# White stripes and discoloration of a fin



## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

hi, all. I have just registered and I promise to read the rules and add more information. We got this betta fish a month ago, amd didn't know much about how to take care of it. It lived in one gallon bowl as we were told at petsmart but I then red a lot of info. Now I have a 5 gallons tank and other things. The fish looks ok, active and eats well.

I wanted to ask you all about my fishes tail. White strips and discoloration.. Is it a rot? Stress? How bad is it?


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

Hi! Welcome!!

If you would answer the questions in this form, that will help members to give you more accurate, detailed answers 









*****PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Fill out this form so...


Many thanks to BF/TFK Member Mike for developing this questionnaire. It is the same form with a few additions. Please copy and paste into a new message and complete this form when seeking help for your Betta. This information and a clear photo posted directly into the thread will help us give...




www.bettafish.com


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## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

*Housing:*
How many gallons is your tank? 5
Does it have a filter? yes
Does it have a heater? yes
What temperature is your tank? 78, the thermometer is fixed to that temperature
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? no

*Food:*
What food brand do you use? aqueon betta food and tetra bettamin
Do you feed flakes or pellets? both 
Freeze-dried? no
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 2 times per day, two-three pellets

*Maintenance: 
Before* your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? a: it lived in 1 gallon bowl for a month, water was changed daily. Then I put him this Monday to a 5 gallon tank with a filter
What percentage of water did you change? a: when he was in a bowl - 100%
What is the source of your water? tap water
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? just replaced water 
What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? API Beta water conditioner

*Water Parameters:*
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water _before_ the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: dont have a test for it
Nitrite: 0.5-1
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.0
Hardness (GH): 30
Alkalinity (KH): 40

*Symptoms and Treatment:*
When did you first notice the symptoms? two weeks ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? no
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? no
Is your Betta still eating? yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? this Monday - with API Betta Fix. and put him into a bigger tank with a filter
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? no
How long have you owned your Betta? 5 weeks
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? no


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

Hi! I think he may have been stressed in the small bowl and was biting his fins.

Now that he's in the bigger container, you may want to add more live or silk plants, and decor for places that he can hide in.

When you begin to see clear finnage growing at the edges of the torn fins, that means he's healing 

Oh by the way, be sure and obtain a test kit or strips for the ammonia and also test the temperature in the tank regularly or get an intank thermometer if you don't already have one.

Also, my boys get as much as they can eat in 60-90 seconds twice daily plus a treat every other day. You might want to increase his food a bit so he's not underfed.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Welcome to the Forum!

His coloration is normal. Lots of Betta have white lines in their fins; it's just more noticeable in darker Betta. He does look to have been fin biting by the missing u-shaped chunks. He might stop in the bigger tank. Can you post a photo of the entire tank? Betta are not open-tank fish and sometimes this contributes to biting. A rule of thumb is if you can easily see your Betta there's not enough cover. 

Here is this Forum's tutorial on cycling. Once finished, it will reduce the number of maintenance water changes from two 25% + vacuum to one.








CYCLING: the two-sentence tutorial


Change half the water when either ammonia or nitrite approach 0.50ppm (alternately, 25% at 0.25ppm), or weekly, whichever comes first. Add Seachem Prime at 2-drops per gallon of tank size every day until cycled. That’s all you have to do. You can stop reading now. But there’s a lot of...




www.bettafish.com





Personally, I think you are feeding him enough. How much you feed depends on size of pellets, activity of fish, etc. If you do decide to increase add a third meal; do not up the number of pellets in the current schedule. Overfeeding is not feeding too much; it's feeding too much _at one time_.

You didn't tell us his name.


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## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

Thank you all for the feedback. Will post a photo of a tank tomorrow - it is that Marinland Countour 5 gallons one. I have a few double suction-cup-leaves, floating log(he loves hide in there, 7 moss balls and more on a route from amazon (hiding cave, more silk plants) so going to give him plenty of stuff. Just purchased those bloodworms today too. Spent a lot of hours this week reading on the internet how to handle bettas as nobody at petsmart store explained anything really. 

The fishs name is Flick (if I'm not mistaken ) it was supposed to be my daughter's fish, she picked him and named him, but after I noticed issues with his tail and started learning more, it kind of moved from her desk to mine and kind of becoming my pet now ))


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## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

My wife is kidding that I'm probably under more stress that our betta now from this whole situation ) They need to sell "betta-owner-fix" medicine too. Oh, wait, they do, its just called differently


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

lol you're doing just fine!


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## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

But just to clarify - I understand on him bitting his tail. 
But also - he lost a lot of color of his tail and those wite stripes on the tail just started appearing two weeks ago. And it progressed fast. 

Should I do anything with it except of getting more stuff for the tank and checking water? 

I've also purchased that aquarium salt today and added as per instruction 1 tablespoon for 5 gallons


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Betta also change colors. That's another thing the pet stores don't tell you. He looks good to me and normal. But, just to be sure, take photos a couple of times per week. Try to get him in close to the same position. This way you can monitor and see if Flick is changing more.

