Betta Lost Scales (Pics)

Sevast0

Sevast0

AC Members
Jul 11, 2009
213
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0
New Jersey
So I woke up to see my betta (who happens to be on my night stand next to my bed) missing A LOT of scales on his face. I have some pictures of him and his tank (below, also excuse the outside of the tank being dirty). I'm not exactly sure what happened to him, but my guess are either 1. He got too curious of the two large rocks in the tank and got stuck, or 2. He got his face stuck inside the snail he lives with. The only reason I say 2 is possible is because he has been with snails before and pestered them to no end (but this time he was ok with it). I thought maybe he attacked it, and the snail pulled in and pulled his face in too? I'm not sure, just my idea.

Also, yes there is a clay pot in there, but the hole at the bottom is too small for him to get that far in. Maybe the tip of his mouth, but not his whole head.

He seems perfectly fine, and I've been watching to make sure no infections happen. It's just strange because one day he's fine and the next he's missing scales! Any ideas based on his environment? I don't want this too happen again so I want to remove the offending object or snail.

PS- I thought it should go in this forum instead of the illness and disease forum because he's not sick, he's just lost some scales.

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I am wondering whether your Betta could have somehow scraped himself on those rocks. also did you cycle the tank before you put your Betta in?
 
He is gorgeous. Is there a heater in the tank? Perhaps a heater burn? Those rocks don't look very sharp. I would just do lots of wc's in the meantime.
 
no clue how your beta lost his scales but... WOW, he's gorgeous!!!!!
 
maybe a slight bacterial infection that is irritating him and he rubbed his noggin on something to the point of rubbing off scales????

up your water changes until it's all healed up, and maybe keep your temp at 77/78 for a bit, just in case it is bacteria (since bacteria thrive when temps are higher).
 
Thanks for the replies. I thought it might have been the rocks. I did cycle the tank before I plopped him in. I've had most of my set ups for a while, just never update anything on AC here (I am too lazy)

I do not have a heater in there for now because it is summer, and even though it is nj, we have a constant temp in our house all summer (Air Conditioning is great). I will be adding a heater soon though since it's going to be getting cold soon.

And I'll make sure to more water changes. I wanted to see if anyone thought it might be his decor. I don't want it to happen again. Although it doesn't seem to have gotten any worse. It just looks like an injury and its been the same all day. But I will keep an eye on him.

Edit: I do realize it is fall, but its still the same temp as it was in summer.
 
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