Betta with white patch on tail & black dalmatian like spots (pics, before and after)
hello all.
I am concerned about my betta, Pony. I have had him for a little over a year and he has been a pleasant and healthy fish, although there are a couple things that have drawn my eye. When i purchased Pony, he was a peach/light pink colored fish with a little black dot on hit tail (which i thought was charming). He stayed this color without any changes until about 3 months ago. he started developing a very small white patch on his back tail, and then started getting black dalmatian like spots on all his fins. the black dots are rapidly appearing... they pop up all the time.. and the white patch has grown to about 3x its size since 3 months ago. I did some research, but most websites - including this one - ask questions like, "is the white patch fuzzy or hard or bulging?" and the answer is no. the texture of the patch is exactly that of the rest of his tail. could this just be the color of my fish changing, or could there be a disease he might have that i do not know about? please help! i posted pictures below.. the first ones are when i bought Pony, the ones following i took today. you can clearly see a difference.
but first some info:
Housing
What size is your tank? 2 gallon, square
What temperature is your tank? 76 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none, just plants
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? flakes and Brine Shrimp
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day, some flakes, some brine shrimp
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 50% once every 2 days, 100% once a week. (its a small tank... gets dirty fast)
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? see above
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? freshwater salt (1 tsp @ 100% water change), nutratfin water conditioner
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? i have not tested my water.
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? he went from a solid color, peachy pink, to having black "dalmatian like spots" and a white patch on his back tail.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? not at all. still a happy and very personable fish!
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 3 months ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no.
How old is your fish (approximately)? a year old
PICTURES:
before picture - this was taken about a year ago when i purchased Pony. you can see he has one or two black dots on his tail, no white patch.
todays picture - i marked where you can see the black dots all over his tails, and the large white patch that has developed. I know he looks a little pale compared to the before picture, but it is really the lighting.. his peach/pink color has pretty much remained the same.
any help is welcome! thank you! :-D
