Disorder
    • Sick Betta Symptom Checker
    • Velvet Disease
    • Wounded Betta
    • Fish Tank Granuloma
  • Behavior
    • Bubble Nests
    • Skittish Bettas
    • Tail Biting
  • Breeding Bettas
  • Equipment
  • Q & A
  • Other fish
  • Contact

Fish Care

Everything You Need to Know About Betta Fish

You are here: Home / Archives for Illness & Disease

Illness & Disease

Betta with Severely Swollen Abdomen

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, I’ve reduced his regular diet and given him greens like … [Read more...] about Betta with Severely Swollen Abdomen

Yucky Floating Debris in Betta Tank

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. He was a gift (from walmart) so we have had issues regarding fin rot. It wasn’t too … [Read more...] about Yucky Floating Debris in Betta Tank

Euthanizing Aquarium Fish

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. Which is the best and most humane method for euthanizing my fish? A: Determining … [Read more...] about Euthanizing Aquarium Fish

New Male Bettas Have a Difficult Adjustment

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, swimming around a lot and flaring at himself. Bluefish, on the other hand, kept his fins tightly pulled in and sat … [Read more...] about New Male Bettas Have a Difficult Adjustment

Changing Color Around Betta’s Gills

Close up of betta gills by EM Photo of fin rot provided by EMQ: 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 we got Warren from is somewhat disreputable. All the Bettas looked a little ragged and Warren looked the … [Read more...] about Changing Color Around Betta’s Gills

Bettas and Ich Parasites

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 from ammonia poisoning (new tank syndrome) and then came down with ich. I have moved him from the big tank to a 2 gallon … [Read more...] about Bettas and Ich Parasites

Chronic Betta Illnesses

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 EM, Marycin, MarycinII, Betta Remedy and have just started him on QuICK Cure. I have never mixed … [Read more...] about Chronic Betta Illnesses

Indian Almond Leaves: Magical Cure or Placebo

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 been performed proving that they are at all beneficial to Bettas but they are so … [Read more...] about Indian Almond Leaves: Magical Cure or Placebo

Tank Cycling & Bacteria Blooms

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 NovAqua to keep the ammonia levels at 0. I have yet to detect any Nitrite in the … [Read more...] about Tank Cycling & Bacteria Blooms

Betta Care for the Novice

Black Velvet in motion Originally uploaded by RyanThomas. Happy New Year Betta Blog readers! I hope you had a terrific holiday. Mine was wonderful as I spent it at the not-so-sunny Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fl. No bother, a rainy vacation in Florida is better then a sunny one in D.C. anyway. Still, I’m glad to be back as I have tons of plans for Nippyfish.net and … [Read more...] about Betta Care for the Novice

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Search


Recent Posts

  • Cool Betta Fish Tank Ideas
  • How Long Do Betta Fish Live For? – 5 Helpful Tips For a Long and Happy Life
  • 3 Gallon Fish Tank for Betta
  • 10 Gallon Aquarium Stands and Cabinets
  • How Much Do Betta Fish Cost to Buy and Care For?

NippyFish Facebook Page

Visit the NippyFish Facebook Page

Featured Posts

Complete Guide to Betta Fish Diseases and Treatment

This complete guide on Betta fish illnesses and diseases from A-Z will help you pinpoint what is wrong with your Betta and how to treat it.

The 4 Most Common Signs of Illness in Betta Fish

This article focuses on the 4 most common signs of illness in Betta fish.

Betta Fish Tank Setup – A Detailed Guide For Beginners

This article will be providing a detailed beginners guide on how to setup a tank for your Betta fish.

Top 12 Betta Fish Toys

This article has a list of some of our favorite Betta fish toys. Don’t have a bored Betta.

Setup an Aquatic Plant Environment For Your Betta

Having a healthy plant in your tank will help to improve the water quality by filtering out waste and removing some of the CO2 that’s produced by your fish.

Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved | NippyFish | Privacy Policy

Nippyfish.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.