My Betta Has Scale Loss On His Head

So yesterday I did the recommended once a week fasting and my betta got really upset. Anyways he will scour his gravel looking for food and I'm pretty sure he scraped his head doing that. His water conditions are fine and he is in a 5.5 gal

I measured them Sunday and his pH is around 7-8 and he doesn't have any nitrate readings
His tank is 76 I just did a 40% water change on Sunday also

I think he's just like bulldozing his little head into the gravel? Not sure what I can do to make him stop but apparently he doesn't like it when I skip a feeding day?

Any suggestions to prevent this in the future?

 

Hello!! Sorry to here that about your betta. Honestly I never have did the day of fasting as my previous betta would shun me!! But, I also didnt do it because he never got constipated or anything, and I never let him over eat. I am also concerned that you said the nitrate was 0, how long have you had the tank? Also did you cycle it?? Because any established betta tank should have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 20 nitrate

 

Hello!! Sorry to here that about your betta. Honestly I never have did the day of fasting as my previous betta would shun me!! But, I also didnt do it because he never got constipated or anything, and I never let him over eat. I am also concerned that you said the nitrate was 0, how long have you had the tank? Also did you cycle it?? Because any established betta tank should have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 20 nitrate

I didn't cycle it because I bought him at PetSmart a month ago and they didn't tell me about cycling but I know about it now lol I don't think his water conditions are the issue

he keeps head-butting his gravel for food

he keeps head-butting his gravel for food

I just fed his frozen bloodworms and they sort of disperse all over the tank (I also give him pellets)

 

I didn't cycle it because I bought him at PetSmart a month ago and they didn't tell me about cycling but I know about it now lol I don't think his water conditions are the issue

I also think it's water conditions. You only posted ph and nitrates. Do you no the ammonia and nitrites numbers? These are very toxic for fish and if you have 0 nitrates either you have an extremely heavily planted tank or you have lots of ammonia.

 

ok so
nitrate - 20
nitrite- 0
pH - 7
kH- 0
gH- 30
here's his test strip results right dis second

I think his problem is that he's shoving his head into the gravel looking for food tbh

 

76 degrees is pretty chilly for a Betta. 78 is better, but if you can keep him at 80-82 he'd be much happier as Bettas are a tropical fish and like warmer water.

Ive had Bettas for over 25 years. Ive never had one run their head through the substrate or get "upset" about a missed feeding (I miss feeding with all my fish regularly on purpose to condition them to not eat every day). I'm not saying that yours isn't doing that, but Ive just never seen it. He shouldnt think there's food in the substrate as that's not normal, and there shouldnt be food in the substrate unless you overfeed him.

A Betta in an uncycled tank isn't a problem if you're doing a couple of things right: First, don't overfeed. Second, weekly water changes. Bettas have a very small bioload and shouldnt cause massive ammonia spike with proper feedings, so having the tank cycled from the get-go isn't a problem for them. Especially in larger tanks, and a 5.5 is a good size. Do you know your ammonia level? Can you test for it?

 

76 degrees is pretty chilly for a Betta. 78 is better, but if you can keep him at 80-82 he'd be much happier as Bettas are a tropical fish and like warmer water.

Ive had Bettas for over 25 years. Ive never had one run their head through the substrate or get "upset" about a missed feeding (I miss feeding with all my fish regularly on purpose to condition them to not eat every day). I'm not saying that yours isn't doing that, but Ive just never seen it. He shouldnt think there's food in the substrate as that's not normal, and there shouldnt be food in the substrate unless you overfeed him.

A Betta in an uncycled tank isn't a problem if you're doing a couple of things right: First, don't overfeed. Second, weekly water changes. Bettas have a very small bioload and shouldnt cause massive ammonia spike with proper feedings, so having the tank cycled from the get-go isn't a problem for them. Especially in larger tanks, and a 5.5 is a good size. Do you know your ammonia level? Can you test for it?

