Help, my betta's face is falling off.

[staredecisis]

It looks like on the right side of his face, like 2 little spots where scales fell off or something... I dunno if I'm looking at his bone, or skin, or what. They don't appear to be very deep, but his face definitely did not have them before. They are kind of dull white, but it is indented, so not Ich or Fungus.

I heard this is some kind of parasite.

Is this contagious? Should I quarantine? And what should I treat with?

Water params are:

pH: 6.8
Hardness: Moderate
Alkalinity: Ideal
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

He is the red betta in the 5 gallon split. Water temp 76-78. Oh, and the other night somehow my temp dropped real low to like 69-70, when I came home to find this, my bettas looked lethargic and pale. Slowly up'd the temp and now they are both jovial. Other than that, dunno what is wrong. But now, the indents.

The betta experts here have fixed all my problems in the past with 100% success, looking forward to your advice. Thank you!

 

[White Whale]

Try to keep the water temperature at a constant 85F and see if there is a change. It could be just a pale spot when he's cold.

 

[staredecisis]

Well, the water has been back to around 80 for a few days now, and last night is when it showed. It looks indented. Like he is missing scales or something....

 

[staredecisis]

Have I stumped the experts?? I'm pretty worried about this, it does not look healthy.....

 

[bkk_group]

Have I stumped the experts?? I'm pretty worried about this, it does not look healthy.....

i've been mulling it over for a bit now, i'll search around a bit more after work, it's never happened to me so i can't say from experience.

 

[bkk_group]

i found a medicine called "Hole-N-Head Guard" by jungle labs

Hole N Head Guard — Treats Hole-In-The-Head Disease. Formulated to treat hole-in-the-head disease which common to Gouramis, Discus, Oscars and other Cichlids. Characterized by pin-size holes or wounds in the head, the disease is caused by the protozoan hexamita. these parasites are usually intestinal in nature but they have the capability of penetrating the intestinal wall and spreading to other organs. In certain speciaes, Hexamita attacks the head region, causing tubular eruptions and holes, thus the term Hole in the Head. Poor water conditions and diet, overcrowding, and fluctuating water temperatures can cause this parasite to multiply. Details: Can treat every other day up to three treatments. Do a 25% water change before each treatment. Remove activated carbon during use.

i don't know if you can get this medicine where you are but at least the parasite has been diagnosed as "hexamita" so you can ask around and see if other medicines treat this.
best of luck stare

 

[staredecisis]

bkk always comes through! master of uncovering random but extremely helpful info.

His face is already looking better, I'm gonna try keeping the water super clean (not that I don't on a normal basis anyways) for a few more days, see how he does, and check around for that med.

Thanks a bunch bkk.

PS- I've been drooling over those wild bettas you showed me ever since I clicked the link. I'm gonna have to get one.. somehow..

 

[bkk_group]

bkk always comes through! master of uncovering random but extremely helpful info.

His face is already looking better, I'm gonna try keeping the water super clean (not that I don't on a normal basis anyways) for a few more days, see how he does, and check around for that med.

Thanks a bunch bkk.

PS- I've been drooling over those wild bettas you showed me ever since I clicked the link. I'm gonna have to get one.. somehow..

i'm soo glad your betta is feeling better you might not even need the med's now.
you know, i contacted the guy at the site i showed you, he won't ship to canada though i talked to atison in thailand and he was more than willing to ship me a pair of imbellis, spendens, smaragdina and malachai for $15 a pair plus $50 shipping. right to my door in canada. soo tempting, i talked to a local breeder here the other day and she was pretty confident that i could find some here in vancouver though so i don't know what to do

 

[staredecisis]

Yeah after my last experience online ordering fish, I've realized that even a 5% chance of DOA is a lot, for $60 in total after shipping, to just go to waste. Thankfully I only lost a couple bucks after the refund. I'd LOVE to find a breeder of crowntails locally, you found me that one guy who does the double tails, which is pretty cool. But no crownies, so far. Definitely haven't heard of any wild strains locally.

 

[bkk_group]

Yeah after my last experience online ordering fish, I've realized that even a 5% chance of DOA is a lot, for $60 in total after shipping, to just go to waste. Thankfully I only lost a couple bucks after the refund. I'd LOVE to find a breeder of crowntails locally, you found me that one guy who does the double tails, which is pretty cool. But no crownies, so far. Definitely haven't heard of any wild strains locally.

i'll be breeding my crown-tail but not for a few months. our super delta just mated with one of our double-tail females about 3 weeks ago now and looking at the fry i see an incredible looking fella with the biggest tail could it be...half-moon? i'll wait and see.

 

[staredecisis]

I saw some white females today, and I was really tempted to try and get some breeding going... white bettas are so pretty to me. But in the end, I don't have enough tanks to breed, so I regrettably held off.

Edit - Instead I picked up this crazy looking betta who has yellow fins with blue rimming, very solid colored dark green/yellow body. Never seen these colors in person. Pretty little guy.

 

[bkk_group]

ahh, the urge strikes again i know the feeling, i was at the local betta association meeting on sunday night and one of the breeders brought me a fish (for free even ), a copper plakat female (beautiful, golden with copper veins in fins), i was hoping she would notice "tahan" our copper boy but you know women, she went for the pretty boy "tom dang" (super delta). i even told her that he already had a girlfriend poor "tahan" flaring and trying soo hard to get her to notice him to no avail, "tom dang" has but to swish his impressive fins and the girls swoon

 

[staredecisis]

i was hoping she would notice "tahan" our copper boy but you know women, she went for the pretty boy "tom dang" (super delta). i even told her that he already had a girlfriend poor "tahan" flaring and trying soo hard to get her to notice him to no avail, "tom dang" has but to swish his impressive fins and the girls swoon

Wish there was some kind of local convention thingy in AZ I could go to.

I really gotta get pics of this yellow/blue guy. He is just awesome, very solid color patterns, and so odd.

 

[jourdy288]

Good to hear he made it.