Gash on bettas head!

[Trickerie]

Hey all,

I got a mystery snail a few days ago to house with my betta in my 5 gallon tank. All seemed well until this morning when I woke up and noticed a big gash on my bettas head! I took the best picture I could get with my phone. Its not clear, but you can see the gash for sure.



What should I do?! Change 25% water and get some cleaner water in there?

[Mumma.of.two]

Keep the water very clean. 50% changes every 2-3 days. He should heal ok. If he develops redness or fuzz on the wound or starts acting listless, has clamped fins or the wound increases in size let us know ASAP. He might need medication.

[Zaedon]

What mumma said! Oh, and, stop beating your fish in the head! j/k
Keep a close eye on the wound for any change.

[fishdok]

Maybe you could add some general tonic just to reduce background bacteria levels

[Trickerie]

Hey all,

Just wanted to update you on my betta. He seems to be doing fine. He's as feisty as ever, eating fine, and the wound seems to be healing as far as I can tell.

[Mumma.of.two]

That's great. Keep up the good work

[severum mama]

Good job. Did you ever figure out what caused it? I've had some bettas get themselves torn up on decor in the past, but never on their heads.

[maestromad]

Good luck !

[Trickerie]

His wound is almost all cleared up. Can barely see it anymore.

Originally Posted by severum mama

Good job. Did you ever figure out what caused it? I've had some bettas get themselves torn up on decor in the past, but never on their heads.

I'm not 100% certain, but I'm guessing its one of two things. I had seen my betta trying to ram my snail when I first got him, so maybe it was from hitting the snails shell? The only other thing I can think of is that I had a reflective backing on my tank that I removed, because he was flaring at himself all the time. Perhaps he tried to fight his reflection.