# My harlequin rasbora has white stripes on his fins



## BettaBoii (Mar 21, 2020)

I’ve had my four harlies for about a month and a half and they’ve been doing great. Yesterday I decided to get a couple more. I can home with two new rasboras. One of them, the bigger one, fit right in and almost instantly began schooling with the other fish and eating at every feeding. But the other one, the smallest of the six by far, hangs out behind the plants and won’t eat. He does come up to the upper levels of the tank and swim around a bit, but still won’t eat. I also noticed a bit of the end of one of his fins was missing. I haven’t seen any of the other fish bully him, I’m hoping that happened before I got him. I also noticed he has developed white striped growths on his fins. Im worried that it might be a fungal infection. But if it isn’t I don’t want to cause excess stress by removing him. Here are some pictures.


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## BettaBoii (Mar 21, 2020)

Notice the chunk of fin missing and the white stripes


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## BettaBoii (Mar 21, 2020)

Update, he’s starting to school with the others. He’s very nervous. I also noticed that his fins are split all the way down the middle while the others don’t.







This vs







this
You think this’ll be a problem?


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## Rana (Apr 27, 2013)

Are the stripes fuzzy or raised, like they're sitting on top of the fin, or do they look like they're just a colored section of the fin itself?

I'm not familiar with Rasboras, but in general if it looks like it's just a colored section but the fin/scales/skin itself seems fine, especially if it was like that when you got the fish, then I wouldn't worry too much. Each fish will have slightly different markings and it may be perfectly normal and harmless.

The fin split could be damage, possibly from nipping if it seems like it was getting bullied, or again just another natural variation.

However if the white section _is_ fuzzy or raised, it could very well be a bacterial or fungal infection. I would encourage you to fill out our emergency form even though it's aimed at bettas, or possibly make a post on our sister-site Tropical Fish Keeping because they have more experience with other fish.


Additionally, this does illustrate the importance of quarantining new fish. If this Rasbora does have some sort of infection, it has now been introduced to your tank, and you will need to treat all of the fish in it (If treatment is needed at all). If you'd put the new fish into their own QT tank first, you could make sure they were healthy or treat them in isolation, rather than risking the rest of your fish.

It's not something that us betta-keepers tend to think about a lot, because many of us keep tanks that only have a single fish in them at a time. But when you start to branch out into community tanks QT becomes very important, otherwise you are gambling on the health of the fish you already own.


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## BettaBoii (Mar 21, 2020)

It doesn’t look fuzzy but it is raised. That bottom fin is beginning to look a little shredded. I’ll think I’ll quarantine him for now. For both his safety and my other fish. I’ll definitely be quarantining all my future fish, including the betta I’ll be reviving Friday. I’m going to look a little deeper into his symptoms and maybe try some treatments. Thank you!


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## BettaBoii (Mar 21, 2020)

😢😢 Poor little guy just died. I wish I knew what I did wrong. I added half a teaspoon of aquarium salt to his one gallon quarantine tank. He just started getting stuck behind the filter upside down and when I took the filter out he just swam near the surface or upside down in the plants. Just changed all the water in the quarantine tank in preparation for my betta I’m getting Friday. Poor fishy.


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm really not sure what could have been the problem with him.

You need to tear down, and sanitize your quarantine tank before putting your new betta in it. Just changing the water will not be good enough if the rasbora had something that's contagious. You can use hot water and vinegar to do so, and if it's sunny where you are put everything out in full sun for a couple of days, to kill any remaining pathogens. Otherwise leave the tank empty till your new betta gets there then set up the tank. 

Be sure to keep a close eye on your community tank for the next 2 weeks. Hopefully your poor rasbora didn't have anything contagious and your fish are fine.


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## BettaBoii (Mar 21, 2020)

I just got him yesterday and he was definitely the runt. He wasn’t in the quarantine tank for very long, but I’ll still do a deep clean. Rest In Peace little dude.


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