HELP!!! Strange Betta Wound

[BagelDog]

Funny enough, I have a 55 gallon tank I just purchased, setup and tested the equipment. I've had it running for a week now. The tank is bare bottom and has no filter media (other than the foam) in it but I think it would make a great quarantine tank.

This might be a dumb question but...
With a tank that size and a fish that small, why couldn't I put him in there before the tank has cycled? It's just about as clean as water could be and he would add such a small bio load to the tank that it would take forever for an ammonia, nitrite or nitrate build up to occur.

Anybody want to chime in and give their two cents on me putting him in a giant uncycled quarantine tank?

 

[BagelDog]

I feel this is a time for action, I'm adding the betta! I can't wait for responses.

If anyone has any recommendations for treatment of the wound let me know. (I.E. salt, etc.)

Also, if someone could chime in and let me know how long I can starve him before I endanger his health. I want this this thing to heal because nobody likes a leaky betta.

Maybe it's really just a cry for help from him. You know what they say, "The leaky betta gets the grease". Well, it's something like that. I bet he just wanted a tank upgrade.

 

[LeahK]

I think the 55 should be fine. I'd still do daily water tests, to check for ammonia and nitrite, so you can do water changes if necessary. You may already know this, but do a large change if the ammonia or nitrite are ever measurable--most test kits detect them at 0.25.
And, with an open wound, frequent water changes are always beneficial, even when ammonia and nitrite are not measurable.
Do you have a python for water changes? That makes large changes on a 55 much easier.
As for salt, I don't ever use it myself--my understanding is that it's only really effective for ich and nitrite poisoning. I'd stick with clean water for now. Then, if there's any sign of infection, I'd switch to antibiotics like Maracyn I and II, nitrofurazone (in Jungle Fungus Clear), or kanamycin. The Maracyn I and II can (and should) be used together for broad-spectrum effect, and the nitrofurazone can be combined with kanamycin for a more powerful treatment, but those are the only safe combos, as far as I know. (Antiobiotic info at http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumMedication2.html)

Oh, and most fish can go at least one week without food. A fish that is healthy can go for two weeks.
In my experience with fish wounds, they heal WAY faster than you'd expect. So, let's hope your betta will start to patch up soon.

I bet he just wanted a tank upgrade.

Just wait--within a few days he'll OWN that tank, and you'll never be able to get him to give it up

 

[BagelDog]

He already looks so at home in that tank. I've never seen him cruise around like that. It kinda makes me want to upgrade all of my tank sizes and let my fish swim free like they were intended.

 

[BagelDog]

By the way, thanks Leah!
Apparently the Anabantoids forum is still a little low on traffic due to how new it is.

 

[LeahK]

By the way, thanks Leah!
Apparently the Anabantoids forum is still a little low on traffic due to how new it is.

No problem! I think it was also a little late at night for the other mainlanders--I'm on Honolulu time
Anyway, keep this thread updated! I hope he feels better soon.

 

[BagelDog]

I'll make sure to keep it updated. I'll post some pics of him in his gigantic barren tank. I think it's hilarious how much of the 55 gallon tank he uses and enjoys. Like I said before, I'm amazed at how active and playful he is with a hole in his gut!

Back to my original questions though,
Has anyone ever seen this happen before?
Any tips for treatment or remedies for it?
Any idea what caused it? (intestinal blockage, over eating, etc.)

 

[BagelDog]

A little story that happened yesterday...

I came home and looked for him in his 55 gallon tank. The tank was empty.
After a bit of sleuthing I realized that the canister filter inlet guard had fallen off. So I popped open the canister expecting to see pureed betta but, what do you know, he was just hanging out in there. Patiently awaiting my return. This Betta is about as tough to kill as Bruce Willis in Die Hard.

The little guy is still hanging in there ! Unfortunately, the wound hasn't completely healed yet.



I think I'm going to start to feed him the smallest amounts of food in a couple of days. Enough food to digest but not enough to cause him harm again.

 

[BagelDog]

This is pathetic! I'm posting this issue in the largest online fish keeping community and no one can come up with an answer or even an hypothesis?

Is this what we'll have on our hands if we switch to socialized medicine? Ok, I get it. You need an incentive, right?

Here's the deal, whoever comes up with the best answer to what ails my fish will recieve a mystery prize. I am serious. You will recieve payment in the form of a box full of mystery.
It might be aquarium supplies, it might be a red swingline stapler or it could be a half eaten doughnut.

Right now I'm getting ready to send LeahK a box of randomness outside of the contiguous U.S. for her to open, only to be disappointed in. (She doesn't know this yet.)

So if you have the guts to fix my betta's guts the prize is yours!

 

[montanafish gal]

ok.
Occam's razor. a principle named after William of Occam, a 14th century philosopher, basically states that all things being equal, the simplist explaination tends to be the right one.
Your betta got a puncture wound that went thru to his throat or stomach. How he got this wound, only he and the Powers That Be know, because no one else was there to witness it. This caused the food he would eat to fall out the wound. His guts were not coming out because if the fish had lost his guts, he would have died.
Your diligence and good betta-daddy-ness with keeping him in clean water, saving him from the filter episode and not feeding him has allowed his wound to start to heal.
Your betta will live a long and happy life.
How was that? Where's my present? Since you can ship in-state, it should be cheaper so I expect a cool present.