Hi, so I was just looking at Dead Sunlight because I love him so much, and I noticed that the edges of his fins, espicially his pelvic fins, were going white!!! White is not his natural color, so I'm kinda worried about him... Please help!!!
Well, when I got him, he had no white-tipped fins. I also read that white-tipped fins are caused by a bacterial infection!!! (don't no if true or not, but got it on a good betta site). Other than that, he's the most perfect little betta in the world.
Many bettas' colors change over time. Some bettas possess what's known as marbling, or a jumping pigment gene that can cause dramatic full-body color changes. If there is no change in texture over the area and the fish's behavior has not changed, then I don't think anything is wrong.
It is difficult to say whether your betta is marbling or not, but in case you or anyone else is interested, here is a good article on the subject by Victoria Parnell (Betty Splendens): http://bettysplendens.com/articles/p...articleid=1114
Not at all. I have had several marbles, I own two right now. I suspect many more fish carry the marble gene than we realize, they just changed to their final color before they got to the pet store and have not changed again. Many eventually become solid colored.
The article explains it fairly well. Most bettas change colors when they are young--some marble fry change colors multiple times before adolescence, which is extremely frustrating for breeders. I got my marbles from Petco, they were adults, but they were not fully grown. Most of them started out white with spots of blue or green which eventually took over the whole fish. One of the marbles I have now started out mostly white, but is now a black masked solid royal blue. A double tail I have used to be a green and white butterfly, but the white areas have gotten more and more green with a red wash.
Marbles often have a mottled or grizzled coloration that slowly changes. Which is why those "koi bettas" on aquabid are so funny to me--very expensive and yet in a few months those bettas won't look like they used to at all!
Some marbling is triggered by trauma--I've seen pictures of marble siblings who got into an accidental fight. They were both royal blues, and around the area where a wound had healed, the scales began to show a bright white pigment due to marbling.
You should also consider the fact that when fish fins grow or regrow, the new growth often comes in white or clear. Your betta's fins may just have new growth on them.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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White-tipped pelvic fins?
