Waiting waiting waiting

The worst bit about not being prepared is having to wait for the stuff you need to move forward...stuff you should have had to begin with.

It can never be stressed enough that research is your number one priority before venturing into anything new.

But, when venturing into a new field, something unexpected will always crop up. This is when patience is your best friend.

My girls became infected with internal parasites. Research has shown me that this ailment is usually introduced through food. Nothing I could do about it. Nothing I could see, but definitely something I should have been prepared for.

When your fish are sick, there is nothing else you can do other than care for them, and you cant care for them if you don't have the right medications and treatment options on hand -- immediately! Otherwise, it's waiting...waiting...waiting.

The most common illnesses for Betta and the medications you need to treat them, and where to get them:

Velvet: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/velvet.htm
--- Treatment: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/quickcure.html#quickcure
This is excellent medication for Velvet, Ich, and most external parasites. If you are going to order it from the USA (and this is the best place to get it), then grab some other medications and SeaChem products while you're there to make the postage cost worthwhile.

Internal Parasites: http://bettaessentials.wikispaces.com/Sick+Betta+-+Internal+Parasites
--- Treatment: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumMedication2.html#metro
You cannot get this medication in Australia without first paying for a $60 vet consult and getting a prescription - and then forking out more $$$ for the actual medication. Or you can get it with your Velvet/Ick medication and products like Stability and Prime and pay a fraction of the cost.

Fin Rot: http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2011/06/betta-fin-rot.html
--- Treatment Options: http://bettasplendid.weebly.com/fin-rot-101.html
As with all Betta diseases, prevention is better than the cure, but, with Betta in particular (but with all fish in general), keeping the water quality up is paramount, but adding a little bit of aquarium salt and Indian Almond Leaf (IAL) tea in the water is a good to keep fin rot at bay. For Crown Tail (CT) Betta, get yourself a UV globe to fit into a standard table lamp and leave it on for an hour a day (be careful not to overheat the water/fish).

There are plenty of other things that can go wrong as you can see here, but if you get the above medications and a couple of other general things like Meth Blue, Kanaplax or TriSulpha, aquarium salt, and frozen peas, then you'll be covered for most eventualities and get away without having to wait...wait...wait...