Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 2.5 gal Eclipse tank with a 1 yr. old male Betta and 1 Emerald Cory . While doing a water change and glass cleaning inside the tank I must have injured the Betta. Up until that point both fish were doing very well for the past year, active and eating well with varied foods. After cleaning the tank I noticed the Betta hiding in the log. When he finally did come out I noticed a small circular pink shaped wound about the size of his eye, on the side of his face. It was not there before. They are kept on the kitchen table and we see them all the time.

How do you recommend treating the wound? All water parameters are within normal limits: ph 7.0, ammonia and nitrites are zero, and nitrates 5-10. The tank temperature is maintained between 78-79( /-) 1 degree. I have one small resin log with fake plants attached and a small gravel base. I have an air stone and an internal temperature monitor. They are fed blood worms, brine shrimp, shrimp pellets, carnivore pellets and I alternate different brands of Betta food for the Betta.

Thank you so much for your help.

You've got yourself one spoiled little betta. Sounds like he may have just rubbed his face raw. Try some melafix for the recommended time frame. Keep me posted of improvements or just the status of how everyone's doing.
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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Hi,
His injuries were worse than they first appeared. The swelling has gone down alot on the side of his face. He had some localized tissue damage below his eye. I think it has permanently effected his vision in that eye, possibly due to the swelling that had been on that side of his face.

I am using Maracyn Plus, a liquid Trimethoprin Sulfa medication that uses special technology to adhere to the body of the fish when added to the water. Tomorrow will be the 3rd and last dose of the first round of treatment. I will most likely do another round. One dose in tank on day 1, 3 and 5. With what appears to have been more tissue damage then first estimated, and possible eye involvement I feel it is important to do another round of medication. I keep the tank at 79-80 degrees. All water parameters are good. I will vacuum the tank again this weekend.

He mostly hangs out in the bottom corner, or in his log where he sleeps at night He has come up for food each day, but only eats one bite and goes back down. I am heartbroken for him. With daily improvement that he has had, I feel I have to give him a chance as opposed to putting him down. It takes time to mend. Wish us luck.

Wishing you luck, and I promoted your post as well so maybe others can give their input.
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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Hi,

My Betta, Drake, is still spending most of his time in the log at the bottom of the tank. That does not surprise me, being he was injured.

I picked up frozen blood worms last night. They gave me one cube to try on him to try to entice him to eat. I also picked up some garlic drops to pick up his appetite.

This morning he did not come out of the log. So I gently raised the log a little, about 1/2 inch and put it down again. He came out after that and went straight up to the surface and came right back down. He did not seem interested in the blood worms, though he eats the freeze dried ones. I sprinkle a few of Wardleys Tropical Crumbles. He ate one of those when they fell to the bottom.

I am almost positive he only has vision in one eye now. He could always spot a piece of food in a flash. Not anymore. He does see with the one eye. How much or if that same eye was effected from the injury on the other side of his head, I do not know.

I give him his last dose of the first round of three treatments with Maracyn Plus today. He seems to have healed up nicely. The swelling is all down on that side. His eye on that side is a still little cloudy. Whether or not that will clear up I do not know. It might have been injured, indirectly, from the swelling on that side of his head. The direct injury was below the eye, which is now cloudy, by about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. I will do another round of 3 treatments with the Maracyn plus to make sure there is no lasting infection from the trauma.

Time will tell. I wish he would eat more, but I bet his jaw hurts from the original injury and swelling. I think he is hungry, takes one bite of food, it hurts and he stops. He definitely did chow down one pellet this morning. It does my heart good. The Cory Cat still sleeps in the log with the Betta at night and he never did before. It is strange, but I think he knows. When I move in a few months and set up a bigger tank, I am going to get 5 or 6 more Cory's, as they are schooling fish.

You know what really helps...people like you caring. Thank you so much. All we can do is wait it out. I thank you for keeping in touch. If I could just get him to eat more than one pellet a day. Today is the 6th day. He was injured on the 23rd. Maybe one pellet a day will sustain him until he feels better.

Take care!

Well I hope he pulls through this one. He's got a friend, so that's good. Everyone needs friends. Continue to keep us posted on how he's doing.
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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Hi,

I just wanted to update you. I bought a Hagen Marina Multi Breeder unit that hangs inside the aquarium. It is 8x4x4.25. This has helped my Betta get to his food much easier. He ate several blood worms today over 3 small feedings. He actually hit the surface of the water like a Bass catching a surface insect on a lake. He jumps us and snaps the blood worm and twists. He has not been able to do that since his injury.

I can't explain how good it is to see him progressing. I know he is not happy about being isolated but until he has time to convalesce and eat well, this is where he stays.

My Cory cat came up on the front side of the Breeder Unit and stayed there up against the side for one or two minutes as my Betta came up to him. Remember, for most of the past week the Cory spent each night in the log with the Betta, something he never does.

Well it looks like the New Year will have a bright side to it after all. Once again thank you so much for keeping touch and showing your concern. I will let you know when he is strong enough to release back into the aquarium again and is better able to catch his food in a larger body of water.

Happy New Year!