Fin rot or natural color on silver betta?

[yellowvitaminwater]

Hi, I got a male deltatail betta about a week ago from a less-than-stellar Petco. I assumed the black on his fins is rot from being in the cup and that clean water would take care of it, but it's been a week and it hasn't changed, despite the fish perking up considerably. He's shy but explores his tank, greets for food (altho he mostly spits it out), doesn't clamp his fins, etc.

Is this part of his natural color, or should I move him to a hospital tank (due to live plants) to treat for rot? Wait it out? He's very difficult to catch and I'd be worried about stressing him. Thank you so much for your time :)

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Housing
What size is your tank?: 6g.
What temperature is your tank? 76 degrees F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes (cycled).
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Very small airstone in a corner.
Is your tank heated? Yes (76 degrees F).
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None, but possibly a few tiny pest snails.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari biogold.
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Approx 2x a week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 20-25%.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Dechlorinator, low/nonmedical dose of aquarium salt (half a tablespoon for 6 gallons).

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

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm
pH: 7.6
Hardness: n/a
Alkalinity: n/a

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? n/a (new)
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Improved since being in the Petco cup... he's "perkier" and explores the tank, but still spends most of his time hiding. Will greet for food but spits it out.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Since buying him a week ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? n/a
How old is your fish (approximately)? Don't know.

[ARNOLDluvsYOU]

to me it looks like the natural color of the betta, when the fin gets scratches in it its fin rot

[juju]

His fins look like they're in very good shape, so I think it's his natural color. Fins with fin rot look torn and raggedy.

[Picasso84]

I think it might be his natural coloring, but I dunno... I don't have much experience with this.... Have his fins gotten any smaller/shorter? Or are they still the same size as when u got him, & are just black on the tips/ends?

And you seem to be doing everything right from what I can tell, I would just say continue on with clean water, until u get someone who's had more experience that I, I know the Aq salt helps w/ fin rot, & clean water, but aq salt hurts plants if i remember correctly?... but you seem to already know all this.... I don't know if it would be better to qt him or not (Stress-wise)... Sorry not much help

And when I got my first guy, he was shy too, and eventually he came out a little more, slowly but surely :) (he esp. likes to go crazy & dance when he gets to chase his frozen daphnia! Lol He's a piggy)

If he spits out most of his food, u could try a better brand (I say "better" b/c bettas can be picky eaters ~ & most seem to like these brands>) like Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets, or New Life Spectrum Betta... They don't have as much "fillers" (like wheat...etc) which are not supposed to be in their natural diet, (the only way they get 'veggie' type stuff (like kelp, algae...) is when its inside their food's stomachs) they r obligate carnivores so food that's higher in protein, from whole fish: shrimp/salmon/halibut (which is whats in the Omega One, for example) and such, are better for them (mostly would help cut back on any bloating if he was having issues with that)
Hope I've actually helped, and haven't just repeated everything u already know!

And he is Beautiful!!! :) I LOVE his coloring!

[soady]

It's a beautiful natural coloration! Hard to spot fin rot though. :)

[yellowvitaminwater]

Thank you for the reassurance/input, everyone :) i especially appreciate the recs for different pellet foods, as it's not something that even occurred to me to look into... despite my own extensive betta-related research (performed on work time, heh). Info about live food is great but I'm not quite there yet (worried about germs, altho freeze-dried maybe?). So much appreciated :)

This guy's my favorite of the two male DTs I have because he looks like a boring gray/silver fish when people look at him, but then his luminescence(?) comes out when you get closer. His DT neighbor over in the next tank (Fluffy) is a boisterous dancing piglet. So it can make the silver one (unnamed because I was worried about him :/) look lethargic in comparison. Thanks again! I'll try to contribute to the forums from now on :)

[soady]

Originally Posted by yellowvitaminwater

Thank you for the reassurance/input, everyone :) i especially appreciate the recs for different pellet foods, as it's not something that even occurred to me to look into... despite my own extensive betta-related research (performed on work time, heh). Info about live food is great but I'm not quite there yet (worried about germs, altho freeze-dried maybe?). So much appreciated :)

This guy's my favorite of the two male DTs I have because he looks like a boring gray/silver fish when people look at him, but then his luminescence(?) comes out when you get closer. His DT neighbor over in the next tank (Fluffy) is a boisterous dancing piglet. So it can make the silver one (unnamed because I was worried about him :/) look lethargic in comparison. Thanks again! I'll try to contribute to the forums from now on :)

Try feeding him frozen live food, like red mosquito larvae, that's what they mostly eat in the wild, and it doesn't have to move at all for the betta to chomp on it as soon as he notices it. It is also bacteria free. It will increase his coloration significantly, and make him much happier. Since I introduced this type of food in my betta's diet, he swims much faster to the feeding side of the tank when I approach. It's like he is saying: "I came for that good food!" xD

[Picasso84]

Originally Posted by soady

Try feeding him frozen live food, like red mosquito larvae, that's what they mostly eat in the wild, and it doesn't have to move at all for the betta to chomp on it as soon as he notices it. It is also bacteria free. It will increase his coloration significantly, and make him much happier. Since I introduced this type of food in my betta's diet, he swims much faster to the feeding side of the tank when I approach. It's like he is saying: "I came for that good food!" xD

^Yes! Mine LOVE the frozen mosquito larvae (glassworms) they swim to me like a dog that (acts like he) hasn't been fed in awhile! (even tho he was fed like 5hrs ago!) They Love it! And do a sorta "dance" it's funny!! :)

Edit:Plus you can watch all those evil Mosquitos die! (kinda- I guess they're already dead... But still Lol)

[soady]

hahaha They look exactly like dogs, when they start swimming left and right frantically. xD