The main things I watch for are eating and activity. If they are eating and active I tend not to be terribly worried.

Wasn't "Flick" the kid in "A Christmas Story?" The one how got his tongue stuck to the flagpole?


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## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

Ha, yes, his name was also Flick )
You will be laughing, my weightlifting coach is the guy (Yano) who played Grover Dill.

Ok, thank you very much for your help. I will probably stop adding that betafix medicine and will just observe the little buddy's tail for a while. 

I've gotten another 5 gallons tank for him (just a glass tank, not a kit) with hang-on PennPlex Cascade filter - he will have even more space than in his current kit-tank where that back compartment just takes a lot of space...


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

Hi! I'm not clear, are you sure you need to be adding the salt?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

If the Penn-Plax doesn't work out, I can highly recommend this one:








FORZA 5-15 Power Filter PFE-1 - 45GPH


AquaTops FORZA 5-15 Power Filter comes equipped with all the necessary filter media to ensure superior filtration: Mechanical, Chemical & Biological. The 5-15 utilizes a filtration chamber system with replaceable filter pad cartridges enhanced with Aquatops Premium Activated Carbon, and the Bio...




www.aquatop.com





It works well on Cairo's 2.5. At least, he hasn't complained. 

They make glass canopies which you need as some Betta are jumpers.


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## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

*RussellTheShihTzu *- thank you! Just purchased one from Amazon too - will compare. The PennFlax came only with one filter plate (with loose carbon granules and a very thin cloth covering it). The one your recommended claims 3 types of filtration - like it  Will look for a cover (that Marinland tank already came with a cover, but not the new one)

*Mbpoppy *- i dont really know )) I just red in multiple places that adding salt also helps to cure bettas tails. I probably overreacted... this forum is actually great. Is there a page / instruction on how to start a new tank? Flick is in that Marinland 5g tank now, but I've gotten a new full glass one (which is not a kit, so I can use a better filter, etc) and a few more plants, will be setting that one today too and move him there next week.

What else is a best practice to have the betta happy and healthy?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

If you post in Betta Care or Habitats, etc., you'll probably be more successful in receiving responses. There are several stickies that might help, too. There's also a sticky in "Pictures" where you can find all sorts of photos on how people set up their tanks. In the Planted section there's a sticky with planted tank photos.

Salt is used to keep injured fins clean and to help them heal so it appropriate to use. IMO, a better option is to make a "tea" out of Indian Almond Leaves or plain Rooibos Tea. Both have antibacterial and antifungal properties. Or you can float a leaf or a bag directly in Flick's tank.


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## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

Here is his new tank, i moved him from 5g Marinland to true 5g glass one with new plants and a new cave to hide.


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

wow, this looks great! Nice job - love all those marimo lol


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

Hi! In case you haven't seen this already, at the top of this forum you'll see a number of "pinned" or sticky threads that russeltheshihtzu was referring to. The tank cycling and Oldfishlady's water change recommendations are of particular note for you.








Betta Fish Bowls, Habitats, and Accessories


Betta fish are often housed in betta fish bowls and small aquariums. Giving your betta the proper lighting, filtration and more can help your betta fish thrive.




www.bettafish.com





This is another forum with some good pinned threads;








Betta Fish Care


Betta fish are relatively hardy, but like any aquarium fish, they need to be taken care of. Discuss betta fish care here.




www.bettafish.com


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## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

Already printed main guidelines. Just returned from the store with a vacuum cleaner, API Test kit and other stuff. Flick seems happy in the new tank. 

Gosh, for the $$ spent on him this week - I really expect him now to juggle with moss balls and do backflips every time i come around ))) 

He is back to my daughters room - will start posting other questions in other parts of this forum

Thank you all for your help and advises


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## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

Flick's colors on his tail haven't returned yet, but it seems like he is recovering. At least not loosing his tail size anymore. 

Today I moved him to my work desk  My wife decided to repaint my daughters room and my little buddy will spend a week with me until he returns (or IF I decide to give him back  )

I started following those cycling recommendations today and change 25% water 2-3 times per week. And i do measure water daily using API test kit. 

Does it stress fish when the tank is moved around or plants in his tank change positions? He is rapidly swimming now, but I hope he will adapt in a day...


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

He might be swimming around to see what's new 

I've read advice to not move decor, but my boys seem to adjust after a bit, especially when I had to replace/add some plants

How is he now?


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## AndreaPond (May 2, 2020)

After each weekly water change my plants are always in different places, but Mr Garvey doesn't seem to mind because he always eats immediately after I'm done. He shows no stress whatsoever.


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## Viktor Lesiv (Sep 10, 2020)

Mbpoppy said:


> How is he now?


Well - you were correct - initial 'stress' day followed by Flick slowing and calming down, adjusting and now just cruising in the tank. I put him on my desk, we are repainting my daughters bedroom and now can just observe him better. Re-aranged his plants so big leaves are close to the surface and he loves to lie on then as on a bed, so, his fins are sticking out  waiting for his tail to recover and white stripes to dissapear - will probably take a few weeks


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

What a fun boy he is


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