10 Gallon Tank My Betta Has An Injured Mouth, What Should I Do?

So my poor little betta buddy seems to have injured his mouth somehow. It's hard to tell how bad it is because he's hiding and refuses to come out of hiding and won't eat. My guess to how he got it is he went for a food pellet in the pebbles and missed, he was perfectly fine yesterday.
I've never had a betta injure their mouth before so I am unsure of how to respond or any medication to use that could help speed up the healing / protect him from infections why'll he recovers. I know some common fish medications like Melafix and Primafix are dangerous to bettas so I have no clue what to use. I also don't own a hospital tank, so any treatment I give him would also have to be safe for the corydoras he shares the tank with. I'll attach an image of him healthy and a image of his now red mouth. Feels like with each new fish I adopt something new happens I'm not prepared for.

 

What a beautiful betta!!! Poor little baby!!!!

I would suggest doing small frequent water changes every other day to keep your water pristine and help ward off infection. Clean water is the best medicine!!! If you don't already have some Indian almond leaves in your tank, you could add some of those. They help with the healing process and have slight antibacterial properties. IAL won't hurt your corys. Stress Guard by Seachem may help some; it acts like a bandage for fish.

I would keep a close eye on his mouth to make sure that doesn't get any worse. If it does seem to get worse, you can try doing some aquarium salt baths. Follow the instructions on the aquarium salt package (usually a half of a teaspoon for a gallon of water). Make sure the water in the bath matches the temp of his tank water. You could even scoop out some of his tank water for the bath. Completely dissolve the aquarium salt in the water, and keep him in the bath for 15 to 20 minutes. You can use any kind of container for the bath. I use clean disposable plastic food containers.

To tempt him to eat, you could try soaking his food in garlic juice. If he goes for it, then the garlic juice will help his immune system.

Right now, this is first aid. If his injury gets much worse, then you may have to move on to an antibiotic. But it's best to avoid that unless you absloutely have to use it. It is always best to avoid antibiotics if you can help it.


I hope this helps, and I hope he bounces back quickly!!! Such a pretty boy!!!

 

What a beautiful betta!!! Poor little baby!!!!

I would suggest doing small frequent water changes every other day to keep your water pristine and help ward off infection. Clean water is the best medicine!!! If you don't already have some Indian almond leaves in your tank, you could add some of those. They help with the healing process and have slight antibacterial properties. IAL won't hurt your corys. Stress Guard by Seachem may help some; it acts like a bandage for fish.

I would keep a close eye on his mouth to make sure that doesn't get any worse. If it does seem to get worse, you can try doing some aquarium salt baths. Follow the instructions on the aquarium salt package (usually a half of a teaspoon for a gallon of water). Make sure the water in the bath matches the temp of his tank water. You could even scoop out some of his tank water for the bath. Completely dissolve the aquarium salt in the water, and keep him in the bath for 15 to 20 minutes. You can use any kind of container for the bath. I use clean disposable plastic food containers.

To tempt him to eat, you could try soaking his food in garlic juice. If he goes for it, then the garlic juice will help his immune system.

Right now, this is first aid. If his injury gets much worse, then you may have to move on to an antibiotic. But it's best to avoid that unless you absloutely have to use it. It is always best to avoid antibiotics if you can help it.


I hope this helps, and I hope he bounces back quickly!!! Such a pretty boy!!!

Thank-you for such a detailed response. I’ll buy some almond leaves. I’ve been recommended them for many illnesses. Hopefully he improves fast and uneventfully.

 

Here are some more images of his injury, sorry for the poor quality, I took it with my phone. I got him to eat by effectively clouding the water with dust of food which he went for over the large bits. I also ordered some leaves so hopefully they arrive soon. There isn't a chance the corydoras would of attacked him, would they? Just trying to understand how he could of hurt himself so badly.

 

Here are some more images of his injury, sorry for the poor quality, I took it with my phone. I got him to eat by effectively clouding the water with dust of food which he went for over the large bits. I also ordered some leaves so hopefully they arrive soon. There isn't a chance the corydoras would of attacked him, would they? Just trying to understand how he could of hurt himself so badly.

That's so sad, I had the same thing happen with a juvenile platy and she literally ripped her entire mouth off. It was horrible. It happens when they try to get food in between the gravel and they don't realize they're getting hurt. It's brutal. I refuse to keep fish on gravel because of it. Cory's need sand also since they sift the sand through their mouth and barbells to find food.

You really need to get him into a hospital tank. He needs pristine water and no stress. Definitely no substrate since he will pick at it and injure himself more. You can use a shoebox size plastic tub from the dollar store if you can't get a hospital tank, with a betta if you do large daily water changes you'll be able to get away with no filter but a light airstone might help.

Don't use salt please. Would you pour salt in your wounds? 'nuff said.

I recently had my betta go through my filter and mangle herself a bit, but I stuck her right in a hospital tank with methylene blue and a product called res-q, and she's almost better. Look at my most recent post for pics of that.

I would recommend a hospital tank with at least methylene blue, and res-q if you can find that as well. Do large (50%-80%) water changes daily or the ammonia might build up.

Don't feed!! This will foul the water and potentially reinjure. Bettas can go weeks safely with no food.

Really it's important that he gets into a hospital, too much going in the main tank. Oh and you'll need a nano heater as well, but they're cheap (and a hide)

 

Hi,

Sorry, but you will find differing opinions on this site. These are all opinions, but based on differing experiences. I have kept bettas for 5 and a half years now, and I can stand by using aquarium salt as a remedy for injuries.

Aquarium salt is used in such small amounts that it is not the same as pouring salt onto an open wound. It is beneficial in that it helps to heal wounds. Think of how much ocean water can help heal a cut.

The corys did not hurt him. I do agree with Fae in that he probably hurt himself by getting his mouth/head lodged under one of the stones in your tank, possibly.

Bettas can go aproximately 14 days without eating, but that is not optimal at all. Nutrition is part of keeping up the immune system. Eating small amounts of very nutritious food will only help. I stand by my recommendation of letting him eat if he will, especially if the food is soft after soaking in water or garlic juice.

If you feel that it would be best to put him into a hospital tank, then please do so. He will need daily water changes since it will be a smaller container, and a heater, as Fae said.

Again, I hope he gets better fast!!! Best wishes!!!

 

Thank-you for the support so far. But things have seem to have gone from bad to worse. My Betta has gotten an infection on his wounded mouth. I’m treating the tank with Fungus Cure which is why the water is green in hopes of curing it. I also have an almond leaf in the tank but it’s only been in there for a few days now.
Does anyone know what it is? I’ve had it grow on another bettas before when they had an injured dorsal fin. It appears as a white hairy ball with a creamish colored core. After rough movement from the fish the ball shakes off and a new one slowly takes its place. Is this a bacteria or a fungus, and more importantly, will this fungus cure kill it off so my betta can continue healing? Should I be using a bacteria antibiotic instead like E.M Erythromycin? Should I use both? My luck with curing fish in the past has been… Poor.
On a brighter note he has at-least become slightly more active, and I even managed to get him to eat his first proper meal in almost a week.

 

So it appears my little betta will recover from his injury and infection. His behavior is still a bit reclusive but he’s eatting properly and daily again and both his mouth and the fungal infection are looking much better. Hopefully in the next few days the last traces of the infection and injury will heal up completely and things will return to normal.
thank-you for all the advice in how to handle this unfortunate situation. If nothing else it helped put me at ease why’ll my betta slowly recovered.
(The green tint is due to API Fungus Cure)