# Sick Betta help



## ChessieSFR (Dec 30, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I posted this in the betta forum, but it is probably better to post it here. Sorry for the cross post.

We have a little betta alone in a 5 gal cycled tank with a couple of moss balls and some small live plants. I forget what they're called, cleo-something or others, and he's on fine sand substrate with a filter and a tank heated to 76. I do a 50% WC every week and a half.

He's a blue/black VT.

Shortly after we got him, he started getting sick. I originally had a bubbler in his tank, and there was quite a bit of water movement.

He started losing color from the tips of his fins, but they kept deteriorating until the color loss went through to his body. His face turned all scabby/gray looking, and I was afraid he would die.

I took him out of the 5gal tank and put him in a small med tank and soaked him in a 1tsp/gal aquarium salt solution for ten days, changing the water completely every day.

Then I disconnected the bubbler, turned the filter down so he'd have still water, and returned him to the 5gal tank.

He looks like he's getting better. His face is almost back to normal, and his sides are regaining color. His fins are starting to show signs of life as well.

Has anyone ever heard of this?

I just need to know if I should soak him in saltwater again, or just keep a close eye on his progress. It seems so far that color is returning and not still fading, but I'm not sure where to go now other than clean water and low stress.

True to his name, he's a fighter. We named him Ninja.

Thanks,

Chessie


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## jschwabe5 (Nov 26, 2011)

Bettas are anabantoids- they breathe air and will surface frequently to do so. They do not like strong water movement and need a spot out of current that they can rest. The Finrot is often bacterial infection and is a sign of poor water quality. It happens frequently at local fish stores where they keep/sell bettas in individual cups. I am not a fan of using aquarium salt, as it can have adverse reactions to a fish already weekend or sick. I would recommend changing some of his tank water every 2-3 days, roughly about 1/3. Are you cleaning/vacuuming the tank gravel? The substrate or gravel/sand will hold wastes and needs to be cleaned with a siphon. Make sure the water your replacing in his tank is similar temperature and if your using tap water and on a city/county water supply you may need add Prime to dechlorinate new water. Change out your filter inserts - cleaner is better. Bettas like warmer water - if you have a heater in your tank, slowly raise the water temp no more than 1-2 degrees a day until 82-84 F. You want to go slow in on increasing temp so he can acclimate. You have new fin growth showing up and his color returning so your making good progress - keep it up and get him well. Is he eating? and how often do you feed? Bev or Majerah1 is one of the moderators here on the forum and is a betta expert. I hope Ninja is better soon and give updates


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## ChessieSFR (Dec 30, 2011)

He is already so much better than he was. He's active and likes to "look" at you when you're looking at him. He's also eating well. I've been giving him four betta pellets a day, with one day of fasting each week.

He's also blowing bubble nests, so I assume he's feeling okay.

The poor little guy looked just miserable. I hope I can get him back to tip top condition soon.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

The markings I am seeing in the pic tell me he has marble in his genes. The color changing is normal for them. Just keep up with his changes and up his temp a little more and he should do fine.


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## ChessieSFR (Dec 30, 2011)

Can anyone recommend a good heater for a 5 gal tank. The one I have stinks. It doesn't ever get the tank as warm as I'd like it.


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## ChessieSFR (Dec 30, 2011)

I've never heard of marble bettas, and this was so strange. It is like the color loss has traveled in a wave down his body starting with his top fin, and now the color is coming back in the center of the patch, and a new colorless patch is going up from the bottom fin.

I'm concerned about his two long dangly fin-thingies. One of them looks pretty black. I'm still worried this is some sort of active infection. I'm just glad he isn't acting sick. He seems nice and perky, and likes to flare up at me and show off when I watch him.

When I bought him, he looked like a completely normal, no strange color at all, not even any red, blue betta with a black face. Can a fish like that "go marble"?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Betta Splendens - Half Moon, Double Tail, Crown Tail Bettas - The Ever-Changing Marble
There is a decent article on marbles and how they change colors.

Here is a exerpt from a well known breeder (Mohan) on marbles:

Genuine marble or Traditional marbles as we might call are good black and white marbles. By that what I mean is the betta has a cream or flesh body ( similar to a good cambodian with nor red washes on body) and fins (sometimes clear as cello) with contrasting melanophore (black pigments) distribution in random pattern on body and fins. These marble gene was often accompanied by his close buddy gene Red Loss (RL).

Later betta enthusiasts started breeding the irids with Genuine marbles when they learnt that the RL buddy that accompanied the marble gene could be used to minimise the red wash on the fins which was a fault at shows. But early in time, people thought that eventually the marble gene can be eliminated from the solid irids, just by only retaining the RL. Guess what, it was and still is tough to get rid and many good irid lines inherently carry marbles, because you don't want RL. This was the starting point for the Irid marbles, when they created those painted horse looing bettas, in Turq, Royal and Steel.

During the above course of mixing the RL (and obviously marbles)into solid irid lines (which carried an under lying layer of red), a mutation must have happenned where RL gene was localized and rendered effective only to certain parts of body and fins which caused, red marbles on cellos. These were indeed what people called the red marbles.

Eventually the breeders came up with bettas that had red, blue and white marbling pattern. But often they did not breed true and threw cellos, red and black marbles(that people call Tiger these days) and bettas with some ugly looking pattern due to low contrast in color and blending of such colors.

Now you are asking me what you will get crossing "red, white and blue" marbles to muticolors. There is not straight answer unless you try it. I gess it will throw an array of assorted patterns, with all possible combinations of colors in the multicolor you are crossing with.


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## ChessieSFR (Dec 30, 2011)

Wow, that is amazing! Right now, Ninja has three white "patches" that keep growing, and the biggest one has reestablished blue in the center, so it looks like the white is traveling out in colorless waves that are crashing into one another.

This is the strangest thing I've ever seen. His top fin is entirely clear and looks like glass.

I'm just floored. I've never run across this before.


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## ChessieSFR (Dec 30, 2011)

I'm still concerned about possible rot on one of his long dangly fins. Is this something I should be concerned about? Or is this all just part of these funky color changes?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Is it turning grey? If its not then I would say its the marbling.


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## ChessieSFR (Dec 30, 2011)

It is the black edges on that one front dangling fin. The fin is starting to change color, I guess I'll just watch to see if the black goes with it or not.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

The ventral fins are what you are referring to. In royal blues they are usually a darker color fin than the others, poor quality will have red wash, which is the red you are seeing. Not saying hes poor quality, but if he was a show fish he would be deducted points  He is going to be a very fun fish with the color changing. He also looks pretty healthy to me so just watch him.


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## ChessieSFR (Dec 30, 2011)

I'll keep a close eye on him. What an adventure. I thought I was getting a plain blue, fairly "boring" betta. Ha, Surprise!


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