Hello! New fish mama here. This is my little half moon betta named Squimp. We got him from a pet store to try and give him a better home but are also new to the hobby and have been trying to learn as much as possible to care for him properly! We’ve noticed that he has changed color (photos of him in the small cup are from when we first got him and a few days in when we cycled the tank), and aren’t sure if it’s a healthy happy color change or if it’s potentially fin rot. His color has gone from pale and sort of silvery gray to a more silvery blue body. His tail has always had a slight ridge of darker grey and lately we’ve noticed some yellow areas and some slight pink areas closer to his body (doesn’t appear to be red/blood). He’s hard to take pictures of as he is quite active haha. But when he does rest he likes to hang out near the filter intake at the top right of the tank and rests on the plant there. He’s been eating well, I change 90% of the tank every 10 days and then smaller water changes as needed depending on test results. His water/ammonia/nitrite/nitrate etc levels have all been within normal parameters. I use the water conditioner per bottle directions to make sure the tap water is safe for him. He has a 3 gallon tank, a filter, a heater, and the water is always around 80 degrees. I recently swapped out a few of his fake plants for silk ones as I worried the edges would be too sharp. He has a hollow log for resting/where he eats and a few other hiding places. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Just want to do the best I can for my little guy!!
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1n6a47m
Posted by SetDeep27
1 Comment
Betta fishes that come from pet stores usually are stored in those tiny plastic containers for long times. So, if you got him just a couple days ago i’d say the fin rot was from that environment. If his body color has gone from pale -> silver/blue, I’d say it’s positive. Especially because the heater is there.
Other than that, one thing I’d say is try to get at least a 5 gal if possible, it really is the minimum size for a betta…they need space and enrichment.
great job with cycling, heating and having a filter!
For the water change, i’d say 90% is definitely too much. unless your tank has severe ammonia/chemical spikes, even then you usually want to stick to ~50% change to avoid stressing them out. Try to do no more than 20% weekly with a 5 gal.
I like how you took the initiative to buy softer plants for him – and if you feel confident, I’d definitely recommend looking at some live plants! While you might find it complicated at first, live plants have so many more benefits.
side note for the plants – if you buy some driftwood to go with it, depending on the type they could release tannins into the water. They are beneficial to betta recovery and growth.
Squimp is an adorable name, and I’m so glad you took the time to ask online! Wish yall happy fishkeeping <3