# Betta with large open wound



## Pamela

Yesterday I discovered that my Razorback Musk Turtle bit a chunk out of my big Plakat betta . The turtle and betta had been living peacefully together for about a year and a half, they even slept beside each other at night. I watched the betta, who's huge (over 3"), for a little while to monitor his condition. He was obviously in pain, but he could still swim.

I took the betta out of the water and applied Bio-Bandage directly to the wound. Then I moved him into this hospital tank:
- 5 gallons
- sponge filter
- 1 heaping tablespoon aquarium salt added to water
- stress coat added to water
- a piece of Indian Almond Leaf
- I put some java ferns in the tank so the betta would feel more comfortable (it's ok if the salt kills them, I have more)
- no heater because the temperature in my house is at least 80 degrees right now and it doesn't cool down much at night.

The betta made it through the night . The wound doesn't look like it has any fungus on it, which is a great sign. I'll have to take him out of the water again later today to apply more of the Bio-Bandage because it's supposed to go on every 24 hours. I've dealt with injured fish before, but those times it was injuries like fins bitten off so dealing with a large gaping wound is new to me. I hope that I'm doing the right thing for this fish by treating him instead of putting him down.


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## Livyding

Yikes... poor little guy. I think you're going the right thing for what it's worth... If he's still swimming and eating (is he eating?) there's a good shot that he'll recover. Don't worry about the salt... Java ferns are actually one of the only plants that occur naturally in full-brackish water so a bit of salt is nothing to them.

I would not use stress coat in this situation, or anything really... As long as the water is nice and clean I think he should heal up in no time. I'm not a professional though... If you want the advice of experts, try emailing these guys. Before You Write: A Checklist of Common Problems with Freshwater Aquaria, Bettas, Goldfish, and Freshwater Turtles (Terrapins)

*edit* here's a page on the use of salt for preventing infection and other stuff. Looks like 1tbs per 5 gallon is the right amount, but I'm terrible at math so you probably want to read it yourself. Salt Use FW Art

Good luck!!


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## onefishtwofish

if u r taking him out to treat, i have had success with iodine on wounds.......just a thought


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## onefishtwofish

if u r taking him out to treat, i have had success with iodine on wounds.......just a thought
Wounds [Archive] - MonsterFishKeepers.com. heres some info


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## Pamela

Livyding said:


> Yikes... poor little guy. I think you're going the right thing for what it's worth... If he's still swimming and eating (is he eating?) there's a good shot that he'll recover. Don't worry about the salt... Java ferns are actually one of the only plants that occur naturally in full-brackish water so a bit of salt is nothing to them.
> 
> I would not use stress coat in this situation, or anything really... As long as the water is nice and clean I think he should heal up in no time. I'm not a professional though... If you want the advice of experts, try emailing these guys. Before You Write: A Checklist of Common Problems with Freshwater Aquaria, Bettas, Goldfish, and Freshwater Turtles (Terrapins)
> 
> *edit* here's a page on the use of salt for preventing infection and other stuff. Looks like 1tbs per 5 gallon is the right amount, but I'm terrible at math so you probably want to read it yourself. Salt Use FW Art
> 
> Good luck!!


Thanks! He ate a little bit of bloodworms today .



onefishtwofish said:


> if u r taking him out to treat, i have had success with iodine on wounds.......just a thought
> Wounds [Archive] - MonsterFishKeepers.com. heres some info


I read online about using iodine ...I just used the Bio-Bandage because I already had some here. I wonder if the iodine would work better? The wound is looking quite chunky now from the dead tissue around the edges of it, still no signs of fungus though.


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## Pamela

I thought that I'd give an update on my injured betta ...he's still alive . I've been doing 50% water changes every day (adding salt to the new water). The betta is eating small amounts of food and is able to swim around alright. I took him out of the water yesterday & the day before to apply the Bio-Bandage powder to his wound. I decided not to apply the Bio-Bandage today because I don't want to overdo it, but if there starts to be any traces of fungus I'll apply some. The wound is looking more red coloured today, I'm not sure what that means. I can't see any of his bones anymore though.

Here's a photo that I took of the betta today so that I'd be able to compare it to when the injury first happened. (the betta's hospital tank is actually a sterilite bin so that's why it's very blurry, you can get the general idea of how he looks though)









I'm really hoping that this betta pulls through, if he does he's going to get his own 10 gallon planted tank.


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## effox

Hope he pulls through too, that's a nasty wound.


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## Pamela

effox said:


> Hope he pulls through too, that's a nasty wound.


Thanks Chris!

When I saw him right after the turtle bit him, my first thought was to put the poor betta out of his misery ...but he seems to have such a strong will to survive that I didn't want to give up on him.

