My Bettas Gill Looks Like Its Been Ripped Off :( Pics And Video

[ThePiggy]

Has he always swam directly into the stream like that? Maybe he is using the water current to "scratch" the irritation on his gills.

 

[dem0nz]

he does sometimes but he has been staying in the current a lot more than usual
any ideas what could be? or how it can be fixed

 

[ReMz]

yikes... this one is beyond me....... i've never encountered that b4.

I really hope someone has an answer for you.

 

[ThePiggy]

Honestly, I have no clue what it could be.. I was just trying to uncover more clues that could possibly lead to the solution. Do you have a hospital tank you could move him to? One without a current?

 

[SharonCC]

He may be staying in the current because ,with his damaged gill, he can't get proper oxygen(Now that's probably a load of ****) I really hope you find some way to help him...it made me cringe when I looked at the pic.

 

[dem0nz]

gonna do a 50% water change and dose with anti bacterial meds today on the advice i got in another thread
i'm not getting my hopes up but hopefuly it will make a difference

 

[Spishkey]

to be honest if he's struggling so much with that flow, id turn it off! maybe pop just an airstone in there for a bit of 'water movement' or a very small sponge filter. or in fact none of the above! that is a pretty gruesome looking gill, never seen that on a fish before.

 

[dem0nz]

i'm not sure if i can because its an under gravel filter if i turn it off wont the tank go a bit manky,also because i am meding the tank i need to have aeration
as harsh as it sounds its also usefull to moniter how weak he is getting,its only the corner that he struggles with the rest of the tank he is fine.

 

[dem0nz]

i have added anti internal bacteria meds and aquarium salt,i will see how he does with these and if he seems better in a week i will start using melafix for his wound
any thoughts or opinions if this is the way forward...as i see it i have no other ideas and it seems pretty logical,it was also recomended by wilder
most of all its better than watching him waste away whilst doing nothing

 

[ThePiggy]

I would think that you would want to put as little stress on your betta as possible until he is well on his way to recovering. Turning the filter off and using an airstone seems smart to me. By keeping your filter on, you could exhaust your betta considering he's already got something wrong with him.

 

[betta fish]

Hiya, newbie here just thought I'd add to this thread, I keep and breed bettas, although it's a fairly new hobby for me, only really took off in the past year but they are great fish are't they? Anyway, looking at your vid and pics, your betta looks fine? although it's not too easy to see clearly, it does look like he is only flaring? you said yourself you had to wait for him to do it again? if it was an injury surely it would be there constantly? I would def turn down the airflow on your filter, bettas do not like turbulent water and they are not strong swimmers, he may just be flaring at the bubbles produced by the fast flowing current? I once had a male betta that flared at strange bubbles in his tank as he knew he didn't make them and thought there was a rival male about! Anyway just thought I'd add my thoughts, hope whatever it is gets sorted for you

 

[lilfishie]

i thought exactly the same betta fish, then when everyone was commenting on it i thought i must of been going crazy cause i can see nothing

 

[dem0nz]

i know that they flare but this is only one side of his head thats doing it and i looks very inflamed and has a white crust around the top
he also hasnt done a full flare ever before.
he hasnt been himself and has seemed a lot more lethargic.
i will try and find a way to reduce the airflow but as far as i am concerned turning the filter off is not an option

 

[dem0nz]

by the way,i would just like to thank everybody so far who has responded,i am sure you all know how it feels when you think that something is wrong and you need advice from someone and i have had lots from here
so thanks


i wil keep treating him for the week then carry on with melafix afterwards
hopefully it wont turn out that i have just gone mad and imagined the whole thing lol
will keep you all posted on his progress
feel free to add any thoughts to the thread

 

[Amunet]

I hope he pulls through whatever may be wrong.
I had a betta who eventually only started to flare from one side. He was fine though, and I never figured out what may have happened to cause the other side to stop. Must've injured it on something obviously.
Maybe this is what happened to your betta.
There anything he could've scratched himself on, fake plants, decor, etc etc?

I think you're definitely doing the right thing right now though w/ the meds.