Beta turning white!

[Otavio Exel]

Hello All,

my daughter's Beta is turning white! it started in the dorsal fin and
now the upper part of his tail is also white; there is a white spot
growing in his ventral fin also;

there is a (awful yellowish (sorry for that!)) pic of him at
http://otavio.exel.com.br/aquaria/lilico/DSC00503.JPG

actualy he is blue as you can see in this old pic
http://otavio.exel.com.br/aquaria/lilico/DSC00203.JPG

I thought it was some kind of fin-rot and started treating with:
- 2 strong salt dips;
- salt at 5mg/galon;
- antibiotics;
- melafix;

but now I'm wondering if it could be some kind of healthy colour change;
- he is acting perfecty normal; eating and so on;
- there is absolutely *no* sign of rotting, the fins are just like they
used to be, the *only* difference is the color change;

I should note that his 2.5 gal tank was taken by BGA; could this be the
cause?

any info on what might be happening would be very appreciated!

TIA!

PS: should I try to get a sharper pic?

--
Otavio Exel /<\oo/>\

[NetMax]

"Otavio Exel" > wrote in message
r...
> Hello All,
>
> my daughter's Beta is turning white! it started in the dorsal fin and
> now the upper part of his tail is also white; there is a white spot
> growing in his ventral fin also;
>
> there is a (awful yellowish (sorry for that!)) pic of him at
> http://otavio.exel.com.br/aquaria/lilico/DSC00503.JPG
>
> actualy he is blue as you can see in this old pic
> http://otavio.exel.com.br/aquaria/lilico/DSC00203.JPG
>
> I thought it was some kind of fin-rot and started treating with:
> - 2 strong salt dips;
> - salt at 5mg/galon;
> - antibiotics;
> - melafix;
>
> but now I'm wondering if it could be some kind of healthy colour
> change;
> - he is acting perfecty normal; eating and so on;
> - there is absolutely *no* sign of rotting, the fins are just like they
> used to be, the *only* difference is the color change;
>
> I should note that his 2.5 gal tank was taken by BGA; could this be the
> cause?
>
> any info on what might be happening would be very appreciated!
>
> TIA!
>
> PS: should I try to get a sharper pic?
>
> --
> Otavio Exel /<\oo/>\

I've got a few grey hairs myself ;~). As far as I recall, the only bad
color to change to is black, as this *can* be due to some medical
condition. Changing to other colors is something some fish do. Goldfish
owners are more familiar with this. It's not uncommon with Bettas as
well, so perhaps it has something to do with the extent of their
line-breeding? I hope that's all you're seeing.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Otavio Exel]

*** NOTE!
*** sorry, NetMax, I mailed this instead of posting..
*** bad bad finger! :-))

> > my daughter's Beta is turning white! it started in the dorsal fin
> > and now the upper part of his tail is also white; there is a white
> > spot growing in his ventral fin also;

NetMax wrote:

hi NetMax!

> I've got a few grey hairs myself ;~).

I hear you..

> As far as I recall, the only bad color to change to is black,

hmm.. I certainly would not mind having my black hair back!
or do you mean "fins" here? :-))

> I hope that's all you're seeing.

my daughter reported that the very top of the dorsal fin is a bit
twisted and turning orange; I'll take a look tonight..

thanks and []s,

--
Otavio Exel /<\oo/>\

[Otavio Exel]

Otavio Exel > wrote:
>
> my daughter reported that the very top of the dorsal fin is a bit
> twisted and turning orange; I'll take a look tonight..

indeed.. all the regions that have turned white (part of the tail and
the dorsal fin) are becoming a very light brown and the very top of the
dorsal fin looks like it is starting to rot :-((

I've just finished the antibiotic treatment;
I'm keeping the salt and the melafix (I understand both are harmless);

the only thing I can think of now is doing a meth-blue treatment in case
it is some kind of parasite; any other ideas?

BTW: I've been doing 66% w/c every other day!

TIA for any help!

--
Otavio Exel /<\oo/>\

[A Man]

On Mon, 05 Sep 2005 17:47:30 -0000 in article
>,
spoke thusly...
> Hello All,
>
> my daughter's Beta is turning white! it started in the dorsal fin and
> now the upper part of his tail is also white; there is a white spot
> growing in his ventral fin also;

I've seen this in betta's at the store too. Some were partially white, some
where almost all white. Is this an illness or due to old age? In one store
all their bettas were at least partially white.

