Betta gets duller after every water change

[Purple7]

my blue/green with brown outlines turns more brown on his body after every water change, after a while his colour changes back but i'm wondering if i'm doing something wrong.

i take off the lid, scoop him up in a brine shrimp net, place him in a smaller bowl with breathable lid with his old water, clean tank, and after thirty minutes place him back in with the net and very gently. after everytime a move him i feed him some bloodworms. you can tell after every water change he's upset has his colour fades and he swims away from me until a day later when he greets me happily.

i clean his tank weekly and dread each one. any suggestions? i just got him a month ago!

[okiemavis]

His color fades because he is stressed out. How large is the tank/bowl? If possible, it's certainly better to only change part of the water at a time, and leave him in his home. You don't need to scrub everything, but you can suck up the gunk in the gravel with a turkey baster.

If you must remove him, try to gently scoop in into a cup instead of using a net. Make sure the cup has NO soap residue and that you keep a lid on whatever you keep him in during the cleaning. If you still have the betta cup he came in that would work perfectly.

[Purple7]

thanks for the reply!

his old cup is what is usually place him in while i'm cleaning the bowl and i don't use any chemicals to wash his bowl. he lives in a one gallon fish bowl so its hard to place his old bowl in because even though it is VERY small, it's wider than the mouth of the bowl. i tried the turkey bastar but he attacks it like another male betta and i was scared he was going to do himself harm! he's unusually curious and not shy at all so whenever i place something in he's always in the way. Two weeks ago i tried getting a tiny cup to scoop in so i can do partial water changes and he kept getting in the way. he'll chase anything but he doesn't appear to be aggressive because he doesn't puff up like he does when he sees his reflection.

when i got him from petco. in his tiny cup he was all brown (but energetic and alert) with blue fins and now his body is now almost all blue and green. Do you think he just hates his old cup?

[okiemavis]

I don't think he hates his old cup, he just hates being moved! Have you read the sticky on betta care? I'll link to it below, it sounds like it's time for a tank upgrade. Even in a 1 gallon, I'd recommend doing a 50% water change EVERY DAY. You don't have to move him out of the tank when you do that.

http://www.fishforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=17558

[Purple7]

what would you recommend for a hiding place for bettas? the base of the bowl his small but it's very wide in the middle where he likes to swim. someone told me a piece of old pottery for plants or a tiny log, would that be alright?

[okiemavis]

Silk plants (not plastic!) are nice too. They can hide between the leaves. A cave is always nice. You can use a standard terracotta planting pot as a cave, just make sure it's clean first!

[missfish1996]

No he doesn't hate his old cup it really is just he doesnt like being moved and my betta every time i change his water he gets all dull but in about an hour he is perfectly normal colored.

[Robin and Jillian]

I have the same problem. My beta doesnt move for many many hours after every (1oo%) water change. I have a one gallon with no filter so I change the water weekly. If I do partial water changes, how do I clean his gravel???? Robin

[Cattitude]

Originally Posted by Robin and Jillian

I have the same problem. My beta doesnt move for many many hours after every (1oo%) water change. I have a one gallon with no filter so I change the water weekly. If I do partial water changes, how do I clean his gravel???? Robin

Personally for one gallon and smaller bowls I find it's easier just to take them to the sink, cup the fish and do a 100% water change every time. That way you can rinse out the gravel at the same time. I do 100% changes at least twice a week for that size of bowl.

You can also use a turkey baster as a vacuum to suck up any waste or uneaten food at any time between water changes.