New CT :D

[LizzyP]

I got a new CT since Casper passed away. He's a black (or very dark purple) grey & white marble and just took my breath away when I saw him. I am slightly concerned, the poop on the bottom of his cup is white and stringy, so I picked up some aqua salt while I was out. Another thing I noticed is he kinda... falls over? I'll notice him in his cup (tank is being washed currently) sitting at the bottom, and his dorsal fin will slowly start to go over, then his body will sit at an angle.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...1343147085.jpg

I didn't want to post a huge picture on here, but I wanted it big enough so you guys could see. Could that be just because he's in a round cup? Or is something seriously wrong? I do have Stress Coat & regular water conditioner.

Also, on the top of his cup it says Dragon Scale, what does that mean? I have other pictures of him.

Thanks :)
Lizzy

[katrina89]

i dont think the falling over is an issue... my CT is super lazy and leans on everything! but the AQ wont hurt... hope hes just lazy and there isnt anything wrong :/

[LizzyP]

Thing is, he isn't leaning on anything, he leans away from the side of the cup.

[reggie oaks]

Apparently, dragon scale refers to a scale mutation. From what I have explored (I'm not an expert, just amateur relying on what I can see), those bettas present a different shape of their scales. Instead of the traditional hexagonal shape, this scales appear to be rhombus shaped [with one side more curved instead of straight] and they present a kind of overlapping pattern of scales that is more pronounced that the pattern on the more normal bettas.

[katrina89]

ooo maybe hes just upset from being in the maybe a bit sick... i say make sure hes nice and warm... get him clean water... maybe some stress coat and Aquarium salt? im no expert tho... ever used the salt myself

[LebronTheBetta]

If he has internal parasites, you have to treat with medicated foods and I think Epsom Salt? Don't use AQ salt. Aquarium salt for external problems, Epsom salt for internal. He has a crooked spine. Nothing to worry about, just probably old. A Dragonscale Betta has a kind of iridescent on their scales. The ones I see are usually white scaled.

[katrina89]

Originally Posted by LebronTheBetta

If he has internal parasites, you have to treat with medicated foods and I think Epsom Salt? Don't use AQ salt. Aquarium salt for external problems, Epsom salt for internal. He has a crooked spine. Nothing to worry about, just probably old. A Dragonscale Betta has a kind of iridescent on their scales. The ones I see are usually white scaled.

thanks for clarifying... ive been lucky enough never to have to use any kind of meds or salts w my boys

[reggie oaks]

Hope this pic/diagram helps you with the ? of dragon scale. Surely, maybe its a thing of color or brightness. I didn't explore the color factor.

[Perseusmom]

I have read stingy white poop is a sign of parasites ..he is very pretty love his color, best of luck with him ! Search for other posts as far as the poop goes so get more advice of what to look for and how to treat it, sorry I havent had that problem before and only had my first Betta just 2 and a half months now.

[Twilight Storm]

The poo on the bottom of the cup in the picture you linked looks ok, I don't see white poo it looks brown to me in the picture. He may improve once he adjusts to the bigger tank of heated water too. It could be he's had an ammonia buildup in the cup in the store, but i'm not sure. I've never had exact symptoms like your guy has.

I would keep his tank bare bottom though for now. Maybe put something in there he can sit on that can be cleaned.

I'm by far no expert on fish diseases and spend hours looking up symptoms. Here are a couple good disease sites if you don't have them, that have helped me.

--This site is good imo (you have to click the links on it that say continued on the next page, which is a pain but it has good info on a LOT of diseases, both for bettas and every fish.)

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com...ase_intro.html

--Fishy Portal (another decent site to have on hand just in case imo, I don't have a microscope or any way to use the bacteria ID part of the site but the rest of the information helps.)

http://www.fishyportal.com/

And of coarse searching the disease forums here on bettafish, and TFK and google/bing. ;)

Hope your new guy feels better.

From the picture though he looks beautiful. I can't find any other pictures of him. You don't have any albums here and i'm too dumb to figure out how to search a photobucket album out of a single picture link lol but i'd like to see some additional shots of him.