--
Sig: Say no to fixed width HTML tables. They look terrible in most browsers.

[Tynk]

Otavio Exel wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> my daughter's Beta is turning white! it started in the dorsal fin and
> now the upper part of his tail is also white; there is a white spot
> growing in his ventral fin also;
>
> there is a (awful yellowish (sorry for that!)) pic of him at
> http://otavio.exel.com.br/aquaria/lilico/DSC00503.JPG
>
> actualy he is blue as you can see in this old pic
> http://otavio.exel.com.br/aquaria/lilico/DSC00203.JPG
>
> I thought it was some kind of fin-rot and started treating with:
> - 2 strong salt dips;
> - salt at 5mg/galon;
> - antibiotics;
> - melafix;
>
> but now I'm wondering if it could be some kind of healthy colour change;
> - he is acting perfecty normal; eating and so on;
> - there is absolutely *no* sign of rotting, the fins are just like they
> used to be, the *only* difference is the color change;
>
> I should note that his 2.5 gal tank was taken by BGA; could this be the
> cause?
>
> any info on what might be happening would be very appreciated!
>
> TIA!
>
> PS: should I try to get a sharper pic?
>
> --
> Otavio Exel /<\oo/>\

Please stop medicating the Betta!
He's not sick at all.
I've looked at your pictures and he's having a normal color change. The
white at the tip of the ventral fin is normal..no biggy.
It's showing up now because his fins are growing.
As for the spot on his anal fin..same as above. It's his natural
coloring showing up.
This color change can be one of 3 things:
He's a marble. They start out solid and patches turn different colors
over time. They never stop either. They're like surprises in every
fish. Neat.
He has Butterfly genes in him..that would be a color morph.
The Butterfly pattern is when youhave a Betta with 2 colors. Usually a
solid body color with white at the edge of the fins.
Or, his natural coloring is blue and white and his white is only now
coming in because his fins are growing in (or back).

So NO worries. = )
He's perfectly fine and dandy and a lovely boy!
A word of advice that will be with you for the entire time in the
hobby....
Don't rush to medicate. Don't use meds when just guessing, etc.
Think of it this way, medicating is a last resort, and after you've
figured out what's going on with the fish. (not flaming you on
medicating him, just passing along good advice).
Enjoy your little buddy.

[NetMax]

"A Man" > wrote in message
eenews.net...
> On Mon, 05 Sep 2005 17:47:30 -0000 in article
> >,
> spoke thusly...
>> Hello All,
>>
>> my daughter's Beta is turning white! it started in the dorsal fin and
>> now the upper part of his tail is also white; there is a white spot
>> growing in his ventral fin also;
>
> I've seen this in betta's at the store too. Some were partially white,
> some
> where almost all white. Is this an illness or due to old age? In one store
> all their bettas were at least partially white.
>
> --
> Sig: Say no to fixed width HTML tables. They look terrible in most
> browsers.


Bettas are ordered that way. The stores select size (S, M or L), colour
(solids (blue, green, red, white, yellow etc), multi-coloured or variety of
solids) and type (ie: butterfly, though I've never seen impressive specimens
who were worth what I paid extra). The most common size is medium (small
sometimes look like females) and least expensive is the variety of colours.
I used to get 1% yellow when I ordered and they were the first to sell, so
one day I ordered a box of yellows. They sold really fast but I saturated
my local market demand and had a few yellows hanging around for months.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Otavio Exel]

Tynk > wrote:

Hi TYNK7!

it's been some time since I've been able to check the newsgroup..
only now am I reading your message!!!

> Please stop medicating the Betta!
> He's not sick at all.
> I've looked at your pictures and he's having a normal color change.

how wonderfull! actualy I've stopped medicating for the last few days
because simply didn't know what to do!

> He's perfectly fine and dandy and a lovely boy!

sounds like music to my ears!

> Don't rush to medicate. Don't use meds when just guessing, etc.

hmm.. that's a big problem for me.. I've lost 2 dear fish for (I assume)
not acting fast enough!

even more in cases like this one, where you see the (suposed) disease
creeping thru the fins towards the flesh!

> Enjoy your little buddy.

we (Isabel and I) surely will!

many tanks!

--
Otavio Exel /<\oo/>\