Could my Betta be Sick?

Is it normal for my Betta's face to look whiter sometimes if he's stressed?
I've noticed this and just want to make sure it's not a bacteria or something, it doesn't look fuzzy but as you can see from a picture 2 weeks ago to a picture from today his face appears whiter especially around his chin. Any thoughts? Am I overreacting? He is still eating and very active. I did add some snails to the tank and I'm afraid they may have brought parasites with them.

 

Hi,

Pretty fish! Those just look like scratches on his face. Probably from him flashing against rocks. Do you have anything sharp in the tank?

 

Thanks! Yes, I had a floating betta log in there but I took it out, I thought it was kind of rough and I did notice him hanging out by it a lot and trying to get around it in tight corners. The only other thing in there is his cave.

Here's another pic:

 

He has really nice fins . A good example of a Dumbo betta. The floating cave was most likely one of the main reasons. If something in his tank is rough to your touch then you want to sand it down smooth. Rough things for us are harmful to fishes. If you betta likes floating beds then you may want to get some sort of floating plant. I used to have Najas and that worked really well.

 

Thanks I thought he was really pretty and loved his big "ear" fins. I'll look into the floating plant. Now I'm noticing after I feed him his belly gets a little bloated. I think he might be constipated, I fed him a pea the other day and noticed he had a big poo in the afternoon, I think I should have fasted him today instead of giving him his pellets.

 

I usually fast my fish on Fridays every week.

 

My fast day is Sundays, hopefully his belly goes back to normal! He's had me worried these past couple of days, I think maybe I've been reading too much, lol

 

HI everyone, I'm still concerned about my Betta Gilligan. The color around his face doesn't seem as bright as it did a few weeks ago. Based on the pictures I've attached below, could he be sick? Or maybe stressed? My water parameters are fine, he's in a 6.6 gallon cycled tank with a few pond snails.
As you can see the area around his face has gotten whiter, could this be something like columnaris? It doesn't appear fuzzy. Someone suggested it might be scratches? I did remove a betta log that he was swimming around in and it was a bit rough to the touch. He is still swimming and eating. The first pic is the more recent pic.

 

HI MelM, welcome to FishLore!
I'm sorry your betta is worrying you.

Your threads have been merged.
This way it's easier to see what members have suggested without going between two threads.

How old is he?
What are the ammonia and nitrite readings?

 

HI Lucy,

I'm not sure of his age, I got him about a month ago. He's about 1 1/2 inches long. My tank is cycled and ammonia and nitrites are 0. Like I said his behavior is normal and he's still eating, I'm just concerned that his colors aren't as vibrant and the area around his face seems whiter at times, but then other times he's not as white. Could it just be stress?

 

Could be stress. It's hard to say.
I had a blue female who woukd turn gray when she was stressed.
It was quite disturbing.

Since he's acting normal I'm not sure what to recommend.

 

Thanks for replying, I'll keep a close eye on him, just afraid it might be some sort of bacterial infection (the white around his face).

 

His belly looks a bit swollen today again, could he be eating baby snails? I've had a bunch recently, are they bad for him?

 

He's been hanging out at the top today, seems to automatically float and he looks paler, I'm getting really worried. Been feeding him bits of pea today, I hope he's not eating a bunch of snails and they are making him constipated. I read somewhere I can get the baby snails out by putting a piece of lettuce in the tank?

 

Today I'm seeing a hole at the base end of his dorsal fin, just appeared, what do I do? Please someone help!

 

Do you have a heater for the tank? When I had my betta in a 2.5 gallon tank he was much less vibrant without a heater. Just a thought. Can you get a picture of the hole in his fin?

 

Yes I have a heater in there but it's not on, the water pretty much stays around 80-82, (I'm in Florida). I'll try to get a picture up.

 

What a strange thought, water staying at 80 degrees without a heater. Oh the troubles of living in Wisconsin.

But yes, try the picture. It gives people a better idea of what it is, as a hole could mean a few different things. Also, there is a forum called bettatalk that is specifically bettas, and there are a few "Senior" members that are really good at helping out with issues. This forum appears to be more of a global forum, therefore you get less specific on types of fish. I would post a thread there as well as here just so that you get more feedback from different people.

 

His coloring looks better today but now I found the hole in his dorsal which wasn't there this morning so I'm hoping he just tore it on something and that it's not something more serious.

 

Ok thanks! I will post in the betta forum too

 

Mel, I went ahead and moved this thread to the betta forum.

I'm glad he's looking better today.

Let's hope the other betta keeps can help

 

Thanks Lucy!

 

My crowntail had a hole just like that once not too long ago in the same fin. It's gone now though so I'm not too worried, I believe he just ripped it on something. It seems to matter what I remove he always manages to rip his fins on something..
If the white color isn't spreading, perhaps its just the color he is meant to be? If it doesn't affect his behaviour I wouldn't be too worried about it. Id just kind of sit it out and see where it went. Ive jumped to conclusions on fish disease before and tried treating and ended up losing every last one.