silver spots and a scratch?

[lilstar]

After a weekend at my boyfriend's house (I had to go home to work), where the only thing I asked him to do was feed Fighter twice a day, I felt like Fighter's color had faded a little, and noticed some light spots on his head and a tear in his fin. I went out and bought Melafix, Bettamax, and RidIch, but all I've tried on him so far is the Melafix. I feel like his fins, generally, look a little better, but there are a few silver areas/spots on his body. I've been reading descriptions of ich, velvet, and other infections, but none of them really seem to fit. Maybe I'm wrong though. I'm not sure if these are normal or not, and it worries me.
Also, I checked on him when I woke up this morning, and it looked like he might have gotten a scratch, since one of the scales at the top of his body seemed like it had been ripped a little. I was looking there because I was worried about dropsy, but it's only one scale and it's not sticking up the way they seem to when a fish is sick with dropsy.
Does anyone have any recommendations? I was planning on treating him with Melafix for a few more days, and trying either the Bettamax or RidIch after that, since I think RidIch can help with other infections also. And I think that I'm going to bring him home with me this weekend, even though I would prefer not to transport him around so much.

[ana]

ive never seen silver on bettas, but i only have 2 different colourings of them. not knowing everything i would recommend keeping his water very clean and treating his wounds with the melafix for 7 days, if you still think theres something wrong after that i would use an antibiotic. be vigilent and watch for other problems in the meantime

[Crystal]

The only silvery color I have seen on bettas is when their abdomen changes when they are not feeling very well. It will be from their chin back to their ventrals - the stomach area.

[Jenny]

Do you have anything in the tank that he could have hurt himself on. Everything in there (plants, decorations, hideys) should be smooth enough that it will not snag on a pair of panyhose.

The melafix was a good call for medication. It helps them to repair after an injury. If your betta has ick there will be little white spots on him that look like salt. Unless you see this, I would not use the ick medication. Bettamax is sort of a general tonic for bettas, and can help them perk up when they are sluggish or not eating, but it doesn't treat any specific diseases.

I have no idea what the silver coloring is. How long have you had him? If you only got him recently, is it possible that it is his natural coloring coming out. Sometimes they are faded after being in the miserable conditions in the pet store.

[lilstar]

Hi, thanks for all of your replies. Actually, Crystal, I don't know if he has a stomach problem or not - I actually noticed the other day that it was a little bit swollen, but it hasn't grown and isn't very noticeable. Does that sound normal? Maybe it does mean something, combined with the silver spots?
I don't think the spots look like salt at all, but I'm not sure if it's the normal coloring because they don't seem to fit a pattern, but rather seem kind of random.
I used to have a sort of spikey-ish coral in the tank, which I took out for worries that it might snag his fins, and also to be able to see him better in the meantime. I'm not sure what could have happened to make his scales look like that, but I hope the melafix will help to heal the wound.
He seems to be behaving ok. He still swims around and eats a lot. I'm really happy about how much better his pectoral fins are looking also, and hope that the melafix continues to heal them. I thought, at first, that they were supposed to be that transparent, but I guess not. Must have been the pet store life.

[ana]

let us know if the melafix gets rid of it. and i'd keep an eye on his tummy, just in case

i hope thats all it needs and hes all healed up quickly or that its just colouring, i remember getting very worried about shiny gold specks on 2 of mine, later i realized it was just colouring, what a relief