Red spots on Betta?

[LSmith123]

Hi,

I set up a small aquarium for a black orchid betta male about a week or two ago, and I’ve noticed he has these little red looking spots on his head that have spread. They almost look like ulcers or like his scales are missing?

He is overall pretty active and is eating fine. The tank is 3.5 gallon with a carbon filter. No tank mates, just some artificial plants. I tried treating with Bettafix but doesn’t seem to be helping.

thoughts?

 

[FreshyFresh]

Welcome! That's a handsome bugger. Nice clear eyes. Do you have a means to measure for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in PPM? I assume this tank is uncycled, so water changes are very important.

 

[LSmith123]

Welcome! That's a handsome bugger. Nice clear eyes. Do you have a means to measure for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in PPM? I assume this tank is uncycled, so water changes are very important.

I do! I also have an established 20gal housing a few mollies, cory cats, a sword, and red tail shark. I’ve read a little about seeding the new tank with substrate from the established tank but wasn’t confident I could do that for a Betta. Would you suggest doing that to help with cycling? Thanks!

 

[FreshyFresh]

That will absolutely help with cycling and if your 20gal has been around for a long time, filter media from it or a sock of gravel out of it should pretty much instantly cycle your new betta tank.

 

[the loach]

Those pics are great, but just not good enough for me to see if those scales are missing or just discolored.
For now I am leaning towards discolored. That could be a genetic/breeding defect, or old age. At first sight he doesn't look sick at all. The only thing that would be concerning if it is really spreading in such a short timeframe. Are you sure about that?

 

[LSmith123]

That will absolutely help with cycling and if your 20gal has been around for a long time, filter media from it or a sock of gravel out of it should pretty much instantly cycle your new betta tank.

I put some of the 20gal gravel into the betta tank and have been doing more frequent water changes. I also realized the carbon filter was probably filtering out the Bettafix, so I removed the cartridge temporarily. The water levels are looking good and the red spots already seem better. I think that must have been it! Thanks so much for your help

 

[LSmith123]

Those pics are great, but just not good enough for me to see if those scales are missing or just discolored.
For now I am leaning towards discolored. That could be a genetic/breeding defect, or old age. At first sight he doesn't look sick at all. The only thing that would be concerning if it is really spreading in such a short timeframe. Are you sure about that?

Here is a pic showing it progressing...the left was actually the day I brought him home and the right was a few days ago. He doesn’t seem sick otherwise, but as mentioned above it already seems to be improving. Not sure what it was!