What's wrong with my betta?!?

[LilBabyBeta]

Hello everyone!

I am a fairly new Betta owner (4 months) and my fish Anne has always been very healthy and as far as I can tell happy. Yesterday morning I noticed that the scales on her middle body area were very very pale. She was acting a bit sluggish so I thought maybe she was just stressed so I made sure she had all the things that make her happy. Tonight her scales have developed little black spots, especially in the center of her body and I am very concerned! She is acting pretty normal but I am very worried because this is the first time anything like this has happened. The picture isnt the best quality because she doesnt stay still for too long. I have looked everywhere online and I can't find any disease that has this symptom. Her fins are the same as they have always been so I am pretty sure it isn't fin rot and she doesnt have any white spots so I think that cuts out a few things. What is wrong with my betta!?!

[LilBabyBeta]

Some more info:

Housing
What size is your tank? Small
What temperature is your tank? It is kept at room temp
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? One other female. They were in the same tank at the pet store and they are very happy living together. They rarely show any stress or aggression.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Nutrafin Max Flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? Very small pinch, 3 times a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Twice a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50-75%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Nutrafin Max Water Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

I don't know how to test the water.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Very pale scales on middle of body with black spots at the base of her scales. Her fins and gills are normal.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lethargic yesterday. Normal today.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Yesterday morning
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I changed her water tonight
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? Bought it from the fish store 4 months ago

[Luimeril]

i see some ragged fins, and she's stressed...

how small, is small? her water's cold, too. bettas should be in tanks larger than a gallon, with a heater, preferably an adjustable set to the upper 70F range.

also, two females will beat each other up, with one eventually killing the other. THAT, is probably what's wrong with her. she's horribly stressed, having to fight with another female. separate them ASAP.

[LilBabyBeta]

Their tank is about a gallon. Her fins have always looked like that (its hard to tell in this picture but they are very light in some areas so they look ragged). As for the two females in the same tank, it has never been an issue. They are both happy (brightly coloured, fairly active in the tank etc) and neither has had any issues until now. That is what leads me to think it is some sort of disease or illness. I have never heard of black spots on scales to be a sign of stress... :(

[Luimeril]

well, just because they don't look stressed, doesn't mean they're not stressed. are they in the same SECTION in the tank? because, the other girl could be nipping her fins, and you just never noticed it.

also, a gallon for two fish, is way too small. most say minimum for multiple bettas is 5 gallons divided.

[LilBabyBeta]

I guess I will need to separate them then... But that still does not explain why all of a sudden she has developed these black spots. I have never seen this before on either of my fish! Any insights?

[Luimeril]

they could be stress marks. or just coloration. it's hard to say. my money's on stress, though. once ya get her alone, try to get them both small heaters(ZooMed makes 'betta bowl heaters' that seem to be pretty good), and dose her with a little aquarium salt.

[Tikibirds]

I agree with Lumerial. Two bettas in a 1 gallon is asking for trouble. They can be just as aggressive as the males and seem fine now and then one day you find one dead. This happens even in larger (10+ gallons) all female tanks. They seem fine for months and then you wake up one day and one is dead or seriously injured.

If it were me, I would get a 5 gallon tank and make a divider for it - that way each girls gets 2.5 gallons of water to swim in and you only have to do one water change. And a 25 watt heater. Their colors will really come out in 78-82 temps

No idea what the black spots are - the only thing I can think of is maybe missing scales from a fight?

In the mean time, storage containers work well as betta homes if they are the transparent ones.