Hurt by moving and stone decoration... Trauma-HELP

[Brizat]

Hello, Betta Community!

I have an urgent issue, my little crowntail betta Wolfgang is suffering of a serious injury...
The original thread is here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=79342

In short, during moving he hit his decoration pretty hard, it's stressed him out really bad and probably damaged him something awful...

He lays on the bottom of his tank all day and does nothing...
He may or may not be breathing out of one side of gills.
Sometimes if I turn on the light or disturb him in any way he zooms around the tank (a 2g) and bumps into everything. He swims (more like jiggles) in short, spastic bursts. Just now he swam straight into the corner next to the filter over and over and over until he exhausted himself...

I know for a fact that it was my fault that this happened, carelessness more than anything...

If there is anything I can do besides his every other day water changes with conditioner and aquarium salt, please share now... I'm so worried about this little guy :/ If he goes he'll be the first...

[Sakura8]

Hi Brizat, I'm sorry to hear about the little guy. Please don't be so hard on yourself. Accidents happen and when you're pouring water and things like that, things can happen really, really fast.

Now I don't know about concussions per se but I do know it is possible that he could have suffered head trauma. Do his eyes look normal? Sometimes when there is head trauma, you will get a buildup of pressure of fluid and it can push the eyes out so they bulge. Also, the color changing. Did that happen just in the last 24 hours or has he steadily been changing color since the accident?

I'm not sure if there is anything that can be done except lower the water level so he can reach the surface easier. You might also try tannins. If you have Indian Almond Leaf, you can use that. Otherwise, you can crumble some dried and clean oak leaves in his tank. Or you can use a decaffeinated green tea bag. The tea must be decaf and have no additional flavors. I usually just put the tea bag directly in the tank for a short while, until the water changes color. The darker colored water will help relax him because it mimics the color of water in a betta's natural environment.

Also, can you describe how his gills are? You said it looks like he isn't using one side? Does it not move at all? Does he seem like he might not have control over that side of his body in general or is it just his gills?

I noticed flowerslegacy recommended PMing DarkMoon. I agree since she is a veterinary student. Hopefully she is not too busy, since school probably just started. But she should be able to offer some good advice.

Oh, almost forgot. I assume he's not interested in food? You can try soaking thawed frozen bloodworms in garlic juice to see if that entices him to eat.

I hope Wolfgang pulls through for you. Hang in there and keep us posted. :)