# Betta loosing some color, early stages of fin rot?



## nomoretickets (Sep 29, 2010)

I just noticed that my veil tail Wannahockaloogie has a washed out appearance on his tail between the rays (idk if that is technically what they are called) of his tail. could this potentially be the beginning stages of fin rot?

The tank is heated, usually around 76*
It is a 10 Gallon divided between him and another betta.
Not currently filtered, but I do a 25% water change everyday.


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## nomoretickets (Sep 29, 2010)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 10 Gallon
What temperature is your tank? 76 +/-1
Does your tank have a filter? No
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? 1 Male Crowntail (divided tank)

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? 3 aqua culture betta pellet food pellets/freeze dried bloodworms once a week
How often do you feed your betta fish? once daily, sundays no food

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Daily
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Approximatly 25%. Alternating weekends either 75% or 100% Water changes
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Tetra water conditioner (i dont have the bottle right in front of me)

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? I dont have a test kit yet

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Yes, he is loosing color in his fins, and his body is not as brilliant
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? No
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Today
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? 1-2 years old maybe


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

You should really invest in a test kit and a filter for a tank that size, you must be tired of those big water changes by now! 

Fin rot has a very distinct appearance--it's usually caused by the edges of the fins being burned by high ammonia, the wound gets infected, and that's where you end up with fin rot. If your fish bite their tails, which is very common in bettas, the bite wounds can get infected and they can get it that way as well. Infected tissue will be black and crusty looking. If the edge of the fin is clear or white rather than black and crusty, it is a good sign. Clear/white tissue means the fin is growing, either repairing damage from a previous wound or the fish is continuing to grow. 

You should really get your water tested--if you don't have a kit and can't afford one, you can take a sample of your water to a local fish store/pet store and they will test it for you for free. You should also consider turning the heater up to around 80 degrees, your fish should perk up with more heat. 

Here is the kind of test kit you should purchase: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4345+4454&pcatid=4454

At some point, you should really look into getting a filter and cycling it. Research the Nitrogen Cycle and make sure you have a test kit before you start.


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## nomoretickets (Sep 29, 2010)

Since the white/clear/faded area is most prominent in e membrane of his tail and other flowing fins, is he just growing?


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## nomoretickets (Sep 29, 2010)

So i was just reading online at a different forum that sever bacterial fin rot can cause the fins to appear blood red. Wannahockaloogie's tank mate was just recently purchased, and i noticed this morning that he had developed a bright red coloration in portions of the membrane of his fins. Here are a few photos (sorry about the crappy quality, my phone sucks at taking photos of fish)


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

He looks fine to me. He is showing stress stripes but his fins are fine.


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## nomoretickets (Sep 29, 2010)

those pics dont capture the color just right, it was a bright, and i mean bright, fire engine red when the sunlight hit it this morning. I also thought that stress stripes were horizontal on the body. what might appear to be horizontal stripes is just the fact that his body shifts between blue/green as he moves


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I really don't see much wrong with him. His fins are clamped and some stress stripes (which are horizontal on both face and body). Was he red in the morning? I didn't quite understand that. If you were talking about fins they sometimes change. My blue dragon HMPK male changes from bright red to pale red and from green to blue to his dragon coloring throughout the day. Sometimes it just depends on the angle of light.


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## ashleyy (Sep 10, 2010)

MrVampire181 said:


> He looks fine to me. He is showing stress stripes but his fins are fine.


what/where are stress stripes?



and he looks fine to me. maybe turn up his heater to 78 or 80 and get your water tested at a pet store or invest in at least an ammonia tester. its kinda expensive. but it's worth having to make sure everything is alright :]


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I just see some faint ones on his face. But sometimes that's 100% normal. I have fish like that all the time and are happy nest builders


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## nomoretickets (Sep 29, 2010)

in the fourth picture you can see it best. the dark colored areas on his fins are red, my phones camera just did a terrible job of capturing that. In the morning, the sunlight shines into the tank fairly well, and when he swam into the light, the darker areas were a bright bright red color


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