[Pitluvs]

Long story short, Freddy's my MG VT boy I got back in August. He's going through some changes lately, I didn't expect it really...

The other day I noticed a spot on his gill, so I PM'd Sakura. We were thinking either a slow acting columnaris or flukes but Freddy was acting normal and eating great.

4 days ago, notice the yellow on his side

I decided to watch him before treating. Its been crazy here lately with the cat rescue and the feral foster so I didn't stop to look at him until tonight and I was horrified. The top/side of his head and left side is covered... I took him out for better inspection and to go into a 2g set up for treatment and this is what I saw

This is when Freddy first came home...

So Sakura, looks like there's nothing really wrong with Freddy!

Has anyone else seen such a quick transformation? Is he still a MG? What is he now? Is this normal or a reason for concern?

 

[JBosley]

That is insane! :shock: So it's just a color change?

 

[Pitluvs]

Just color! he started getting a yellow dorsal fin about a month ago, and the whole fin turned yellow. Thought it was cool! But now I see it's going and going and it looks like the yellow is taking over his whole body. Nothing else wrong with him, he acts and eats normal.

 

[Zappity]

Oh my God! Color change, much?
He's very pretty, I guess he just wants to be yellow now...?

 

[Pitluvs]

Maybe it's from living beside Twitch? Every since I put him in the divided tank, with Twitch beside him... he's been changing lol *silly I know*

Twitch:

 

[JBosley]

I want him! Haha, I would kill for a Yellow Betta

 

[Sakura8]

Pitluvs, ohmigosh! :shock: :shock: I can't believe that change! And the yellow is so iridescent and shiny! Oh, wow, I'm so glad it's not a slow-moving columnaris. Phew! Now he's definitely the most unique betta I've ever seen. :shock:

 

[Pitluvs]

Imagine the shock when I looked at him and I saw all this over his face and head, after you mentioning columnaris lol I was like O_O <--

He's one weird ticket!

 

[Sakura8]

As long as he's eating and acting normally, I guess we have nothing to worry about. But wow. He looks so totally . . . astonishing. He positively shimmers though. I don't think columnaris fuzz would look half as pretty as that. XD

 

[peachesxo]

Wow! Your betta is a shape shifter! xD

 

[Silverfang]

That is so wild Pit! It's almost like he lost his dark pigmentation in areas.

 

[1fishBlueFish]

WOW!!! That is amazing!! Freddy is one gorgeous fishy!!

 

[Myates]

So weird.. the only thing that pops into my head is a bacteria infection as that can cause rapid color change- marbling or color changing in the fish on the normal scale doesn't change that quickly, that drastically that I am aware of or heard of..

Glad he is healthy in every way, but would keep an eye on him. Silly little guy..

 

[Pitluvs]

Myates, need info on that one! He's been changing since he was in a divided tank, slowly at first but the yellows really taken over the last few weeks.

 

[Myates]

I'll see if I can get together some info, double check things and send to you.. have to get daughter ready for school tomorrow first.

 

[Myates]

Okay, I'm at a loss- some bacterial infections have color loss, and grey patches..
Something is either up with his genes (as that isn't really a "normal" color for bettas.. at least how it looks in the pictures.
Do you see red streaks/lines? Septicemia can cause color loss, but unsure if to that degree.. and stress doesn't cause it to form that way, usually it's even over the body, or going from head to tail in intensity.

What I am looking at is the Rl, Red-loss gene, and how it affects other colors.
The red-loss trait will cause the red color in young bettas to disappear when it matures. When the fish ages or due to fin damage, the red color sometimes returns.

It is thought that the red-loss mutation was introduced together with the marble mutation, because most marbles do not show any red pigment . The red-loss trait is caused by distinct gene than the marble gene (which affects the black coloration), the red-loss (Rl) gene. The red-loss mutation is extremely variable in its expression and is dominant over all other Red genes, except extended red.

According to Dr. Gene Lucas, yellow colored bettas do not result from the action of a single gene. There is no such thing as a yellow gene that produces a yellow phenotype in Bettas. Yellow Betta are phenotypes. The yellow color itself was designated as 'non-red' by Lucas. This 'non-red' recessive gene caused bettas to be yellow where they would normally be red.

Okay, I'm at a loss here, and out of time- spent the last hour trying to get info, but not a lot out there with his symptoms.. I'll continue looking when I can. If it's just his genes and body going nuts, at least it's doing it in a unique kind of way.
I'd PM Darkmoon or OFL just in case they ran across this at some point.

 

[blueridge]

Wow that's a shocking color change! No wonder you were worried...

 

[MistersMom]

oh my glob he's gorgeous!

 

[purplemuffin]

There is a strange phenomenon--seen in almost all animals(humans, snakes, dogs, birds) where for no apparent reason, color seems to just..go away. A green animal turns yellow, a yellow animal turns white, a brown animal turns a bright silver or peach! There are a lot of reasons for when this happens, sometimes it's genetics, sometimes it's something to do with the food, but other times it seems to have no cause at all and is just a 'fluke'!

Hopefully he is just a fluke and is healthy! Sometimes the lack of color stays this way, sometimes it goes back to normal..sometimes it goes through other weird changes before it finally settles down!

 

[Pitluvs]

Could the fact that there was marbles in his spawn have anything to do with it? Could it be a hidden gene that's coming out now that he's older? I would say he's just about a year old. I bought him in August of last year but he didn't seem to be a full grown Betta then. Sadly, I'm not up and up on genes. Myates, I'll read all that in a minute and try to make heads or tails of it. Honestly... the yellow on his is a beautiful gold and it's still spreading. I'll post pictures tomorrow, the side of his face is nearly all yellow now.

I'm really confused as well, as he's acting fine and normal. Still his spunky old self and eating great. His two room mates are not effected at all (Nixon and Twitch).