Betta losing color daily

[Romad]

I've never experienced this so I'm wondering if anyone here has. My friend's betta is losing all of his color. He's in a 5 gallon cycled tank, filter and heater. She does the 35-30% weekly water changes, adds Prime conditiner. His diet consists pretty much of pellets (i think Wardley).

She's only had him for about 7 or 8 months so I don't think age is a factor.

I had her test today and ammonia 0, nitrIte 0, nitrate between 5 and 10, ph 7.6

25% weekly water changes with gravel vac.

He's normally a beautiful deep steel blue color. The only issues lately have been with the heater malfunctioning. It was actually overheating the tank and the temp was up to 86 at one point. They unplugged the heater until they could replace and the temp range is back to normal (for about a week now).

And the were without a bulb in the hood for about a week before that but he's in a kitchen so would have received some ambient light in that time.

He's losing all color in his dorsal fin and the rest of his body is fading too. He's eating and acting normally.

I'm stumped. Any ideas?

Thanks all!

[Drift]

Perhaps he carries the marble genes?

Here is an article on marble's that is worthwhile to read for you and your friend. :)
http://bettysplendens.com/articles/p...articleid=1114

[Adastra]

Definitely a marble--read the article, it explains the process well. This is not uncommon in bettas. He should continue to change color as he matures--he looks like he may be on his way to marbling out, when he's done he'll probably be white-cellophane, maybe with some red and black here and there. Don't worry, he is perfectly healthy.

[Romad]

Thanks guys. I didn't even think of that and doubt that I ever would have. I've seen bettas change color somewhat but not like that.

Crazy fish!!

[ashleyy]

whoa my betta is doing the same! he is my avatar picture. some days he will be sooooo pale and on some days hes back to normal again...

[ashleyy]

my betta actually does this on an hour basis.. not days. could this be the same thing?

[Adastra]

Not likely--sometimes bettas lose color while they're sleeping or during stressful situations., cold temperatures can also cause them to fade out. I think it's more likely that your fish is being stressed out by something in his environment. Marbling is much more dramatic, and it is a more long term process that usually happens in a very distinct pattern. From your avatar he also looks a bit bloated.

[ashleyy]

Originally Posted by Adastra

Not likely--sometimes bettas lose color while they're sleeping or during stressful situations., cold temperatures can also cause them to fade out. I think it's more likely that your fish is being stressed out by something in his environment. Marbling is much more dramatic, and it is a more long term process that usually happens in a very distinct pattern. From your avatar he also looks a bit bloated.

I don't really know what is wrong with him. His belly is big, you can't see it in the picture, but his body is very, very thing. You can see his spine and swim bladder. It almost looks like he isn't taking any nutrients from his food... I've tried fasting and doing the pea treatment. It stays relatively the same. I really don't feed him much either.. 3 pellets a day. *sigh*

He does get extremely pale at times. All his fins and most of his body, and then a few hours later. Back to normal. I keep his water pristine. I check it once a day and do water changes on a routine schedule. His temp. is at 82 degrees. I don't know why he goes pale... My dad jokes saying he's a chameleon... lol