# Missing Scales on head or something else?



## rachellp (Jun 24, 2020)

Housing: Glass tank 
How many gallons is your tank? 10
Does it have a filter? yes
Does it have a heater? yes 
What temperature is your tank? 77
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? yes
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? yes, two mystery snails 

Food:
What food brand do you use? Betta Min
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 3 pellets in am and 3 in pm

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? 1 time per 3 weeks
What percentage of water did you change? 50
What is the source of your water? tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? dip
What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? API Conditioner 

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water _before_ the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: I have never tested the water myself but have brought into pet store and it is within range 
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? Today 6/24
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Seems to be missing scales on head?
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Not at all 
Is your Betta still eating? You bet
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? No
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?NO
How long have you owned your Betta? 11 months
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? NO

Hi Friends!

I have had my Betta for 11 months and he has been a healthy boy. Today I noticed a small patch on his head with his scales missing. He is still eating and swimming around happily. It is possible he could have bumped it on something and it's not ICH, the pictures may look deceiving but it's not white/fuzzy. I don't know if this has anything to do with it but I added two mystery snails to the tank on Monday. OH and also he is a marble with the jumping gene. Any help would be awesome


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Welcome to the Forum!

Looks to be a scrape. The best thing you can do is keep his water clean. Vacuuming the substrate would be a start if you haven't been. Stick the plastic part down in the gravel and hold it there until the water runs clear. You may only be able to do a quarter of the tank at a time. I would up the water changes to two 25% per week with vacuum.

You can add Indian Almond Leave or plain Rooibos Tea. IAL and Rooibos have antibacterial and antifungal properties. You can float either one in his tank or brew a "tea" and pour in his tank. I do both. The water will tint brown. Neither will hurt the Mystery Snail. 

Keep watch on him and if it is only a scrape it should heal with water changes. The important thing is to keep his water clean and prevent infection.

BTW, what color Mystery Snail did you get? I bought some a week or so ago for my divided 20 long tanks and two smaller aquariums. Found a great site that sells them for $1.75-$2.25 depending on size.


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