[Jasmeen]

I've had my Betta since the 28th of December of 2015. He's always had a silver spot on the top oh his back area that goes to both sides.
Recently, I've felt like he's gotten more of a silver hue. I also flashed light on him and noticed he has this goldfish glitter under his chin(?) area and his two front fins.
I'm extremely worried he's sick!

PS — The fist 5 pictures are pictures I took when I first got him and the rest are pictures I just took right now. Sorry if the pictures are too blurry or if the flash got in the way, he kept swimming around quickly and it was hard for me to get good pictures of him.

When I first got him:

Recent:

 

[Engel]

Hello Jasmeen!
In order to give you the best advice, we need you to fill out this form.

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank?
Does it have a filter?
Does it have a heater?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?

Food:
What food brand do you use?
Do you feed flakes or pellets?
Freeze-dried?
How often do you feed your Betta? How much?

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?
What percentage of water did you change?
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
What additives do you use?

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:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
Is your Betta still eating?
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
How long have you owned your Betta? Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?

 

[Jasmeen]

((HE ALSO HAS A BLOATED TUMMY))



I just now saw this so here it is!


Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 1.5
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes but I do not use it anymore
What temperature is your tank? Currently between 76F - 78F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Not sure but I think my filtration system does that.
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? None, I'm scared he might fight other fish.

Food:
What food brand do you use? Top Fin
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Color-Enhanced Betta Bits (pellets)
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 2-3 times a day, 3 pellets each time

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Once a week
What percentage of water did you change? Usually 50% or sometimes 75%
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Dip out the water
What additives do you use? Top Fin Betta Water Conditioner

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:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

NOT SURE, I HAVEN'T BOUGHT A KIT YET. I'M CURRENTLY A COLLEGE STUDENT SO MONEY HAS BEEN TIGHT. I WILL BE GETTING MY PAYCHECK IN TWO WEEKS SO I PLAN ON BUYING A KIT THEN.

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? Silver scales/patches: Since I first bought him.
Goldfish glittery spots: Right now
Bloated looking tummy: 2 weeks ago

How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Yes, I think so. He has more of a silver hue
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? He likes to lay on his filter a lot.
Is your Betta still eating? Yes.
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? No.
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No.
How long have you owned your Betta? Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? Since December 28th, 2015. Just noticed the silver scales/patches since I first bought him along with random tiny black spots on him.

 

[Jasmeen]

Just filled this out! Thank you!

 

[Engel]

The dots are definitely just dots of color. Color changing in betta fish is normal, and I wouldn't be worried about that.

How bloated is he? Is this a new symptom?
Does it look like his scales are pine-coning? Look at him from above and see if they are sticking out.

 

[Jasmeen]

I don't think he looks like he's pine-coning but here are some pictures I just took of his bloated area. He looks bloated to me but then again, he could've always been like this. I just noticed this two weeks ago. :-?

 

[Jasmeen]

And also, I bought him a plastic leaf "hammock." He sometimes uses it but for the most part, I usually catch him the filter thing. Should I be worried about that?


PS - Sorry for the bad quality, the pictures are screenshots from a video.

 

[Engel]

Haha, no, don't be worried if he prefers laying on the filter. That's just one of his quirks.

He honestly doesn't look too bloated to me. It's more of a well fed belly than a bloat. If he isn't acting sick, and you're only worried about his color change, it might just be natural. One of my boys is green/turquoise, and he has a white chin/belly.

Oh. I just noticed he doesn't have a heater. If he's being lethargic, that could be a reason. If you're in the USA, it shouldn't be hot enough to keep his water tropical-fish warm. What was the reason you stopped using it? I highly recommend that you continue to use it.

 

[Witchipoo]

I second the heater recommendation. Temperature fluctuations stress thier systems. Keep his water around 78 degrees.
I also recommend you get a turkey baster and take dirty water and debris from the bottom of the tank when you do water changes, toxins are heavier than water and build up in the bottom of the tank. It would be best if you did at least 2 waterchanges a week. One 25%and one 50%, and read through the care section to learn how to cycle your tank and monitor water parameters.

 

[Jasmeen]

I think the water was too hot for him even though is stayed at 78 with the heater. He wouldn't stop swimming back and forth and wouldn't eat his food so I took the heater out.

 

[Witchipoo]

78 is ideal. He was probably doing what we call glass surfing. It's normal.
Bettas sometimes don't eat for a few days after going in to a new environment. It doesn't hurt them.
He looks fine.

 

[Hopefish]

Hi Jasmeen,
If the thermometer on the front of the tank is accurate, the water temperature is under 70 degrees -- definitely a cause for concern. Remember that even if the air temperature may be 78 degrees, that does not mean the water temperature is.