Help! Damaged Female Betta

[fishies2003]

Hello, today my female betta fish got stuck in one of the tank decorations, I have managed to get her out the decoration however now she has significant fin and scale damage. She has been back in the tank for a few hours but she has just lied on one of the plant leaves and hasn't ate when I fed them. I did an anti-fungus and fin rot treatment in the water to prevent further damage and infection, does anyone have any opinions on what else I can do for her? Is this length of time of minimal movement normal for the amount of trauma that she has gone through? I also need to clean my tank however I've now applied the treatment so how long should I wait till I can clean it.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Pictures of the Betta/tank please?

Clean water will heal fins and missing scales. 75%+ daily for a week, or until things get better. Aquarium salt can also be added to reduce infection chances.

What brands are you using for the treatments now?

 

[castor]

Without pictures . The most I can say is water changes every few days and add in an almond leaf

 

[fishies2003]

Sorry for not attaching a photo, this is my betta, she will not move off of this leaf. I’ve used the interpet anti fungus and finrot to attempt to prevent infection as that is all I had on hand. The tank is due a clean but I’m worried about moving her.

 

[castor]

She’s raw but not horrible . I wouldn’t worry about using any more anti fungal . I would use some medicine to help slime coat . And keep up with water changes . She should be growing new scales in a couple weeks and fins will start healing much sooner

 

[fishies2003]

She’s raw but not horrible . I wouldn’t worry about using any more anti fungal . I would use some medicine to help slime coat . And keep up with water changes . She should be growing new scales in a couple weeks and fins will start healing much sooner

Okay, thank you!

 

[castor]

You use too much anti fungal and strong antibacterial meds and you could burn her raw flesh . But if you have any , stress zyme or any of the health guard series will work . ( health guard series are amazing at keeping fish healthy too ) . If you have access to Indian almond leaves , those are the closest leaves to natural antibacterial they have in the wild . If not , melafix is good in very small doses . Bettas are sensitive to it . Half the dosage for what it says

 

[fishies2003]

Thanks, I have only done one dose and it’s been diluted of course. I have just noticed now that she’s come off of the plant she’s been resting on and she can barely swim, she mainly floats with the water and then does a few tail flicks which doesn’t allow her to swim much as she’s weak. Will she come back from this?

 

[castor]

Bettas are pretty hardy , she has a good amount of body size . And those injuries don’t look serious enough to be fatal . Give it a few days before you rely on her being more active. There is always the chance of freeing her or how she got stuck did internal damage though . That I can not say for . So give it a few days to see if she perks up . After a week though , she may have internal damage

 

[Essjay]

And do a water change every day. Clean water is the best way to help her heal.


Is the decoration still in the tank? Bettas are well know for trying to squeeze into places too small for them. If you want to keep the decoration take it out, let it dry then fill the hole with aquarium safe silicone. Leave it to cure for a few days before putting it back in the tank.

 

[fishies2003]

I’ve woken up this morning to find my betta has passed away. I think the shock and damage was too much for her. I’ve got rid of the decoration as I don’t want anything like that to happen to my other fish. Thank you for all your help thought.