First of all, do a water change. 1 gallon is really not a good size for any fish, you would need to change the water every day, not once a week or less. So please get a bigger tank (2.5+gal) with a filter. He may be marbling, I'm not to sure, but if he is, you just need to wait it out to see what new colour he will have. And you will also need a heater to keep the temperature at a steady 78F.
Help! Is my fish sick or not?
Hi everyone! I'm new to this site, but I have a Betta that has been doing decently since I got him from Petco. Took him a week or so to start swimming, but since then he's been swimming a lot and pretty happy. I've had trouble with keeping this brownish grey slime in his tank away, but I do water changes every week now. I know you guys are really passionate about fish, so please don't yell at me if I messed something up. I'm trying, here.
Slowly, Caligula's color has changed. I bought him at a really brilliant white that shone green in the light. The red flakes of fish food I bought him said, like, "color brilliance" or something and over these past few months, Caligula's turned a bit pink and slowly started showing grey-blue down his tail. He's always had black webbing in his gills from the start, which I furiously researched at the start, thinking he had some sort of fungus.
The top of his head always had a red patch that looked like blood, but it's never changed, I think it's just his coloring. Slowly, though, around his mouth and between his eyes has turned light tan colored. Like peach-colored human-skin colored. Under his chin is brown now. It's starting to freak me out. Is my fish sick?? He's an active swimmer, doesn't itch up against anything, likes to hide behind his little urn, and is otherwise seemingly okay, besides his weird color changes.
Caligula used to look like this (note the red on his head plus some peach-y tan on his mouth)
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Now he looks like this (note the extended peachy-tan and the loss of iridescent green)
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Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 1 gallon
Does it have a filter? No filter
Does it have a heater? No heater
What temperature is your tank? 75*F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No aeration
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? No other organisms
Food:
What food brand do you use? I lost the container, but it's red flakes
Do you feed flakes or pellets? flakes
Freeze-dried or frozen? n/a
Live? n/a
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 2 times/day, one pinch
Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform water changes? Once a week sometimes once every two weeks
What percentage of water did you change? 50%
What additives do you use? Tetra Betta Safe
What brand name of water conditioner? Tetra
Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you.
Ammonia:
Nitrite:0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 6.5-7
Hardness (GH): 0-30
Alkalinity (KH):
Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? Slowly over months since purchase
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? color changes described in paragraphs above
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? no change, if not more active than he was when I first got him
Is your Betta still eating? has always eaten very little
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? no changes made
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? not known
How long have you owned your Betta? 4 months
Was he or she a rescue? Petco
Was he or she ill when bought or given? unknown
Slowly, Caligula's color has changed. I bought him at a really brilliant white that shone green in the light. The red flakes of fish food I bought him said, like, "color brilliance" or something and over these past few months, Caligula's turned a bit pink and slowly started showing grey-blue down his tail. He's always had black webbing in his gills from the start, which I furiously researched at the start, thinking he had some sort of fungus.
The top of his head always had a red patch that looked like blood, but it's never changed, I think it's just his coloring. Slowly, though, around his mouth and between his eyes has turned light tan colored. Like peach-colored human-skin colored. Under his chin is brown now. It's starting to freak me out. Is my fish sick?? He's an active swimmer, doesn't itch up against anything, likes to hide behind his little urn, and is otherwise seemingly okay, besides his weird color changes.
Caligula used to look like this (note the red on his head plus some peach-y tan on his mouth)
Now he looks like this (note the extended peachy-tan and the loss of iridescent green)
Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 1 gallon
Does it have a filter? No filter
Does it have a heater? No heater
What temperature is your tank? 75*F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No aeration
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? No other organisms
Food:
What food brand do you use? I lost the container, but it's red flakes
Do you feed flakes or pellets? flakes
Freeze-dried or frozen? n/a
Live? n/a
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 2 times/day, one pinch
Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform water changes? Once a week sometimes once every two weeks
What percentage of water did you change? 50%
What additives do you use? Tetra Betta Safe
What brand name of water conditioner? Tetra
Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you.
Ammonia:
Nitrite:0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 6.5-7
Hardness (GH): 0-30
Alkalinity (KH):
Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? Slowly over months since purchase
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? color changes described in paragraphs above
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? no change, if not more active than he was when I first got him
Is your Betta still eating? has always eaten very little
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? no changes made
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? not known
How long have you owned your Betta? 4 months
Was he or she a rescue? Petco
Was he or she ill when bought or given? unknown
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