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Help w/Diagnosis

567 views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  AyalaCookiejar 
#1 ·
Housing
What size is your tank? 5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 78 degees
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Filter
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? 1 female

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Everything betta
How often do you feed your betta fish? 1-2x per day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 1x per week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? Perfect- use master test kit

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? 2 white spots on head
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Not at all; very frisky
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 4 days ago
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)? 4 months?

Gilly showed up a few days ago with a couple of white spots on her head. Since she has a female tankmate, they could be nips/bite injuries although they've never fought (at least not in front of me). She could have scraped her head on a rock. She has absolutley NO behavioral changes! Her "sister" is white, so I can't tell if she has any similar marks. Both are frisky, eating like pigs, and the tank is in great shape! I hate to tamper...
 
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#2 ·
For one, I'd divide the tank... Even if they are getting along now, eventually they will fight and one will be severely injured or killed. Two is never a good idea.

Also, I would just monitor the white spots to make sure they don't end up looking fuzzy..
 
#3 ·
I've ordered 6 other girls for my 29 gallon potential sorority: I've got a heavily planted aquascape and I want to add all at once & watch them carefully (w/ an isolation tank(s) set up. This girl in question (Gilly) was a "petco baby". I asked the LFS person about this and she asked if I was sure she was a female! She has egg spots, stripes that indicate that she's upset; but she is a territorial little fish! Her tankmate, Angel, doesn't cross her (at least when I'm around). They both act like starved puppies whenever I pass by; they eat whatever I give them.
 
#4 ·
P. S. IMHO we shouldn't be "rescuing" bettas from Petco/Petsmart. If we all start buying from the same sources the big box stores buy from, we are cutting out the stores that keep them in cups. I'm afraid to post this on a forum, b/c there are so many people "saving" sick fish, (which usually die quickly- then, guess what- they replace the fish- yay, more sick fish in our tanks).
 
#5 ·
8 girls will be good for a sorority. However, with these two alone, they may get along fine for months. But eventually when they establish a hierarchy, one will be dominant and one will not and this will have devastating results. An improperly set up tank can also cause stress and lead to illness. My guess is its either normal coloring, injury or the beginning of culomnaris...
Your 29 gallon plan sounds perfect but I just don't see this as a good temporary solution.
 
#6 ·
Gilly is a bully. Angel may have decided to retaliate. I decided to set up the 29 gallon sorority b/c I had these 2 alone in a 5 gal... everyone on this site said I was headed for disaster w/ 2 girls alone.
It all starts with a 2$ baby betta...
 
#7 ·
What does this tank look like? Photos?

I have 1/2" double tic tac sized bettas and they're fighting with their big brother who is 2x their size.

Time to jar the largest juvie before he gets into another skirmish with the little pint sized ones

There's no p-smarts near you?

I tried to determine the gender of the 20 baby b's today in the store & I couldn't tell at all from what I saw.
 
#8 ·
Yes. I would make a divider to be safe. It's totally up to you, though. No one here can force you to do so but it is always best to err on the side of caution. I would monitor the spots closely, mostly for any fuzzy appearance, but an injury is also likely.

And the way I see it, stores like Petco will likely never stop selling bettas. Most Betta owners probably don't ever even look at a site like this and just trust what the pet store employees say... And boy, are they clueless. You won't stop people all over to stop buying fish that are convenient to get and convince them to order from a breeder. I live in an area that isn't near any breeder and I have to pay a lot of money for my fish to ship from a breeder. If anything... You could harass the store to give you a sickly looking fish for free. Even so, many of us purchase supplies from places like Petco, which still supports them. Even the only specialty fish store in my area doesn't take the greatest care of their bettas and they only sell male VTs. It's kind of an old subject that won't ever have a good outcome. No matter how many Betta owners find this site and actually learn about proper Betta care, there's gonna be a new one out there somewhere purchasing a Betta and a .5 gallon tank.
 
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