# male vertical stripes?



## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

Do males get vertical stripes? I know females do, but over the last few days I've noticed that my male looks like he has vertical stripes. He's currently sick, so I've been changing his water every day, and for the few minutes that I've been changing his water, I've had him in a little cup, which I put next to another tank with a female in it. I didn't think anything of it until I noticed that whenever she notices that he's there, she gets similar stripes, too. 

Could it be just the fact that the female's there, or could it be part of his illness?


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## BlakbirdxGyarados (Feb 10, 2011)

I don't think it's part of his illness. Vertical stripes in a female are also called breeding stripes, as they indicate she's "in the mood" for breeding. Males get them too... My halfmoon Jade got some when I fed him some Mysis shrimp this evening. He also buld a huge bubblenest over the day... which he almost never builds those.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Stripes on a male like that are commonly stress stripes. It's the fact that he is A) sick B) going through daily water changes (which is a must, they just don't like it) C) and then add to those two on top, he's being put next to a fish that normally they would fight so that is even more stress.
Nothing to do with breeding, when a male wants to breed he brightens his colors and flares, not lessens it to show stripes =)


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Stripes, color changes..etc.....are a form of communication and camouflage in Bettas of both sexes....could be communicating stress, sick, hiding from the other Betta due to illness, female to tell the male she is ready to spawn, happy, sad, excited...etc.....sometimes the color of the substrate and surroundings will cause a color change or fading in response to the surroundings...etc....fish can tell you a lot of things by the colors and stripes they display as well as body language that often will go along with some color changes....


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

I took some pics and a video of my fish. Anybody have any idea what this could be? I've already done a betta revive treatment and I'm finishing up a AQ salt treatment. He hasn't gotten any better or any worse. He's been like this for more than 3 weeks now.  

He's got a good appetite, but if the food is too big he regurgitates it. And he always swims around when I check on him.

Here are a few of the pics. These are from this past Sunday.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

I can't seem to get the video to work, but here's a pic that I took last night.

One thing to note that I forgot to put into the previous post...

It is possible that there might be some chlorine poisoning along with what was originally wrong with him. I'm not quite sure. The first time I did the betta revive, I can't remember if I put in the dechlorinator or not, and I didn't think of it until the next morning, which means he was 8-10 hours in water that MIGHT have had chlorine in it. I've researched the symptoms and he doesn't seem to be exhibiting any of the signs of chlorine poisoning, but I'm just not sure.


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## Aquarianblue (Aug 26, 2011)

How long have you had him? Sometimes when males are kept in very small places their fins can do this. Also, how much movement of water is in his tank? Can cause the same things. Also, as for vertical bars, everyone else beat me to the answer, but it's a form of communication with them. Usually if a male has bars, he's unhappy/not well. I wish the best for him, and yourself.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

I've had him since May. He's usually in a 1.5g heated tank with a filter. The bowl is only to treat him. 

Originally his fins weren't quite so bad, just really clamped and there was a bit of fuzziness to his sides, but the fuzziness is gone, and now he's just got the problem with his fins and a problem with eating.


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## Aquarianblue (Aug 26, 2011)

Weird. I can ask around about this, I've never really heard of such a thing, under the care he's under.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

Sparrow's been doing lots better lately. His fins have started to open up, and he's slowly improving where his eating is concerned. Still has trouble keeping pellets (even crushed) down. Thankfully he's able to eat small pieces of freeze dried blood worms.


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## Cutekitti (Sep 17, 2011)

mine gets them when I try to take pictures of him...evil evil camera


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Is he acting/looking any different? I just noticed he has a bump by his swim bladder area in the pics... I would definitely keep an eye on that if I were you. Watch for him not eating again, going lethargic, laying on his side, buoyancy problems, etc. It could be something simple as SBD or worse case scenario, tumor. He may not even have a bulge there, but in the last two pics it sure looks like he does =(


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

It's just the same little bumps (on both sides) that he's always had, as do all my other fish. It might be more prominent now because he's been sick and is a bit thinner.


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## Aquarianblue (Aug 26, 2011)

The person above me. (btw, hello up there!) has very sound advice. At one time, Blaze, an old CT I had would show a bulge as you report. It never seemed to harm him.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

So after weeks of LOTS of TLC, Sparrow's almost completely better! His fins are spreading out again, and he's eating pellets that don't have to be crushed! I put him back in his tank on Friday, and he's really active again! :grin:

Here's the most recent pics... 
Attached Images


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

He's looking good! A little TLC is always a good thing =) I'm happy for you!


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

the verticle stripes are 'submission' stripes, or 'breeding' stripes. my female, Lulu, gets them whenever she sees me, or whenever she'd see my late female, Caroline. it shows that she doesn't wanna fight, so she's submitting. x: at least, that's what i've heard. your male, in the first photos, clearly wasn't feeling good, so maybe he was telling anyone out there "i don't wanna fight. you win", so he wouldn't get in a scuffle. he looks GREAT in the last few, though!


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

newfiedragon said:


> It's just the same little bumps (on both sides) that he's always had, as do all my other fish. It might be more prominent now because he's been sick and is a bit thinner.


This bump is most likely the caudal peduncle a normal part of the anatomy and nothing to worry about...some are more prominent than others for varied reasons.......

Color changes and stripes are a form of communication and camouflage as I posted earlier....doesn't always mean something is wrong per se'


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