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4.21.2009

Popeye!

But first, a disclaimer: This is not my Betta. It's just an example.

My Betta, Josef, has suddenly come down with a case of "popeye", a bacterial malady that has made his left eye bulge and cover over with a blister-like protective weirdness. He acts just fine, his eating habits haven't changed, and he still blows bubbles, but today I changed his tank and treated it with a medication made for the illness. It's not a disease, thankfully, but it sure does look weird!

I'm always nervous when treating Bettas. Hell, just changing his tank makes me sweat, especially if I have to use tap water and treatment (if I have it, I use distilled water). He's a tough little guy though; we've had him for nearly four years. That's getting up there, so I suppose I should expect an illness once in a while. This is the first time he's been ill. Not bad!

16 comments :

  1. Fish get the weirdest diseases...

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  2. It would be freakin-weird of humans got "popeye",what a image.

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  3. Ach! Thanks for the mental image, HJ!

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  4. Heavens Pink Eye is bad enough, now I have an image of a pink popeye..

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  5. LOL I read the comments and they are pretty much what I kept thinking too!

    Poor Josef, I'm sure it's not very pleasant... :(

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  6. Poor little Josef. I like his name, by the way. Who's he named for?

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  7. His full name is Emperor Josef. He's named for Emperor Josef II of Austria, who reigned most of the time that Mozart lived in Vienna.

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  8. I named him that because he's an "emperor" Betta.

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  9. Four years is a pretty old age for a betta. You have been lucky so far. They are nice fish, to be sure. Lots of personality.

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  10. And not only do fish get the weirdest diseases, the diseases have the weirdest names, like "Ick" - kind of sounds like what it is.

    Hope Josef gets better soon!

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  11. And not only do fish get the weirdest diseases, the diseases have the weirdest names, like "Ick" - kind of sounds like what it is.

    Hope Josef gets better soon!

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  12. Poor little Josef. I like his name, by the way. Who's he named for?

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  13. I named him that because he's an "emperor" Betta.

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