Betta with open wound? Unsure of best treatment.

[Mctr08]

I was given a betta with what appeared to be some sort of wound on top of his head.

I put him in a 1.5gallon plastic tub with a heater (80°) and an almond leaf. I’ve been doing 50% water changes every day/other day and test for ammonia in between.

It has been about a week and unfortunately, the “wound” doesn’t seem to be getting any smaller though it is hard to tell. Otherwise he seems to be a healthy, active fish – constantly moving around and reacts to his surroundings.

How much longer do I keep him in the hospital tank? I have more almond leaves, aquarium salt, and Seachem Stress Guard. I also have a 5 gallon tank running, which currently has some java fern and two nerites.

I apologize for the poor photos, it was difficult to get a good one and I didn’t want to stress him out too much.

 

[Fishfur]

Unfortunately, none of the pics are close up enough to see useful details.

I can just see a patch I think must be the problem but the glare from a light makes it difficult to see anything but the fact it is there.

Images taken close up and in daylight would be better.

Do you have or can you get Methylene blue? It can often be very helpful, isn’t expensive and lasts forever. Not always easy to find in actual stores but typically easy enough to find online.

 

[Mctr08]

Unfortunately, none of the pics are close up enough to see useful details.

I can just see a patch I think must be the problem but the glare from a light makes it difficult to see anything but the fact it is there.

Images taken close up and in daylight would be better.

Do you have or can you get Methylene blue? It can often be very helpful, isn’t expensive and lasts forever. Not always easy to find in actual stores but typically easy enough to find online.

I tried my best but getting a photo was impossible. I have a grow bulb in a clamp fixture I usually use when taking photographs but even that did not work.

If you look at the first two photos when he was in the cup you can somewhat see a patch which is the "wound" in question. It looks like a cut but I am starting to wonder if there is a chance that its just part of his pattern or something.

I looked into the methylene blue and it stated:
Disorders that Methylene Blue is used to treat include the following:
- Nitrite Poisoning: Fish gasp for breath, have tan or brown gills, and rapid breathing movement known as "gilling."
- Ammonia Poisoning: Fish gasp for breath, red or purple gills, lethargic—may lay on the bottom, red streaks on body or fins.1
- Ichthyophthirius multifiliis: Small white spots on skin, fish scratches against objects.
- Oödinium pillularis: Also known as Velvet, this is actually caused by a parasite.
- Swim Bladder Disorder: Fish struggles to maintain proper position, floats upside down, swims with tail higher than the head.

I am not sure that he is suffering from any of those symptoms. What makes you suggest it? (Genuine question - I am not sure what to look for or what I am talking about). I do happen to have API General Cure, but I was under the impression that was for parasitic diseases, and this appears to be topical which I thought aquarium salt was used for but after some thorough research I did not end up using the salt (yet), and tried to use tannins.

Should I move him from the hospital tank to the 5 gallon I have instead? I am hesitant to add an almond leaf to that tank because I have nerites and I've heard low pH is not good for snails.

 

[Fishfur]

Methylene blue can be used to determine whether or not there is a wound, among other things and it also happens to be one of the very best anti fungal meds we have for fish.
It will stain fish where the slime coat is missing or broken. It can’t provide a specific diagnosis but can show the extent of a problem, which isn’t always visible to the naked eye.
If it is natural colour on this fish no staining will occur.

MB can be curative if used early enough in cases of columnaris that appear on the mouth area. It has antibacterial activity though it isn’t an antibiotic. It works best used directly on lesions, which is a technique I learned from a vet a long time ago.

The fish has to be caught, which creates some stress but the good usually outweighs the disadvantage of the stress. Fold some netting over the fish so it can’t jump and use a syringe to apply the MB liberally to the area. Use it undiluted, just as it comes from the bottle. This method never appears on the product label.

It can’t be overdosed this way as any excess rinses right off and it won’t stain tank decor or silicone this way, nor adversely affect the biofilter.
It has an indefinite shelf life because it’s a dye and is one of the more useful meds for any fish keeper to have on hand.

I’ve actually never heard of it being used to treat ammonia poisoning but it is the best antidote for nitrite poisoning and cyanide too, not that you’d be using cyanide. But it is sometimes used to stun fish so they can be caught in the wild.

Swim bladder disorder doesn’t really exist - problems with buoyancy can have numerous causes but none that would be aided by MB that I am aware of. SBD (swim bladder disease) is a catch all phrase used to describe buoyancy issues regardless of cause and all too often the bladder itself isn’t the problem.

 

[Fishfunn]

I was given a betta with what appeared to be some sort of wound on top of his head.

I put him in a 1.5gallon plastic tub with a heater (80°) and an almond leaf. I’ve been doing 50% water changes every day/other day and test for ammonia in between.

It has been about a week and unfortunately, the “wound” doesn’t seem to be getting any smaller though it is hard to tell. Otherwise he seems to be a healthy, active fish – constantly moving around and reacts to his surroundings.

How much longer do I keep him in the hospital tank? I have more almond leaves, aquarium salt, and Seachem Stress Guard. I also have a 5 gallon tank running, which currently has some java fern and two nerites.

I apologize for the poor photos, it was difficult to get a good one and I didn’t want to stress him out too much.

An open wound is serious, and you need to treat it with an antibiotic right away, specifically I would use SeaChem KanaPlex. Follow the directions on the package. With its weaken state, dont try to grab or manhandle the fish. Try to keep the stress level of the fish as calm as possible.

 

[MartyTheSnail]

My betta recently got a similar wound near his dorsal fin as well, he is recovering well so I’ll try to give you advice. I honestly didn’t do much for him besides clean water and dosing API Stress Coat as was suggested by an employee at Petco. I’m not sure if the Stress Coat did anything but clean water definitely helped prevent infection. I wish you and your fish the best of luck!

 

[Rose of Sharon]

Hi,

I'm with Fishfur....methylene blue directly on the wound, daily water changes, and maybe some aquarium salt for a couple of weeks. Tannin rich water is really good for Bettas, and is a preventative, but if there is an existing injury, usually something more is needed.

I would feed him some really good, protein rich foods to help with his immune system. Frozen foods are great, so frozen daphnia or brine shrimp would work. If you don't have access to frozen foods, then a really good pellet food with little to no additives or fillers is best...Omega One pellets, New Life Spectrum Thera +A, Ultra Fresh Betta Pro Shrimp Patties, or Fluval Bug Bites are all good choices.

If that spot is an actual lesion or sore that looks like something is eating into his flesh, or if it is, or tuns white/gray and patchy looking, then I would use an antibiotic. If this is the case, I would also research columnaris and the symptoms of that, just in case. I'm not saying that is what is going on, but it is always best to know what to look for just in case.

Antibiotics are tough on the kidney and liver of the fish, so it's best to use it only when it is absolutely necessary.

Hope this helps!