I don't have ammonia test right now
But I have been doing really regular water changes his tail ripped last week when I was gone away so I was doing 20% changes daily and 40% weekly changes and his tail is healing well

I just did a 40% water change on Sunday so I doubt it is the ammonia in the tank
I give him a bit of bloodworms and they disperse all over the tank but I don't know why he still headbutts his gravel at the same angle... the scale loss happened last night I think maybe he scraped his head on his hut thing or something or probably the gravel

this was him swimming around last night

 

ok so
nitrate - 20
nitrite- 0
pH - 7
kH- 0
gH- 30
here's his test strip results right dis second

I think his problem is that he's shoving his head into the gravel looking for food tbh

The fish’s scales and fin membranes heal quickly, and there’s no need to use an anti-finrot or anti-fungus medication unless symptoms of either of these diseases becomes apparent. On the other hand, if the fish’s damage is severe and there are obvious patches of blood or muscle visible, preemptively treat against bacteria and fungus.

 

The fish’s scales and fin membranes heal quickly, and there’s no need to use an anti-finrot or anti-fungus medication unless symptoms of either of these diseases becomes apparent. On the other hand, if the fish’s damage is severe and there are obvious patches of blood or muscle visible, preemptively treat against bacteria and fungus.

yeah its a pretty clean scrape right now I'll keep an eye out thanks

 

If you're giving him bloodworms, only give him 2 or 3 at a time, and only once a day. Dont put a whole cube in there.

 

yeah its a pretty clean scrape right now I'll keep an eye out thanks

If I was you and he keeps doing that I would switch the substrate

 

My daughter accidentally injured our Betta and it had some scales removed from the top of its head. I've put in Indian Almond leaves in the tank and it looks like it's healing much better.

 

I just saw the way he was swimming, not sure if it is just me or what, but does he always swim that way? by the way he is beautiful!

 

Have we ruled out the decorations? That seems excessive for scale loss from digging through the gravel. My male in the 9g has tried to escape and ended up with a missing scale or 4 from jumping into things but never to the point of a totally different color.

I also recently added some shrimp that squeezed under a piece of driftwood which he seemed to enjoy chasing around the tank, I assumed he tried to wiggle into a spot too small in a failed attempt to get them while they hid.

 

If I was you and he keeps doing that I would switch the substrate

I think its probably because of bloodworm overfeeding its really hard to chop out an appropriate amount I need to go more conservative

 

I just saw the way he was swimming, not sure if it is just me or what, but does he always swim that way? by the way he is beautiful!

a mod on here thinks the filter might be too strong and pulling him
he is suuuupppperrr active

 

Have we ruled out the decorations? That seems excessive for scale loss from digging through the gravel. My male in the 9g has tried to escape and ended up with a missing scale or 4 from jumping into things but never to the point of a totally different color.

I also recently added some shrimp that squeezed under a piece of driftwood which he seemed to enjoy chasing around the tank, I assumed he tried to wiggle into a spot too small in a failed attempt to get them while they hid.

I ordered him a betta leaf
I think it was either him scraping his head on the castle thingy or him headhunting the gravel because I think I may be putting too many bloodworms in

 

oh I see what u mean in the video
he sometimes swims around and propels himself forward he doesn't always do that I just think he's kinda funny
he can swim around his tank normal too

 

Just a thought, but the scrape is extremely clean, high and one sided to have been caused my the gravel IMO. I second sinned4g63 with the suspicion of other decor or jumping. If it was caused by gravel I would expect to see spots missing on the sides of his gills and under his chin as well. Especially if this is a repeated behavior like you are describing.
Almond leaves are a great addition just make sure to rinse them first to get the particles off.
I would personally add a sponge to your filter (intake and outflow) to dampen the flow to see if that helps and if you have silk plants (cheap @ craft stores) add those for more hiding spots. My logic is the current looks pretty strong for a betta so he could have gotten pushed or stuck because of it causing the scrape. And intakes for filters are often a cause of injury if they are too strong for the fish to fight. Further decor means more hiding spots so less likely to feel the need to cram into too small of spots and scrape on decor.

 

I ordered him a betta leaf
I think it was either him scraping his head on the castle thingy or him headhunting the gravel because I think I may be putting too many bloodworms in

It's possible. Mine hunts his food and the shrimp pretty fiercely sometimes. One of my previous bettas had fake grass in his tank that he loved to rest in but it was tearing his fins pretty bad because it was pointy plastic. These are pics from yesterday. Today you could hardly tell though as its started healing already.

 

My daughter accidentally injured our Betta and it had some scales removed from the top of its head. I've put in Indian Almond leaves in the tank and it looks like it's healing much better.

Great Idea!! I totally forgot those even existed! Havent heard about them in the fish community in forever! Thanks for reminding me that I need to get some!!

