# slightly stressed betta



## sephnroth (Jul 30, 2013)

my betta is showing small signs of stress. shes lost a litttle bit of colour (not much) from the front of her belly and just seems a slightly lighter shade as oposed to the deep purple she was - but tbh her colour changes depending on where she is in relation to the light! mostly shes dark purple, then turqoise and i swear i occasionally see hints of red when she moves about!

anyway im certain shes lighter and i think a bit stressed but i put it down to several water changes and new fish that has been added over the past few weeks. but the last set of new fish was last saturday and im wondering how long does it take a betta to adjust and calm down?

water parameters are fine, temprature good, big tank, LOTS of plants.

I wondered if she was upset at the pearl gourami i added. I did research before getting one and accepted that they might not get on in which case i was prepared to move one or the other to another tank. I specifically picked out a female pearl and my betta is female too and happily so far its been all peace in the tank. they've looked at each other a bit but quickly lose interest and swim away. Sometimes they sit side by side or swim together which really surprised me. 

the only thing remotely close to aggression i've seen is today when i fed the tank (flakes for the harlequins, pellets for the betta and gourami - sometimes blood worm for treat but not today!) and they both went for the same pellet and the gourami darted in first 

im building some caves from stones which i will add to the tank hopefully soon so the betta can have a cave of her own (i read they like that right?) maybe that will be enough.

anyway should i be worried for her, its just a slight loss of colour not big - or shall i see if things calm down over... a week? 2?

as i said, behaviour-wise, tank is peaceful and all fish active and calm and exploring and swimming!


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## sephnroth (Jul 30, 2013)

http://sdrv.ms/13k6wUO

a video i just took of the betta and the rest of the tank  the "no!" is lucy explaining to the cat that the chicken on lucy's plate is not the property of the cat.


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## chipmunk1210 (Jul 3, 2012)

From looking at the video, your betta is definitely stressed. The horizontal white line down her body is a clear stress indicator. Not positively sure what is stressing her at this moment although I do have some guesses. Number 1 thing I see is the current from the bubble wall is throwing her around something fierce which is not what bettas like. Number 2 is the gourmani. Both of them are aggressive species that inhabit the top of the aquarium so it really is not recommended to keep them in the same tank together. Is it normal for the gourmani to just hang out in the top corner like that most of the time? If so, that could be your gourmani's way of showing stress from being around the betta. Number 3 is the schooling fish in the tank. Some bettas are stressed by other fish in the tank with them(this includes female bettas as well). When did she start showing the horizontal line? That could point to when the stress started.


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## sephnroth (Jul 30, 2013)

When i first got her (my avatar shows a pic ) she had faint line already. Since then ive done quite a few water changes and messed with the tank a bit, none of which she seemed to like. The cwm were first addition to her tank then a week and a bit later the harlequins and then the pearl. I knew they might not get on even when both female but after seeing examples of it working well on youtube and aqadvisor not throwing up a specific warning for the pearl i figured id try!

as i said they are peaceful around each other. The pearl, being new, is a scardey cat! She hid in that corner for the first day but now comes out and generally hangs around middle of tank at mid height. She runs back to her corner if a human comes too near the tank, ie when i was filming. 

i think the current is from the filter outflow and dunno what to do about it  i pointed it diagonal cuz it seemed to create less areas of high flow over all.. But i can direct it along back of tank again if you think that would be better?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Yea very stressed. A couple things I want to touch on. As Nat said, the current. Looked like the betta wanted to take a breath but couldnt. She was having difficulties swimming. I believe the cause is either the filter or the bubble wall. Whats the temp in there? The minnows are best suited for goldfish. They like cooler water than domestics. Her tank should be no less than 82 degrees, and the white clouds like it in the 70s. Plus all that movement may make her nervous.


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## sephnroth (Jul 30, 2013)

I wasn't sure about the cwm for that reason! I was saving them from a throw out but i DO have a cold water tank cycled now they could move to.. Except they have somehow integrated and started schooling with the harlequins like they are same species and in reluctant to separate them xD aqadvisor said they would be ok in the tank and to keep it at 25c (dunno what that is in f, on phone not at pc atm) but the heater is set to 26c and atm cuz of the hot weather the tank thermometer has been reading 28c each day.

the current is from the fluval 3 plus filter, I'm looking for suggestions on best position for it and its out flow ! Its set to minium flow, can go more but not less :/ there are calm zones in the corners of tank where the gourami and betta can idle among plants and easilly surface for air. The betta SEEMED to enjoy current. Like she would purposefully swim to the bubbles, ride them up and then swim back to bottom and repeat a but before going back to exploring plants xD


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## sephnroth (Jul 30, 2013)

Assuming i fix whatever is stressing her.. How long for colour to restore? Like will i know ive got it right straight away or will it take a whole?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Shouldnt take her very long to regain her color. BTW, that would only be 78F. Which many do keep theirs at that temp, however it goes along with the, would you rather be surviving or thriving? As for the schooling, it wouldnt hurt their feelings. Just get some more of both for a proper school. The gourami also worries me as she seems to be bothered by the current as well. That is shy shes in the corner, its more of a dead spot. Once you slow the flow, I am betting she will turn more aggressive when she realizes she can maneuver in the tank.


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## sephnroth (Jul 30, 2013)

What i was trying to say was the gourami only sits in the corner when a human is close to the tank. When im on sofa watching she sits in middle and sometimes swims around the plants . She can manoeuvre easilly as can the betta for the most part unless she goes into the direct flow as u saw in video


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## sephnroth (Jul 30, 2013)

just an update to say the betta is the same, no worse and no better (well maybe a bit better but could just be me being hopeful) but i also took the CWM out today and are currently aclimatising them to the cool water tank (which currently has two platys and a danio (another rescue fish, he needs friends soon!) and 3 yamato shrimp.

skye (my betta) is currently swiimg around the middle of the tank and sometimes exploring the plants and pearl (my gourami, original name i know!) is doing the same. if it was not for the horizontal line on skye everything would APPEAR perfect in there!

edit: and the marina temprature strip on side of tank says 82f is the current temp. question - do these strips ever lose accuracy or stop working properly? the tank was second hand and came with it attached, i always wondered if i should buy a new one.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Stick on thermometers are not the most accurate,as they are effected by room temp also.A simple $2 glass thermometer is what I trust all my tanks .I pull ALL of them off shelf and make sure I get one that says what MOST of the others say(temp).There is ALWAYS one out of 8 that is "off" by a few degrees.


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## sephnroth (Jul 30, 2013)

Ive upped the heater so the tank is being kept at 28.5c now. Ive adjusted filter so the output is going diagonally into back wall and front of tank is much slower moving - betta does seem to be enjoying that more. Will leave tank alone a while and see if she improves!


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