Worried about my betta shaking his head and flashing occasionally

Overall he seems so be doing pretty well. He’s making a big bubble nest (which he usually doesn’t do), he even tried flaring (which he also doesn’t do at all lol), and his tail is healing.
Recently, I noticed him shaking his head and flashing occasionally (he’s not scratching on anything, he’s just swimming really fast). He also seems to be kind of lethargic. Today I noticed either a dead or infected scale on his head and other scales on his head are also slightly pointing out. I can’t tell if the scale has any cotton like growth, but I really hope it doesn’t. I’ll try to take a better tomorrow.


I’ve thought about it being velvet, columnaris, HITH, or maybe there being copper in the water (I’m going to get a test to check for that). Maybe it’s some kind of other infection? Anyone know what this could be? Could it be any of the things I mentioned above? Any thoughts would help.

 

Just a scale thats flaking off, its normal for them to be white/transparent. Its most likely just "itching" or "annoying" him so he's shaking his head. It will flake off eventually or get scraped off. Its normal for a scale to flake off here or there, especially if theres any rough decor.

I would add some extra Tannin extract and extra water changes for faster healing and to eliminate any stress. Nothing big to freak about! But i would double check your decor. I do know the Bettalog made for bettas actually has rough edges I had to sand beforehand.

 

Just a scale thats flaking off, its normal for them to be white/transparent. Its most likely just "itching" or "annoying" him so he's shaking his head. It will flake off eventually or get scraped off. Its normal for a scale to flake off here or there, especially if theres any rough decor.

I would add some extra Tannin extract and extra water changes for faster healing and to eliminate any stress. Nothing big to freak about! But i would double check your decor. I do know the Bettalog made for bettas actually has rough edges I had to sand beforehand.

Tysm! I was so worried something might of been really wrong. Especially when he was shaking his head. I’ve never seen a fish do that before.
I don’t have any rough decor in the tank except for possibly the water bottle I use to regulate the filter. He’s building his bubble nest there, so maybe he accidentally scraped himself on there. I’ll check it tomorrow to make sure there are no sharp edges.
I’m planning on added tannins to his tank. Do you happen to know if Numi Roobios Tea would be safe?

 

Tysm! I was so worried something might of been really wrong. Especially when he was shaking his head. I’ve never seen a fish do that before.
I don’t have any rough decor in the tank except for possibly the water bottle I use to regulate the filter. He’s building his bubble nest there, so maybe he accidentally scraped himself on there. I’ll check it tomorrow to make sure there are no sharp edges.
I’m planning on added tannins to his tank. Do you happen to know if Numi Roobios Tea would be safe?

From what I read, their brand is real red Rooibos leaves with no caffeine or additives, however they do make Rooibos tea with added flavors , just make sure the one you get is the Rooibos tea with no flavors added

 

From what I read, their brand is real red Rooibos leaves with no caffeine or additives, however they do make Rooibos tea with added flavors , just make sure the one you get is the Rooibos tea with no flavors added

It looks like the scale fell off and he’s acting normal again. He had me so worried lol. I fixed the filter to make sure there’s nothing he could potentially hurt himself on. I bought the Numi Roobios Tea and I just wanted to double check if it was safe. Ty!

 

From what I read, their brand is real red Rooibos leaves with no caffeine or additives, however they do make Rooibos tea with added flavors , just make sure the one you get is the Rooibos tea with no flavors added

I just added the roobios tea. I made sure to get the one without the flavors. I keep overthinking it because it doesn’t say that the tea is 100% roobios, but it does say it’s pure roobios. The only thing I’m the ingredient list is organic roobios though. I put in 2 tbsp per gallon. Sorry to bother you again lol, but how do your bettas normally react when you first put the tea in?