I've had my dragonscale betta for two months now. He was perfectly fine up until this week when I noticed that he was missing some scales and that his eyes were cloudy. I know that this type of betta can go blind so I'm fairly certain that's what's going on with his eyes. I've been using a feeding ring since I got him specifically because of that. What I can't figure out is why he's losing scales. I haven't seen him rub on anything and I checked this decor to make sure it's all safe for him.
If anyone has any idea on what could be going on with him I'd greatly appreciate it.
Here's the little diagnostic list and some pictures after.
1. What is the size of your tank?
~it's a 5.5 gallon
2. What are your water parameters? State the brand of test kit used.
~API liquid test kit
~ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all at 0 or low enough that they're not showing up on the test.
~Temp is 77.5-78
~pH is 6.8
~gh/kh is around 10 on the hardness scale. I don't have that test kit, but I have a TDS meter because my water is super hard so I filter it and add minerals back into it to 175 ppm. So on the softer side. I know bettas can go lower and probably prefer it, but he has a snail friend who needs the minerals for his shell.
3. Is your aquarium set up freshwater or brackish water?
~Fresh
4. How long the aquarium has been set up?
~aquarium itself has been about 5 months
5. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them?
~Betta, just him and a snail, he's pretty big (2.5-3 inches) so I think he's older, I've had him 2 months
6. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)?
~no, he's the only fish so he went right in after being acclimated
7. What temperature is the tank water currently?
~77.7 F
8. Are there live plants in the aquarium?
~wisteria, anubias, duckweed
9. What filter are you using? State brand, maintenance routine and power capacity.
~Top Fin silent stream 10 gph (at about half flow capacity), replaced the cartridge with a sponge, carbon pack, and a pack of the little ceramic cyllinders for the bacteria. Check them once a month and replace as needed per instructions on box (Fluval brand)
10. Any other equipment used (aside from heater and filter which are two very important components of the tank)?
~air stone
11. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? What is your lighting schedule (assuming you do not rely on sunlight for our viewing pleasure)?
~I have heavy curtains so he doesn't get natural light.
~on from 11 am - 7 pm
~Fluval nano planted tank clip on lamp
12. When did you perform your last water change and how much water was changed? How often do you change your water? Do you vacuum the substrate?
~2 days ago and 1 gallon
~normally once a week, though this week it was twice since he's being weird. First was 1.5 and last was 1 gallon.
~vacuum each water change
13. What foods do you provide your fish? What is the feeding schedule?
~am feeding is between 7-9:30 before I go to work if I work that day
~pm feeding is between 5-7
~Aqueon Betta Pellets and Omega One Betta Flakes are his main foods
~freeze dried bloodworms and mysis shrimp for treats
14. What unusual signs have you observed in your fish?
~eyes are cloudy
~losing a few more scales each day on face and body
15. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis? If so, what treatments did you use? State your reasons for planning ahead of proper diagnosis.
~kanaplex (antibacterial and antifungal) since I'm not 100% sure about his eyes and have no idea about the scales, and to make sure nothing grows where his scales are missing and skin is exposed
~stress coat for the aloe vera for his exposed skin in case it's uncomfortable for him
Is it just me or does it look like his scales have little holes in the on the left side of his head?
If anyone has any idea on what could be going on with him I'd greatly appreciate it.
Here's the little diagnostic list and some pictures after.
1. What is the size of your tank?
~it's a 5.5 gallon
2. What are your water parameters? State the brand of test kit used.
~API liquid test kit
~ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all at 0 or low enough that they're not showing up on the test.
~Temp is 77.5-78
~pH is 6.8
~gh/kh is around 10 on the hardness scale. I don't have that test kit, but I have a TDS meter because my water is super hard so I filter it and add minerals back into it to 175 ppm. So on the softer side. I know bettas can go lower and probably prefer it, but he has a snail friend who needs the minerals for his shell.
3. Is your aquarium set up freshwater or brackish water?
~Fresh
4. How long the aquarium has been set up?
~aquarium itself has been about 5 months
5. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them?
~Betta, just him and a snail, he's pretty big (2.5-3 inches) so I think he's older, I've had him 2 months
6. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)?
~no, he's the only fish so he went right in after being acclimated
7. What temperature is the tank water currently?
~77.7 F
8. Are there live plants in the aquarium?
~wisteria, anubias, duckweed
9. What filter are you using? State brand, maintenance routine and power capacity.
~Top Fin silent stream 10 gph (at about half flow capacity), replaced the cartridge with a sponge, carbon pack, and a pack of the little ceramic cyllinders for the bacteria. Check them once a month and replace as needed per instructions on box (Fluval brand)
10. Any other equipment used (aside from heater and filter which are two very important components of the tank)?
~air stone
11. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? What is your lighting schedule (assuming you do not rely on sunlight for our viewing pleasure)?
~I have heavy curtains so he doesn't get natural light.
~on from 11 am - 7 pm
~Fluval nano planted tank clip on lamp
12. When did you perform your last water change and how much water was changed? How often do you change your water? Do you vacuum the substrate?
~2 days ago and 1 gallon
~normally once a week, though this week it was twice since he's being weird. First was 1.5 and last was 1 gallon.
~vacuum each water change
13. What foods do you provide your fish? What is the feeding schedule?
~am feeding is between 7-9:30 before I go to work if I work that day
~pm feeding is between 5-7
~Aqueon Betta Pellets and Omega One Betta Flakes are his main foods
~freeze dried bloodworms and mysis shrimp for treats
14. What unusual signs have you observed in your fish?
~eyes are cloudy
~losing a few more scales each day on face and body
15. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis? If so, what treatments did you use? State your reasons for planning ahead of proper diagnosis.
~kanaplex (antibacterial and antifungal) since I'm not 100% sure about his eyes and have no idea about the scales, and to make sure nothing grows where his scales are missing and skin is exposed
~stress coat for the aloe vera for his exposed skin in case it's uncomfortable for him
Is it just me or does it look like his scales have little holes in the on the left side of his head?
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