My betta fish, Obama, has a huge hole in his head! I've tried doing all sorts of treatments, mainly fungus type medications. Nothing has worked! The hole keeps getting bigger and bigger. I've been dealing with this for over a month, but he has stopped eating the last three day. Luckily he has lots of energy still, but I'm clueless as to what my next step should be.
I should also mention he's about three years old.
I'll try posting a better image later....
Welcome to the forum, thekoalakeeper. Looks to be hole-in-the-head disease. I didn't think bettas got this (it's almost always cichlids who are prone to this) so his age may be playing a part in it. Hole-in-the-head disease or hexamitiasis, is caused by a parasite. Jungle Labs has a medication specifically for this, Hole N Head Guard. Also, there are anti-parasite medicated pellets but if he won't eat, you may want to try a liquid med. Also could try Tretra Parasite Guard. Remove the carbon/charcoal in your filter first.
In that picture, there looks like there's a big bubble over his right eye? Does he get bubbles on his body a lot?
is there a cloudy white film/patch over the wound at all? IMO, it looks like it could be columnaris
also, it would help if you answered this
Quote:
Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?
Columnaris is also known as cotton mouth, which is where the mouth basically rots away very quickly and the infection spreads... though can appear on other parts of the body though and it can leave big sores, or holes like that. :(
Thanks for the fast response. I have heard of hole-in-the-head disease. My Oscars use to get it, but I've never heard of bettas getting it.
I'll try the the Parasite Guard. The bubble over the eye is his cornea which seems to have become swollen.
Thanks for the fast response. I have heard of hole-in-the-head disease. My Oscars use to get it, but I've never heard of bettas getting it.
I'll try the the Parasite Guard. The bubble over the eye is his cornea which seems to have become swollen.
JKFish, what treats columnaris? Maracyn or Maracyn 2?
thekoalakeeper, you can get Parasite Guard to keep on hand but you might want to try a bacteria medication first. Oscars get hole-in-the-head disease a lot but you're right, I've never heard of a betta getting it. JKFish is almost certainly right, it's columnaris, also called cottonwool. That's a bacteria so you'll want to try a bacteria medication. Sorry for misleading you, I had no idea columnaris could leave big holes like that; I always thought it just looked like cotton so that's why I jumped to conclusions.
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