head discoloration

[meve]

Hi
I got a female betta this weekend. She is in the
http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Desktop.../dp/B0047XMQBM . The tank has a filter that I turn on about 2 hours day because I found it too strong.

She has a heater of 7,5 W and a real plant. I feed her with the betta bio-gold pellet made by Hikari. I feed her twice a day.

I have no clue about the water parameters and I did not do a water change yet since she is here since Saturday.

The problem is she is getting discolored between the eyes. I would like you to help me figuring out what it could be. I looked on your forum and I saw a post about a female losing scales because she was playing with the filter. Well, my girl loves to play with the water flow and fight against the currant and catch the bubbles. With this tank she also look at her reflect alot. SHe is really active.

So, what do you think she got?

[earthworm88]

Hello,
Welcome to the forum!
Looks to me like she had lost some scales on her head there. Do you see the scales are missing with your naked eyes? Any fuzz on top of it or traces of blood? Have you got anything sharp or rough decorative items in the tank?

There is a sticky here somewhere with info on how to baffle the filter to reduce the force etc. It's a two gallon tank, how often do you plan on changing the water and by how much? Most important thing is to keep the water super clean so that she will not get that area infected before the regrow of the scales, which will likely take about a week if all goes well.


Good luck and keep us posted!

[meve]

Thanks alot !
I'm new with fish so I dont really know how it should look like on her head. But tonight, its less white and getting back red like the other part of her body. There is no trace of fuzzy stuffs or blood.

What do you suggest for the water change? How do you proceed exactly? Do you put the tap water in a bowl , put the conditonner in and then put the water in the tank?

[yumekon]

looks like that holes in the head syndrome....

[earthworm88]

Originally Posted by meve

Thanks alot !
I'm new with fish so I dont really know how it should look like on her head. But tonight, its less white and getting back red like the other part of her body. There is no trace of fuzzy stuffs or blood.

What do you suggest for the water change? How do you proceed exactly? Do you put the tap water in a bowl , put the conditonner in and then put the water in the tank?

Ok. Just keep an eye on that area to make sure nothing weird or unusual is happening, usually secondary infection can happen if the water isn't clean.

For the water change, you have to make sure the temperature of the new water is the same as the temperature of the old water your betta is in. Great fluctuation in temperature can shock your betta's system, so need to pay attention to that as well. Ideally if you have a large container like the spring water bottle, put new water in there and age it by leaving it in an area with similar temp as his water.

For now, change his water twice a week at 100% water change. Not sure how detail you want regarding changing water, so forgive me if I sound long-winded or stating the obvious.

1) Wash your hands well
2) Unplug everything
3) take the cup that he came in (make sure it's clean) or those large disposable Solo transparent cup if you have and suck him in by dipping the cup at an angle into his tank. Try not to use net or hands.
4) put him aside. Remove his caves, plants, toys etc and rinse them. I usually just use my hands to rub them.
5) Depending on the type of filter you have (you need to consult your manual), if you have a filter sponge, just swish the sponge inside the tank old water to remove the crud while leaving the good bacteria. Put aside.
6) Remove yucky water from tank. Rinse tank with tap water using hands then dump out the water
7) Pour aged water into your tank, add conditioner (I personally like Seachem Prime - 2 drops per gallon), put back the filters/lights/heater, and decorate his tank again with his stuff.
8) check temperature of tank, if (+/-) a degree or two, you can put your betta back in.

I hope someone has your fluval tank can impart some advice on the most efficient way to do the change. I personally don't have filters or substrates, so it is much easier for me. But the gist is the same.

Good luck and happy betta keeping!

[dancersmama79]

my dancer has some of the same discoloration on his head as well.. hes in a 5 gal with 2 small mystery snails and his tank isnt cycled fully yet... my dancer is also about the same color red so its hard to see changes sometimes....but i can also tell his head is a bit swollen as well...

[meve]

Hey,
I just want to let you know that my fish is A1 ! Her scales are growing back.
The water change went well. She was ticked off to go back in her pet store bowl tough! How can a such little thing have so much personality?!

[earthworm88]

Originally Posted by meve

Hey,
I just want to let you know that my fish is A1 ! Her scales are growing back.
The water change went well. She was pissed off to go back in her pet store bowl tough! How can a such little thing have so much personality?!

Yay! Glad to hear the scales are growing back. Hehe...these little fellas are packed with huge personality, you will discover more in depth with time. Mine gets stressed and p*off when I cup him too, I think he associates it with his silly attempt at bungee jump without the cord.

Keep up the good work, happy betta keeping!

Cheers!