Doyle

Okay, well I should start by introducing myself. My name is Leah, I am a wife and a mom of 3 children and many.. many animals lol I am new to the board, however I am not new to fish I have been keeping fish for around 9 years. I have fish that range from Niger Catfish to little corys. Right now I am dealing with a betta that I recently "adopted" from my college bound sister. She was going to flush the fish to put it out of its misery, however I wasn't exactly fond the idea so I took him home tonight. The fish apparently has chunks of flesh missing from its dorsal area and its fins are completely shredded. She had very rough plastic plants in the tank which I have removed. I infact cut myself on the plants while removing them. I immediately tested the water and surprisingly ammonia and nitrites are at 0. But none the less, this fish is very sick. It is floating at the top slightly on its side, however it hasn't given up on eating. He will chase after a pellet then go back to laying on it side at the top of the tank. I know Bettas are very sensitive to many medications and I would like to hear personal experiences with a similar situation and what has been used successfully. If anyone could help, please let me know! Thank you!

aquarist48

Good morning Doyle and Welcome to Fish Lore. Lots of Beta lovers on here that I'm sure will be glad to help you. Glad you saved the poor little fish from certain doom. My best advice is to keep his water pristine and add some Nova Aqua or Stress Coat or Prime. Some type of stress reliever that you may have on hand. Good luck. I'm sure you'll get more advice here shortly.

Lucy

Hi Doyle welcome to Fish Lore

Thank you for saving the betta from being flushed.
What size tank is he in? Any tank mates? Filter? Heater?

I'd def. advise Stress Coat along with Vita-Chem garlic guard and as aquarist said, pristine water.
A nice soft silk plant for him to rest on so he doesn't get too tired out.

Can you post a pic of him? That'll help us really see whats going on.
Good luck, I hope the little guy pulls through.

Doyle

Hey everyone.
From experience I added some Stress Coat right away. He is in a 2 gallon tank (the usual walmart special with the light and bubbler). His injuries seemed to be horrific yesterday when I posted this. But after the 20% water change and stress coat the fish seems strong enough to swim around and he is eating. It just seems very odd that this massive chunk is actually healing so much in just a day! It was bright pink with blood yesterday and today its white/light pink and smaller. Hopefully he will recover! I will try to take pics with my camera phone later. Thank you all!

Lucy

I'm glad he's looking better.
Keep up with the stress coat and keep his water pristine so it doesn't get infected.

ara

He eats - this is the most important factor for his recovery. Continue to keep his water clean and warm. He is going to get better and better every day.