# Fish Rapidly Losing Color!



## SageMyster (Jul 13, 2011)

Okay, I posted yesterday about my Betta boy being sick... but now it has progressed! I have removed him from his divided tank and put him in a secluded tank with all the amenities and API stress coat/salt as needed. He was swimming on his side, and his fins are completely frayed and destroyed (by himself). He will not eat, and he hides and occasionally swims erratically. I cannot get a good picture to show it, but his anal fin has started to turn white near the base in a matter of hours. His color is draining and he's turning grey. What on earth is going on?!



Housing 
What size is your tank? 1.5gal
What temperature is your tank? 78
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Divided with Calvin, another Betta (he has 1.5gal on his side too) ... they don't bother each other and Calvin is perfectly healthy and happy, and moves around like a normal fish.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari Bio Gold
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day, 6 pellets (I have started fasting him)

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Biweekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? occasional API aquarium salt

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? Not lately, but last time everything was perfect.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Shredding fins, turning white
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lethargic, swimming on side
When did you start noticing the symptoms? It's been about 2.5 weeks
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? N/A
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Nope
How old is your fish (approximately)? approx. 2 months of ownership


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I suggest removing him from the divided tank and put him into something else, in cause he is contagious. If you do not have a tank, a storage container will do - just make sure he can't jump out.

I would also do a 100% change on the tank with other other fish - cleaning out the gravel to remove any poop in there. 

Lethargy and side swimming can be signs of swim bladder but fin rot and loosing color are usually not. 

There was another betta that had color loss and fin rot like symptoms. 
The fish's name was Holly. Here is a pic from that thread. When you say color loss - do you mean like this? Is he actually turning white or is his color just faded? The one in my avatar will loose color in his fins and the red part will turn almost white, unless I keep some epsom salt or Indian Almond Leaf in his tank..I have no idea why.


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## SageMyster (Jul 13, 2011)

His color is just fading right now (a lot), but he turned white at the base of his anal fin within a matter of hours. I've separated him and will be doing 100% water changes this morning. Any idea of what's up?


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Do you happen to have a picture of him?
If you look at him from the top, does he look like a pine cone?



> How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Shredding fins, turning white
> How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lethargic, swimming on side


is he loosing large parts of his fins overnight or in a few hours? Is there a black or sometimes red outline around the shredded area?

I am not sure what is up with him. Is the white part looking fuzzy in any way? 

Here is some info I got off a goldfish forum and may or may not help as its a general guiddline for all fish...I would ignore the part about neon tetra disease as I think only tetras can get it?? Also try Pming sakura8 or oldfishlady. They might be able to tell you whats wrong with him

LETHARGY


> Causes and Remedies Water Quality If your fish is lethargic, this may be due to poor water quality. Check your water parameters and perform water changes if necessary. These tests are best done with your own liquid test kits. As a minimum you need to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. If you need help interpreting the tests, please visit GAB's Water Quality Forum.
> Temperature Problem If the fish is not moving around much, it may be because the water is either too warm or too cold. Take care to measure the temperature. Tropical fish like a temperature around 78-79 F. For many tropical fish anything lower than 77 F may slow them and cause them to become stressed. Goldfish will do well in temperatures from 68 to 79 F. Most aquarium fish can tolerate temperatures up to 82-84 F, if you provide plenty of airation (warmer water holds less oxygen). To minimize stress, change the temperature of the water in your tank slowly/gradually. Infection If you fish is lethargic, check for other signs like redness, fuzz or fin deterioration that would suggest bacterial causes. If you cannot find any such signs (and you have ruled out water quality, parasites, egglaying, or dropping fry), check to see if the fish is still eating. If it is lethargic and not eating, it is probably an internal infection and it would be prudent to move the fish to a hospital tank. Feed antibiotic food (like Medi-Gold) or if the fish is not eating, treat with a broad spectrum in-tank antibiotic like kanamycin. If the fish is big enough you should consider injections. Keep checking for other signs of illness. Parasites Parasites can cause lethargy - particularly parasites that attack gills such as flukes or costia. Check carefully for signs of these parasites by looking at the slimecoat and seeing if the fish is gasping or flashing. Also if possible check the gills.
> Lethargy may also be a sign of internal parasites. These are hard to diagnose as they do not leave many clear symptoms except lethargy, failure to thrive and losing weight despite eating. If you have access to a microscope, you can try to identify potential pathogens by looking at some poop emulsified in tank water. Treat for internal parasites with Jungle Anti-Parasite Medicated Fish Food. Read more about treating for internal parasites here.





