Unsure if I should worry or not

[Super Sly]

Recently, Dutch my double tail halfmoon has had a red patch on his head and its gotten almost a grey color in the middle. It almost looks like a rash or like some scales are missing but there isn't any gone off his head.


Housing
What size is your tank? 10g devided side w/o filter
What temperature is your tank? 76-78
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? ct on other side of devider

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? omega one pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? once in the morning and once at night 3 pellets at a time

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 30%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? dechlorinator

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

Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? red patch on head
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? nope still flaring happily
When did you start noticing the symptoms? about a week ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? 8-10 months


Sorry about the quality of the photo my cameras not very good.

[inkrealm]

0.25 is about when you're supposed to change the water I think.... but that still shouldn't be enough for an ammonia burn.... plus the other boy doesn't seem to have issues does he? I wish we could get a better picture.... perhaps it's coloring? is he a marble or anything?..... and you're sure he's not missing scales?

edit: doah. and am I correct in you meaning you give them six pellets a day?... have they ever had bloating issues? 0.o generally the max you want to give is four... and most suggest three.... also is the tank supposed to be cycled or are you in the process?... x:

[Super Sly]

The other boy doesn't have issues and yeah 6 pellets a day but no bloating issues ever. I do believe he is a marble but Im not completely sure and Im almost sure he isnt missing any scales. As for the cycle no the tank isn't cycled bc I didn't know it was supposed to be and i don't know how to. Any thread giving me the basics would be greatly appriciated.

[Myates]

Aww poor guy..

It seems to me as if he may have scratched some scales off.. go ahead and keep him in clean water and keep an eye on it. If it seems to be growing or getting more red then we can try AQ salt, but right now until there are other symptoms of an illness, or it is getting worse- not much you can do other then keep the wound clean.
Check in his tank to see if there could be anything rough or a sharp edge- something he could of gotten stuck next to. He could of lost them on the divider if he ever tries to fight his neighbor.

Originally Posted by inkrealm

0.25 is about when you're supposed to change the water I think.... but that still shouldn't be enough for an ammonia burn....
It should be 0, but up to .25 can be considered "safe". Since you are reading at .25, I would go ahead and up the water change to 40-50% per week. Are you siphoning out the substrate regularly? Not siphoning it out weekly to bi-weekly will cause high ammonia.

edit: doah. and am I correct in you meaning you give them six pellets a day?... have they ever had bloating issues? 0.o generally the max you want to give is four... and most suggest three....

Six pellets a day is actually fine and recommended.. I feed mine 5-6 a day and never had problems. As long as it's in 2+ meals (2-3 pellets per meal for a 2 meal a day routine), 6 is perfectly fine to feed them. 4-6 is the highly recommended amount of normal pellets, 8-10 for the mini ones. You don't want to feed them just 3 a day, as they aren't receiving enough nutrition, and if they easily bloat you just feed them 1-2 at a time. . Most suggest 4 minimum, 6 max a day. :)

[Myates]

Originally Posted by Super Sly

The other boy doesn't have issues and yeah 6 pellets a day but no bloating issues ever. I do believe he is a marble but Im not completely sure and Im almost sure he isnt missing any scales. As for the cycle no the tank isn't cycled bc I didn't know it was supposed to be and i don't know how to. Any thread giving me the basics would be greatly appriciated.

If he is a marble, then it could be his coloration. You can tell if the scales are missing by looking at it and seeing the indentation where the scales should be.

The tank can cycle on it's own, just continue to monitor the ammonia levels and do water changes whenever you see them upwards of .25.

This thread will help with the cycle- you can do the fish-in style.

(sorry, as usual, eating and typing so I was slow and didn't see your response. Sorry for double post)

[inkrealm]

yay~ thankyou Myates, :3

[Super Sly]

He has flaring matches with his neighbor every day. Its probably missing scales but i always worry that its possibly the worst thing there could be. I plan on doing a water change tomorrow. The only thing that I could think of in his tank that would take his scales off would either be the devider or the one plastic plant he has in with him. All the other plants are silk and his cave is smooth. Also thx for the cycling thread Myates

[inkrealm]

bettas are well-known for being silly and ramming things they shouldn't... he may also have rammed the divider trying to get at the other fish?.... my boy rammed my finger once trying to get food, and that alone knocked off a scale....

[Super Sly]

Another question what would you guys recommend a fish in cycle since they are already in the tank or should I move them to my two smaller tanks and do a different method?

[inkrealm]

super sly- I cycled mine with my boy in with no issue. but I changed it once or twice a day 50% or a bit more... so if you don't wanna do that I'd take them out for sure... and it is less risky I guess...
also my tank was planted at the time which seemed to help.... Myates would probably have a more useful suggestion though...