# Brown head and brown fins.



## Toshichi (Dec 27, 2010)

I just got my betta fish yesterday for a Christmas present, and today I am noticing his head is brown, along with his two front fins. and his bottom fin is slowly starting to turn brown as well. 

The fish is afraid of me as well, is this all just over stress or is the brown spots an indication that he is sick? and if so what do I do, how do I treat him?

heres more info:

Housing 
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? about 75 degrees id say sense that is the room temperature
Does your tank have a filter?no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? it has a plastic plant and a cave
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? only pellets atm it's all I have for him
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3 pellets a day.

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? I just put him in the tank for the first time yesterday, I planned on changing it once a week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? I plan on changing 50% of it a week. (i dunno if thats good or bad)
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? I put a cap full of nutrafin in the first bowl.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No I have nothing to test with atm. but I can tell you it's Well water. So it shouldn't have any chemicals in it.

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? he's gotten brown on his head and on his two front bottom fins
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? I couldn't tell you, he's been afraid of me from the start, and he swims around normally when I leave him alone.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? yesterday his fins were brown, today his head.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no I have no idea how. 
Does your fish have any history of being ill? i couldnt tell you i just got it.
How old is your fish (approximately)? its an adult, I have no idea how old it is.  fresh out of the pet store is all I know.

with this info can you please help me diagnose and treat my fish? Right now, I don't know what, and I don't know what to do


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

If he is otherwise acting and eating fine what you are seeing may just be normal color changes and responding to the clean water and bigger tank.......

I would get him a heater and a thermometer so you can maintain a stable water temp in the 76-80F range...offer small frequent meal of a varied diet with a one day a week fast...

In a 1gal unfiltered tank-I would make twice weekly water changes to maintain water quality....1-50% and 1-100%...make sure the water temp is within a couple of degrees between new and old water to prevent water temp related problems and use a good dechlorinator with any water added to the tank with the water changes if on city water supply.....

Welcome to the wonderful world of Betta keeping...an awesome hobby to be a part of.....would love to see some pics and this will also help us tell if anything is wrong

Sometimes it take them a few weeks to adjust to you and start to respond and associate you with food and fresh clean water...give him some time and he should come around and view you as the neatest person in the world.....


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

In a 1 gallon tank, do 100% water changes every other day. 1-50% and 1-100% is for _2.5 gallons_, IMO.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Actually, in the experiments that I have completed/conducted- the care for unfiltered tanks with one adult Betta in 1-3gal tanks are the same...the rise in ammonia level start in 3 days to 0.25ppm-50% water change and the ammonia will go to 0ppm...the ammonia will rise to 0.25ppm in 3day in the 1gal and 4 days in the 3gal...these are not scientific based experiments...just hobbyist based with the API master test kit...in 1gal pickle jar and 3gal tank with an adult male Bettas close in size/age and feeding...both unfiltered but heated to 78F...side by side...no live plants, bare bottom and a 1gal empty pickle jar as the control that never resulted in any ammonia levels, however, I had no way to test for DOC's in the 3 containers...I would have added the 2.5 to the test but I didn't have one at the time.

So in my opinion and experiments-care and water changes for both the 1-3gal unfiltered tank are the same to maintain water quality...provide that the fish is not overfed.


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## Toshichi (Dec 27, 2010)

Oldfishlady said:


> If he is otherwise acting and eating fine what you are seeing may just be normal color changes and responding to the clean water and bigger tank.......
> 
> I would get him a heater and a thermometer so you can maintain a stable water temp in the 76-80F range...offer small frequent meal of a varied diet with a one day a week fast...
> 
> ...


Okay, I have a few pics of him, there bad quality because all I have is a built in web cam on my laptop (sorry I dont have a proper camera), but the dark spot on his head is brown and black (not a shadow) now, and his bottom fins too.





thank you for your tips, i'll see about getting a heater and something else to mix in with his diet. 

and we don't use city water, we have a Well we get our water from.


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## sjones (Apr 28, 2010)

Oldfishlady said:


> Actually, in the experiments that I have completed/conducted- the care for unfiltered tanks with one adult Betta in 1-3gal tanks are the same...the rise in ammonia level start in 3 days to 0.25ppm-50% water change and the ammonia will go to 0ppm...the ammonia will rise to 0.25ppm in 3day in the 1gal and 4 days in the 3gal...these are not scientific based experiments...just hobbyist based with the API master test kit...in 1gal pickle jar and 3gal tank with an adult male Bettas close in size/age and feeding...both unfiltered but heated to 78F...side by side...no live plants, bare bottom and a 1gal empty pickle jar as the control that never resulted in any ammonia levels, however, I had no way to test for DOC's in the 3 containers...I would have added the 2.5 to the test but I didn't have one at the time.
> 
> So in my opinion and experiments-care and water changes for both the 1-3gal unfiltered tank are the same to maintain water quality...provide that the fish is not overfed.


Hmm..That is REALLY interesting, I have been changing my 1.5 gallon kritter keepers 2x a week at 100% each time (just seems easier to do 100%) and feeling guilty about doing my 3 gallons once every 5 or so days...I wonder why the ammonia level is the same? I can't wait to get a test kit..


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## Tsuhei (Nov 26, 2010)

Toshichi said:


> Okay, I have a few pics of him, there bad quality because all I have is a built in web cam on my laptop (sorry I dont have a proper camera), but the dark spot on his head is brown and black (not a shadow) now, and his bottom fins too.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That actually looks like his natural fin and body color..he does need a heater though.


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## sjones (Apr 28, 2010)

Toshichi said:


> Okay, I have a few pics of him, there bad quality because all I have is a built in web cam on my laptop (sorry I dont have a proper camera), but the dark spot on his head is brown and black (not a shadow) now, and his bottom fins too.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'd make sure to get (buy) some water conditioner, well water, while likely not having chlorine can have things in it that can harm your fish (or kill the fish even) I would try the conditioner for sure, but I don't know enough about well water to say what might be in it, you could research that


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I have well water and have never needed any chemical additives or dechlorinators, however, not all water is created equal....some well water can contain lots of heavy metals that can be hard on fish-but the fish will usually tell you by their behavior when its a problem for them.....most times it will cause them to be itchy and you will see them flashing or rubbing on objects in the tank without signs of any external parasite, some will be restless and/or try to jump out of the water, red gills when all other water prams are WNL, gasping at the surface to name a few things they may do with high levels of heavy metals in the water...sometimes well water can change with the season especially if you live in farming or industrial area where chemicals can leach into the ground water.....mine will change sometimes based on how much rain we get or don't get....


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