 

I do also second what's been mentioned about the filters, by the video looks like he got pushed down once or twice by the output. The filter in my 5 gallon has both a sponge filter over the intake and output as a baffle which make it loads easier on my betta and shrimp to enjoy their space. My old crowntail lost some fin tips due to that filter before the sponge. He liked surfing in the flow though.. haha

 

I would be concerned that the current of the filter is rushing him against some of the decorations in the tank and injuring him. So, one answer to your question to keep him from banging his head in the future is to baffle or turn down the filter so it isn't washing him against anything and he has more control.

 

Edit: Added photo. The missing scales are the light patches from when he liked to lay on top of his heater and constantly got stuck...

It's possible. Mine hunts his food and the shrimp pretty fiercely sometimes. One of my previous bettas had fake grass in his tank that he loved to rest in but it was tearing his fins pretty bad because it was pointy plastic. These are pics from yesterday. Today you could hardly tell though as its started healing already. View attachment 509904 View attachment 509905

My betta who is well over 3 never got his scales back They can live happy healthy lives without them as long as no additional damage is done and they are kept clean so they can heal properly.

 

Just a thought, but the scrape is extremely clean, high and one sided to have been caused my the gravel IMO. I second sinned4g63 with the suspicion of other decor or jumping. If it was caused by gravel I would expect to see spots missing on the sides of his gills and under his chin as well. Especially if this is a repeated behavior like you are describing.
Almond leaves are a great addition just make sure to rinse them first to get the particles off.
I would personally add a sponge to your filter (intake and outflow) to dampen the flow to see if that helps and if you have silk plants (cheap @ craft stores) add those for more hiding spots. My logic is the current looks pretty strong for a betta so he could have gotten pushed or stuck because of it causing the scrape. And intakes for filters are often a cause of injury if they are too strong for the fish to fight. Further decor means more hiding spots so less likely to feel the need to cram into too small of spots and scrape on decor.

how do you recommend putting the sponge in
and yeah I have been working on getting more decor for him I am new to fish keeping so I recently had to take out a big plastic one because his tail ripped

 

I would be concerned that the current of the filter is rushing him against some of the decorations in the tank and injuring him. So, one answer to your question to keep him from banging his head in the future is to baffle or turn down the filter so it isn't washing him against anything and he has more control.

what do u mean by baffle
and his filter is all the way down already and I taped over the water outflow to make it a lot slower already

 

what do u mean by baffle
and his filter is all the way down already and I taped over the water outflow to make it a lot slower already

A baffle is something you put on the outflow (the water the falls back into the tank) to slow the way it hits the water surface coming back into the tank. Also a sponge on the intake tube helps slow the water being pulled into the filter.

 

what do u mean by baffle
and his filter is all the way down already and I taped over the water outflow to make it a lot slower already

It actually looks like he's is being pushed away from the lower portion of the filter, so the outtake might be enough, but you maybe want to look into how to modify the lower portion of the tank's filtration.

 

I have tape over the waterfall portion
I'm not sure what I could do to make the input less strong
It seems like he is swimming fine to me
does anyone have more recommendations about how to do a sponge ?

 

Sponges are the easiest in my opinion. Search prefilter for ideas for the intake and for the outtake placing a sponge creatively (probably involving trimming) depending on how your outtake is shaped.
I would suggest staying away from the water bottle technique for the outtake unless you are very careful to avoid sharp edges.

 

I have tape over the waterfall portion
I'm not sure what I could do to make the input less strong
It seems like he is swimming fine to me
does anyone have more recommendations about how to do a sponge ?

That's a good start, I used a piece of plastic under the waterfall and poked holes in it for my 5g. My 30 gallon just has a square piece of sponge tucked into the part water flows out of and dips into the surface, there's virtually no force from the output.

 

I think I solved the problem!! I put more gravel in and the gravel made his caste harder to get into and out of
so I moved the gravel it
I think he might have been scraping his head on his way out

 

The Indian Almond Leaves are a miracle. My Betta looked badly injured but now is very close to being healed up after 2-3 days of inserting IAL.

 

¸

The Indian Almond Leaves are a miracle. My Betta looked badly injured but now is very close to being healed up after 2-3 days of inserting IAL.

he actually looks like he's healing already !! Ill keep that in mind tho thanks! <3