> Losing color Definition If the colours of your fish are less vibrant or if they turn pale, this may be a sign of problems.
> Causes and Treatments Water Quality Loss of colour may be due to poor water quality. Check your water parameters and perform water changes if necessary. These tests are best done with your own testers. As a minimum you need to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. If you need help interpreting the tests, please visit GAB's Water Quality Forum.
> Stress Stress is often a factor in fish changing colour. Stress can occur in response to stressors. Common stressors include: handling, changing water parameters, water changes, aggressive tankmates, changes in temperature or the wrong temperature, noise, vibration, sudden movements, or overstocking/crowding. Try to identify the source of the stress and alleviate it. Stress often leads to illness because it depresses immune response. Bacterial Illness Some fish get pale when fighting an illness or an infection. Make sure you look for other signs of illness (e.g. redness, lethargy, loss of appetite, etc) and medicate appropriately with medicated food if the fish is eating or broad spectrum bath antibiotics if the fish is not still eating. Costia Costia is a protozoan parasite, _Ichthyobodo,_ that attacks the fish's skin. This attack often causes the fish to produce more slimecoat, and as a result the fish may look whiter or paler. Read here about Bugsy the black moor's costia to see good pictures of scopes of the parasite. If the whiteness is caused by costia, you should be able with closer inspection to see the slimecoat changes. The fish will often also flash and rub because of the irritation. Costia is best treated with a malachite green/formalin combination present in parasite medications like Rid Ich or Quick Cure. Natural Colour Changes Some fish, like goldfish, will change colour over time. Goldfish may lose their orange, red, or black colour due to environmental changes or genetic makeup. You can read more about goldfish and colour changes here.  Neon Tetra Disease Tetras and perhaps other cyprinids are susceptible to a sporozoan parasite named _Pleistophora hyphessobryconis_. The parasite attacks the intestines and eventually muscle tissue of the fish and will cause paleness. Neon tetras, for whom this disease is named, will lose the blue colour in their middle colour band.
> There is no known treatment and it is recommended to euthanize infected fish to prevent spreading. However neon tetras often react to stress by paling, so be sure you have eliminated other causes before taking this step.


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## stonegyrl (May 21, 2012)

*Bettas faded color*

Hi guys! I have 2 male bettas. I've had them for 2 years; the longest I've ever kept bettas. I've noticed, over time, their color seems to fade more and more, even the fullness of their fins. They don't look as they did when I bought them at Petsmart :-(.

I do 100% water changes every 10 to 14 days with "Betta Safe" water conditioner. I feed them Aqua Culture Betta Pellet food once a day. They eat fine and are active. Just don't understand why they have dulled in color?! :shock: SO.... what's the deal? Is there something to help enhance their color to bring it back? This pellet food says it's a "color-enhancer" but it's obviously not enhancing their color lol :roll:

SUGGESTIONS???


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## SageMyster (Jul 13, 2011)

@Tiki: He doesn't look like a pineapple from the top... there is black and red where he's shredded, but he was naturally those colors in the first place so it's hard to tell. I can't get any good pictures of him. ): And nope, no fuzz. He's a puzzle!

Thank you for the info, I read through it all and I've done a 100% water change and tank scrubbing. I just hope he didn't infect his divided tank mate... Calvin (the tank mate) is turning a ruddy red color in some parts of his fins, which bothers me.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

stone - how bog is the tank? Try upping the water change to 2 a week - one 100% and one 50%

Sage - did the water change help any?

I am wondering if he has an internal bacterial infection? 
how is his breathing/gill movement. I dont remember if I asked


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## Basement Bettas (May 12, 2012)

If he is losing color he has something going on that is taking a huge toll on him. There are columnaris that you don't see the fuzzy places but it eats up fins and infects gills. It can become internalized and infect body tissue. There are also other things that can be on his skin too small to see without a microscope. definately get him in own container. Might try a broad spectrum gram negitive treatment. I don't like throwing meds at fish but it may give him a chance. My experience is when they start losing color you often start to see decay in the fins and they don't last much longer. You also see them lose condition and the get hollow along the spine, often with bellies that still bulge. 

I have brought only a few back from that state but I did daily PP dips [potassium permanganate]. That stuff is nothing to mess with if you don't know what your doing. I go easy with it but I have access to several culls that I tested my treatment out on first in case I made an error. The PP is an oxidizer. Leave the fish in too long and it consumes them.. not fun for fish. But the pp dips can knock back what is eating up the outside. It will eat away any skin pest and work on the slime coat. Then keep fish in immaculent water with a little salt to encourage the slime coat to form and create a protective barrier for the fish. It took a few weeks of the daily dipping on a favorite fish to get him back to the color he should have been. The pp is rough on the fish.. kinda a chemo therapy. It often can be as bad as what ails them.

If you have access to the pp I mix 1 gram of the stuff in 10 TBS of distilled water in a glass jar. mine is dark to protect from light. In glass pickle jar of 1/2 gal size I fill not quite half way. Start with about 20 drops plus a little salt and go 10 min. I have left fish at this concentration for 20 minutes. Whatever you do DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM FISH DURING TREATMENT. I set a timer for 5 minutes and watch the fish the entire time looking for any stress. If they are ok, I go another 5 minutes. You basically are knocking what ever might be on the fish down enough for the fishes immune system to fight back. Feed well.. a little often if still eating and watch water quality. Daily changes up to 100%. What ever is on the fish should be dropping off as it dies from the pp. You don't want any just weakened lying around to reinfect the fish. A second container or bleaching the one he is in before putting back in will help too. 

And watch transmission between the other fish. Feed and mess with that one first.. then the sick one. Then bleach nets and your hands. I might be over kill but easier to prevent than to treat.

Good luck..


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