# Scales Outlined in Black?



## CarriePish (Nov 4, 2011)

I recently found my betta, Charles, has fin rot. I have been giving him daily water changes since Nov. 6th as well as AQ Salt and API Stress Coat to treat him. The rot seems to be clearing up and he is a bit more active, but his scales are still seem to be outlined in black. Is this the fin rot moving onto his body? Can it do that if even if he still has most of his tail and fins? Should I continue treating him the same way?

Housing 
What size is your tank? 2.5 Gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78 Degrees.
Does your tank have a filter? No.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No.
Is your tank heated? No.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Tetra Flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? 1 pinch every 2-3 days.

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 90%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Tetra BettaSafe water conditioner. 

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: n/a
Nitrite: n/a
Nitrate: n/a
pH: n/a
Hardness: n/a
Alkalinity: n/a

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? His scales seem to be outlined in black and his head has turned grey (but not cottony.) He is missing some of his fins and tail. 

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He rarely eats and lays at the bottom of the tank. 

When did you start noticing the symptoms? This Wednesday ( Nov. 2nd)
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Daily water changes and AQ Salt.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No.
How old is your fish (approximately)? 1 year and three months.

Thanks so much!


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## TheKingsFish (Jan 8, 2011)

Pictures? It might be more helpful if we can see what's going on.


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## CarriePish (Nov 4, 2011)

Unfortunately I only have a very low quality picture right now. you can kind of see the black spots around his scales on his side. 

http://i39.tinypic.com/2n9xtao.jpg


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## TheKingsFish (Jan 8, 2011)

The camera flash washes out the colouring, but if I had to hazard a guess I would say it is possible that he has some marbling in his colouration that would account for these black outlines. 

Keep us posted over the next little while if anything changes.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hi CarriePish and welcome to the forum. 

It sounds like your guy has an internal infection as well, judging by the way he is listless and laying there. Do his scales stand up at all, like they might be pineconing? If so, the black outline could be shadows. Does he look bloated at all? How bad was the fin rot?

A lot of bettas do have black outlining to their scales - it's called pineapple scales, I believe. But I take it this black outline thing is new and not something your betta has had all along?


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## CarriePish (Nov 4, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> Hi CarriePish and welcome to the forum.
> 
> It sounds like your guy has an internal infection as well, judging by the way he is listless and laying there. Do his scales stand up at all, like they might be pineconing? If so, the black outline could be shadows. Does he look bloated at all? How bad was the fin rot?
> 
> A lot of bettas do have black outlining to their scales - it's called pineapple scales, I believe. But I take it this black outline thing is new and not something your betta has had all along?


Oh no. Luckily his scales aren't pineconing. They don't seem to be shadows. I was worried they were a bacteria or fungus that was taking advantage of him while he was sick. He's not bloated, and the fin rot was fairly bad, taking a large chunk of his dorsal fin and some of his caudal and pelvic fins.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Since Sakura has you covered on the medical end, I'll throw in a few suggestions at keeping him healthy and happy once you clear up his rot 
As for your question about the rot traveling to the body:
The rot can go onto the body, but normally that happens once all the fins have been eaten up and destroyed. Rots works it's way from fin tip to body. Judging by the picture, it looks like it hasn't gotten close.

For your water changes, it seems as if you aren't doing enough- which could explain how he got the rot.
For that size of a tank, unfiltered, you will be wanting to do 1 50% and 1 100% water change per week. Not doing enough could allow unfavorable chemistry, and bacteria to grow. (Such as the rot- a small tear in the fin, water not idea, bacteria will set in, etc)

As for food- that seems such very little in the way of nutrition. Both the flakes and how much you feed.

Unless they are betta specific flakes- best to avoid using tropical flakes such as the tetra as they don't have the same nutrition and ingredients needed. Bettas are insectivore/carnivore and require meat (even fish meal) as their main ingredient. 
Pellets are the idea staple, with frozen and live foods as well. Freeze dried being a treat, and flakes.. isn't idea, but is okay as long as they are betta specific and fed once in a while. Any uneaten flakes must be removed out of the tank right after feeding as they will foul up the water fast.

Bettas do best and should be fed 2+ times a day, small meals. So a small pinch of flakes each meal, remove any uneaten ones right after. Or if you get pellets (which I highly suggest) then 4-6 a day, spread between 2+ meals (for mini pellets you would feed slightly more).

the lack of proper nutrition and not enough water changes can cause illnesses.. I'm not trying to sound rude, and I apologize if I do- just wanted to offer some advice on the care to prevent any more illnesses from happening.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

I'm sorry if I sounded rude- was rushing to be able to get my daughter out the door in time for school (one of these days I'll learn to not jump into this section when I will be leaving shortly).

I was just wanting to make a few suggestions that could improve his health some- you've had him for a while and he's been fine, so you're not horrible at caring for him. But they were just observations on what I saw, and I recommended the recommendations on water changes and feeding. So again, I'm sorry if I sounded rude or short- not my intentions.


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## CarriePish (Nov 4, 2011)

No, that's not rude at all! I'm just happy that I'm learning all this now so I can take better care of him instead of not knowing this at all. They are betta specific flakes, my only concern with pellet feeding is that he is very picky and refused to eat pellets that I tried to feed him. Maybe I will try switching back to them? And I definitely realize now that I need to take better care of his water.

Thank you so much!


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Good, sometimes I sound a little harsh and I don't mean to.. I just type in the info and forget to be courteous now and again because my mind is on finding the problem and helping hehe.
The flakes should be fine as long as fish meal is the first ingredient and not wheat. Sometimes they are too picky and it's almost fruitless to even try to get them to eat anything else. I've tried greatly to get a couple of mine to eat anything but pellets to no avail. 
So if he wants just the flakes, then that's fine. Just up the amount a little and make sure to take any you see out after he is finished. If they have sank, you can use a turkey baster to get the ones off the bottom.


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## CarriePish (Nov 4, 2011)

I checked and the first ingredient is fish meal, so that's good. I'll definitely up the amount and make sure that I clean up the leftover flakes.

One more question, how do you know when the fin rot has cleared? His fins are looking less black at the tips but I don't think I'm seeing new growth yet. The tips actually look a pale white instead of black. I don't think that's another disease, could that be new growth even though he is purple?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

For the medical side, I suggest clean water and observation for the moment. You can only use AQ salt for 14 days maximum before you start to run the risk of damaging the liver and kidneys and I suspect you may be at the limit, having battled the fin rot. Continue with the Stress Coat though, that is always good. Try and keep him as warm as possible and observe him for any signs such as bloating or struggling to breathe. If he hasn't shown any improvement in his behavior in a few days, we'll see about treatment for him. But for now, I think a break from any medicines or salts is best.

I'm also concerned that his age is taking its toll. You've had him a very long time and since a betta's average lifespan is 1-3 years and most store-bought bettas are already 3-6 months old at least by the time they hit the shelves, your betta could be close to 2 years old by now. This might account for why he is so lethargic at the moment. He's just plumb tired from fighting off the rot.

Edit: New fin growth is whitish clear.  The color comes in later.


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## CarriePish (Nov 4, 2011)

Thanks! I'll give him a break from medications and just observe. 
Oh shucks, I don't like to think that his lifespan might be nearing an end, I've just grown so attached to him. 

I'm glad that he's showing new fin growth!

Thanks again for all your help!
I'll certainly keep you guys updated on his progress. :]


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hang in there, Carrie! Average lifespan is 1-3 years so maybe the little guy will be the one who lives to 3 and beyond.


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