About 4 or 5 years ago I was at an LFS and there was a Red Mammon that was severely beaten up by another fish in the same tank as him. I told the staff at the LFS that I wanted to buy the beaten up fish because I felt so bad for him and they told me that I could have him for free. I took the Red Mammon home and set-up a 10 gallon hospital tank for him on my kitchen counter. He was in horrible shape, most of his fins were bitten off and almost all of the scales on one side of his body had been picked off by the fish that bullied him. After a few days in my care the Red Mammon was near death. He was battling fungus on all his open wounds and laying on his side on the bottom of the tank gasping. My husband said "Pam, let me put that poor fish out of his misery" but I said no because something in his eyes told me that he wasn't ready to die. He ended up bouncing back and making a full recovery! After about 5 or 6 weeks of healing I added him to my 110 gallon cichlid tank ...unfortunately the Red Mammon acted like a real jerk & tried attacking every other fish in there . I gave him away to somebody who had a much larger tank and last I heard he was living happily ever after. I had a thread about the Red Mammon but it was lost when BCA crashed in 2010.

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that sometimes fish can be tougher than we think are .


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## effox

He's definitely putting up a good struggle, and I can't imagine any better care than what he's receiving.


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## Durogity

effox said:


> He's definitely putting up a good struggle, and I can't imagine any better care than what he's receiving.


I agree, in my experience with bettas, is that if you give them a fighting chance, they survive just about anything....I always cherish them more when they survive things they shouldn't. Hope yours pulls through, looking good so far.


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## Diztrbd1

Holy wow Pam! first time I looked at this and the title is a bit deceiving, if my Betta see's that pic he'll have nightmares lol Hope the best for the poor fella. Atleast he's in good hands with you taking care of him. Hoping for the best!


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## Elle

Glad to hear he's doing better! I've seen fish pull through some pretty bad injuries with clean water and good care. We had one of the angels who was near death from his buddies Bonnie and Clyde beating him up. 5 days in a hospital tank with salt, clean water and melafix and he recovered.

Never used bio-bandage...going to file that away for future reference!


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## Pamela

Durogity said:


> I agree, in my experience with bettas, is that if you give them a fighting chance, they survive just about anything....I always cherish them more when they survive things they shouldn't. Hope yours pulls through, looking good so far.


Thanks . I know what you mean, I've always liked this betta a lot, but I appreciate him even more now after seeing what a trooper he is!



Diztrbd1 said:


> Holy wow Pam! first time I looked at this and the title is a bit deceiving, if my Betta see's that pic he'll have nightmares lol Hope the best for the poor fella. Atleast he's in good hands with you taking care of him. Hoping for the best!


Thanks John! ...betta nightmares :lol:



Elle said:


> Glad to hear he's doing better! I've seen fish pull through some pretty bad injuries with clean water and good care. We had one of the angels who was near death from his buddies Bonnie and Clyde beating him up. 5 days in a hospital tank with salt, clean water and melafix and he recovered.
> 
> Never used bio-bandage...going to file that away for future reference!


I used to have a pair of black angels named Bonnie & Clyde too!

I like the Bio-Bandage because it makes sense to treat the injury directly. Another good thing about it is that you can use it in conjunction with other medications if need be.

It's been over a week now since the betta got bit & he's doing great! I'm still doing 50% water changes every day in his 5 gallon hospital tank. I'm going to move him into a 10 gallon tank this weekend.

Here's a photo that I took of him last night:


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## effox

Definitely doesn't look as raw or tender as it did before. Glad he's healing nicely!


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## InfraredDream

I am following this topic and it is amazing what a great care you take of him! I hope he recovers fast and lives a long and happy life


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## GlitterGourami

Hi there! I'm new to this forum, but not to fish, and especially not to bettas. I think that they are some of the most personable, interesting, and undervalued little fish, and I'm beyond thrilled to read this story. It's absolutely wonderful that your little guy is recovering so well, and he's incredibly lucky to have someone who is so knowledgeable and willing to care for him.


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## Pamela

GlitterGourami said:


> Hi there! I'm new to this forum, but not to fish, and especially not to bettas. I think that they are some of the most personable, interesting, and undervalued little fish, and I'm beyond thrilled to read this story. It's absolutely wonderful that your little guy is recovering so well, and he's incredibly lucky to have someone who is so knowledgeable and willing to care for him.


Welcome to BCAquaria & thank you for your kind words 

I'd been meaning to update this thread for awhile ...the betta is doing great! He's living in a lightly planted, heated, sponge-filtered 10 gallon tank with one other fish. Here's a photo that I took of him 5 minutes ago:


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## Fishy_Addiction

Are plakats naturally giant? If so I have to get my hands on one. I like big colorful fish. XD fun to hold and pet.

Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk 2


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## InfraredDream

This is awesome news!! Congratulations


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## Durogity

Always nice to see a betta fight it's way back from the brink


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## Fish rookie

This is really awesome. I did not know a fish could still survive even with such a severe wound. Thanks for sharing this. He is very lucky to have your attentive care. Hope he lives a nice peaceful life from this point on.


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