# open sore on betta female



## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

This isn't my fish, but I feel bad for her. Heres a backstory on this fish.

She's huge. A very big VT female. She could almost be a King betta. And she's aggressive, so she was never placed in a 10 gallon tank with other females because of it. She was living in a vase and is now living in a 2.5 Betta Bow.

A few months ago (in August) she was placed inside a cup (from the store where she was bought) during a water change. She jumped and went unnoticed on the floor for about 15 minutes. Possibly a little longer. Once it was noticed that she was on the floor she was cautiously picked up to see if she was still alive (because she was rather dried out) and since she was still alive she was quickly put back into the cup along with some stress coat and i'm guessing some betta fix.

She was put back in a vase for awhile (water was changed every couple of days) to be medicated and watched closely because she had patches of scales that had turned a rusty brown (she's normally greenish i think) because im guessing they dried out? After she seemed healthy enough to be put back in her 2.5 she was.

Apparently she was doing fine up until a week or so ago? I was told a small patch of scales had disappeared, which was one of the groups of scales that had turned brown. Then a day or so after that it looked like something took a bite out of her, its in a place where she can't bite herself, but it looks as though a chunk of flesh has rotted away? I saw it for myself and it was all white and.. just.. it looked as though it probably hurt alot.

I told my friend to take her out right away and put her in a vase and be sure to change her water every day. She put in some i think its called Maracyn 2, because her wound i guess started bleeding some after. That was about 3 days ago i believe and she's not much better but she isn't bleeding anymore.

What could this be? And what can help her? It doesn't seem like septicemia, because she eats like a pig, is active, no clamped fins and doesn't have popeye or colour loss.


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

From what all i can remember:


Housing 
What size is your tank? 1/2 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 78oF
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No, the light on the top of the tank keeps it toasty and at an even temperature.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon betta pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? Every other day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? unsure, i think about once a month
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? unsure 50-100?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? dechlorinator & stress coat usually i believe.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? small patch of brown scales has fallen off and is showing her flesh though it looks as though something has taken a bite out.

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? nothing has changed

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?hikari betta revive and maracyn 2
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Jumped out of a cup and was out of the water for about 15 minutes at least.

How old is your fish (approximately)? at least 6 months


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

> Maintenance
> How often do you perform a water change? unsure, i think about once a month
> What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? unsure 50-100?
> What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? dechlorinator & stress coat usually i believe.


I know you said this is not your fish, but it would really help her if she had a bit more room. A .5 gallon is really small and is actually harder to maintain then larger tanks because they need to have the water changed at least every other day. If not, ammonia will build up rather quickly and it can burn the fish or even kill it if they ammonia level gets too high. If the owner is unwilling to get a bigger tank, more frequent water changes will do the fish a world of good :-D 



> mall patch of brown scales has fallen off and is showing her flesh though it looks as though something has taken a bite out.


Hmmm...
do you know if there is any white, fuzzy stuff around the missing scales part?

Does the missing scale part look like the missing scales on this fish? Kind of like something is eating the scales away??


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

Its a 2.5, not a .5 lol. Its a 2.5 BettaBow, with a filter. There is no fuzzyness, i'm checking with her right now to see if Avril's (the fish) sore looks similar to that.


---edit


Okay, she said that Avril's scales, the ones that were orange turned white and peeled off, similar to a sunburn. She said they were not fuzzy though, just that they turned white like that.


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

Apparently one of the sores actually DOES look a little fuzzy and the other one just looks like an open wound but without any bleeding. :\


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

> Its a 2.5, not a .5 lol. Its a 2.5 BettaBow, with a filter. There is no fuzzyness, i'm checking with her right now to see if Avril's (the fish) sore looks similar to that.


Oh, OK. 2.5 is much better 



> Apparently one of the sores actually DOES look a little fuzzy and the other one just looks like an open wound but without any bleeding. :\ Yesterday 11:09 PM


Do either of these sound correct?


> *Bacterial Infection/Open Red Sores*
> •Symptoms: Betta has open red sores or red patches (that aren’t ammonia burns), lethargy, no apetite, clamped, sits at bottom or top, color loss.
> •Treatment: Perform daily 100% water changes and clean the gravel thoroughly (at least 3/4 water change for larger tanks). Treat the entire tank. Treat conservatively with Aq.Salt at 1-2tsp/gal but do not continue for more than 10 days. If that fails, use API Tetracycline, API Erythromycin, API Triple Sulfa OR Mardel’s Maracyn I & II. PP is also effective.





> *Columnaris*
> •Symptoms: White spots on mouth, edges of scales and fins, Cottony Growth that eats away at the mouth, Fins rapidly disingrate, starting at the edges
> Gray areas around head and gills, As the disease progresses the gray lesions may change in color to yellow/brown/red, Lesions often occur in front of the dorsal causing a “saddleback” appearance, Lethargic, Loss of appetite, Clamped, Gasping for air
> •Treatment: There are 2 versions of Columnaris: chronic and acute. Chronic Columnaris can take days to progress while acute can kill within a day. It is contagious so isolate sick fish. If more than one fish shows symptoms then treat the entire tank. Perform daily 100% water change in small tanks or ¾ water change in larger tanks. Make sure to clean the gravel. Treat with Aq.Salt: add 1 tsp/gal Aquarium Salt 3 times, 12 hours apart so that you end up with 3 times the normal concentration. Do NOT raise the temperature as it thrives in temps over 85*F, however, lowering the temperature does not seem to help fight it. Combine salt treatment with Mardel’s Coppersafe, Maracyn I & II, API Erythromycin, OR API Triple Sulfa, combined with Jungle’s Fungus Eliminator (if possible).


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

Unfortunately no. She doesn't have cotton around her mouth, she hasn't lost her appetite and her fins are fine. She swims around like a normal betta and comes up to the side of the glass to yell at you like she's always done (not a friendly fish). She also still has all her colour. :\


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

I've been trying to do my own research on whats wrong with her but I keep coming up with the same things you found. Nothing quite seems to be exactly what she has, but it could still be either of those and just taking a long time for it to show up correctly.
She's already being medicated with Maracyn 2 and I believe Jungle fungus treatment. She's getting 100% water changes as well. I'm working on seeing if we can get a good picture of her.


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