Baffled, sudden color change? Disease or marbling?

[ChardFish]

I know this is a long post, but I am stumped. I hope I am correct, but please read and tell me what you experts think. Thank you!

Housing
What size is your tank? 3 gal
What temperature is your tank? Room temp
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Np
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari Betta BioGold, FD bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 times per day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 2x week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%, 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Various, conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? N/A

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He has always been thin, and has periods of time where he won't eat
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He is eating right now
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 1 week ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Marycin, Jungle anti-parasite meds, BettaRevive, Salt, Copper Sulfate, everything
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Always been thin and listless
How old is your fish (approximately)? Have had him 6 months, young adult at time of purchase


So a brief synopsis of why I am here today. I am sure many of you read my post about the fish that went down the drain, and I managed to rip out the pipes and get him back. Well, to go further back than that, this fish is a cello giant named Solomon that I just HAD TO HAVE. He has always seemed a little "off", though. He never builds bubble nests, he rarely flares, and he is thin. No matter what I feed him, he stays thin. And he goes through periods where he will take the pellets and then spit them right out. I have changed him to smaller pellets by Hikari, and he does somewhat better on them. But he has always been what I called a "dirty" fish. After just a couple days in new water, there is what looks like mucous in the tank. So I decided that the repeated treatments with BettaRevive (Methylene blue, neomycin sulfate, buffers, and malachite green) were not doing enough for him. When we moved three weeks ago, several of my fish (all had been at a friends house at one point) suddenly got velvet, and one got popeye. As I was researching meds for her, (She recovered fully! ) I read about internal parasites. So I decided to treat him for that, thus the Jungle anti-parasite treatment last week. Because he had been down the drain and had the gooey strings on him, I hit him with erythromycin and copper sulfate too. He seemed to be much better, actually. He still seems better in every way but one. His fins are no longer held to his body, he is much more responsive to his environment, and he is eating twice a day right now. Even his water is staying clear now. BUT- his color is changing rapidly. My clear, pink fish with blue eyes is almost unrecognizable. His fins are now washed with what looks like a dark blue black, and he has grey flecks under his scales. So my question: I am baffled because he looks better than he ever has in every single way but that. The dark wash is pretty even, on all his fins, and even his operculum is showing some dark edging. And his body looks like a dalmatian. So, is he ill, or simply marbling? I read one little symptom of internal parasites is color loss. Is it possible he has been unhealthy this whole time and as he got older, he was predisposed to marbling but this sudden health has allowed it to finally happen? I know sick fish lose their color... is he finally achieving his potential? Silly fishies keep me up at night!!!

[lvandert]

alright, You might be over medicating. the "gooey strings" coming off of him is probably just him shedding his slime coat. Stress coat/ aq salt will help with that I would stop the copper sulfate.
Internal parasites are generally diagnosed by his poop, bloating/super skinny, and lethargic. If his poop is brownish and normal than he doesn't have internal parasites. If his poop is white and stringy then yes you have internal parasites. If he has normal poops stop the parasite guard.

If his only other symptom is not eating stop everything else. Maracyn is used for fungal infections (white fuzzies on fins/body), fin rot (fins look like they are rotting away, generally with blackish edges), external parasites (usually indicated by itching), pop eye, and cotton mouth. If he doesn't have ANY of those then stop the treatment of that.

The mucus in the tank could be him shedding his stress coat (upon which I would test your tap water for unwanted chemicals) or a covering of cumularious (which I doubt because your tank is too cold).

I would stop everything but the stress coat and aq salt (only dose the salt for 10 days) and get a heater. They need temps of 78-82 degrees. His always "lifeless" state could be because he's just too cold.

[ChardFish]

I should have been more specific- he is no longer getting any meds. And his poo WAS stringy and white, not any more. He is much much better now, even getting fatter, esp after the jungle treatment. Its just the suddenly new color I worry about now. And I am going to be setting up everyone with a heater (I keep the house above 70 for the fish though) before winter time. :)

[ChardFish]

Also, we are on well water with no chemical additives, if that helps.

[lvandert]

Oh ok! thats better lol. If he's acting happy and healthy then he probably is. The color change would be just what you thought it was; his true colors finally shining through.