Bettas got together... roughed up. Need care advice for post fight injuries

[MADxMAC771]

Hey everyone,

I have 2 bettas that have been living in a 10gallon with a divider for months now with no issues. I have been moving this weekend so I put them into a 2.5 gallon with a divider so they would be easy to move. Some how or another, they ended up on the same side and had a fight. One fish, Paul (red vt), got beat up much more than Ira. I immediately set up my second 2.5 gallon and have them appart now. I have been doing betafix treatments once a day per the instructions on the bottle. Ira seems to be fine and is eating regularly. Paul is much more hurt. He is swimming fine and seems to be having normal gill movements. He makes it to the top of the tank with no trouble for air. He is hesitant to eat, however. Is mouth/nose seems a little torn up from the fight, but has gone down since the betafix treatments. I finally got him to eat one pellet this morning and he is swimming around the tank more.

Is there anything else I can do to make sure he heals properly?
Should I give him more bloodworms that usual due to their softer texture than pellets?
After the treatment is over, is a 100% water change and filter change needed?

Any advice is more than welcome.

Thanks.

[ifish]

im so sorry hope he gettes better

[dramaqueen]

You might want to try presoaking the pellets in dechlorinated water to make them softer for Paul to eat. You can soak any food you give him and hopefully, this will help to make it easier for him to eat.

[Red Betta]

Hopefully he will be alright, most animals can heal themselves fine after a fight and hopefully Paul can too. I would think about giving him bloodworms just because they might give him the extra protein and energy to heal faster, otherwise just keep doing what your doing.

And a 100% water and filter change is probably a good idea, just because then you know that everything is balanced instead of trying to worry.

[dramaqueen]

I think that after the treatment is over, just keep an eye on him and keep the water very clean. Hopefully, he's on the road to recovery. :)

[onekatietwo]

There is some extract/oil that people use to help betta's heal. Some breeders ship with it. I think you can get it at petshops, but I'm not sure how effective it is. Almond leaf exctract, I think?

Otherwise, I have read that keeping them in very dim lighting/darkness helps while they are healing. I bet he'll be fine with clean water, though. :)

[MADxMAC771]

UPDATE:

Paul seems to be doing better. he is moving more and I have gotten him to eat a total of 3 pellets and a few freezedried blood worms in the passed 2 days. His mouth seems to be peeling.. as if it scabbed over and the old skin is falling off. I read someones post about dim lighting being better for the healing process... is this true? That would explain why he seems to be hiding from everyone in his tiki and under his heater. Let me know.

[dramaqueen]

I think that low light helps to relieve stress. I'm glad he's doing better. Poor little guy.

[shikatsin]

was there a lid to the tank?

I know i had my betta jump into the other tank before. But i heard the splash. Hope he gets better :(

[MADxMAC771]

UPDATE

Paul is now eating bloodworms easily. He is still hesitant to eat pellets... soaked or not. So i am not feeding him freezedried bloodworms at his old scheduled eating times. I am feeding him about 4 bloodworms twice a day, for a total of 8 daily. Does this seem like a reasonable ammount? I was feeding him 3-4 pellets twice a day before so I figured that 4 bloodworms... being freezedried and practically non existant would be a reasonable equivalent.