Help Identifying Possible Illness In Betta

[RedXIII]

Hello, I signed up for the site in the hopes that somebody might be able to help me with my elephant ear betta male. I've researched some things I think it might be, but I'm a first time fish owner so I'm a bit uncomfortable identifying/treating an illness all on my own. Thanks in advance for the help.

I got Davy about two and a half months ago. He lives in a 5.5 gallon planted tank, heated to 78 degrees and with a sponge filter. I use a gravel vac and do weekly water changes. Water parameters are all in the proper ranges (Using API Master Test Kit). He lives with four ghost shrimp (as well as an unfortunate amount of pond snails that hitchhiked in on the plants). His usual diet consists of betta pellets, freeze dried bloodworms, and the occasional nibble of goldfish flakes that I sometimes sprinkle in for the shrimp to snack on.

The tank was cycled for about two months before I added Davy. First the plants, then Davy, then the shrimp. Everyone has seemed happy and healthy so far but now I've noticed that Davy has lost color in his face. There are what looks like small patches of white. They don't look fuzzy like a fungus or like they are protruding at all, just a loss of color. He has maintained the same appetite, the same level of activity, same disposition and behavior. The only changes so far appear to be in coloration, but the change is enough I'm concerned about it.

I added in some Catappa leaf because I've heard it has natural healing properties, but so far have not seen any change. I apologize if the answer to my question is something very obvious but I'm new to all of this so any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you for your time.

 

[Repolie]

I'm not really seeing anything wrong with him. The patches just look like natural colouration. I don't know what caused the colour change, but as long as there's no other symptoms then I wouldn't be concerned. Just continue to monitor it for any change.

 

[RedXIII]

I'm not really seeing anything wrong with him. The patches just look like natural colouration. I don't know what caused the colour change, but as long as there's no other symptoms then I wouldn't be concerned. Just continue to monitor it for any change.

Thank you for the quick response! I really hope you're right, that would be a big relief. I guess my fear just stems from the fact that his head used to be a more solid red and then I noticed a single white patch on one side, a few days later a single spot on the other, and it seems to keep growing by the day. I'll just keep an eye on it for now and hopefully it doesn't lead to anything... Thanks again

 

[Heathen]

He looks fine to me. He is vaguely showing stress/juvenile stripes, but nothing to be concerned over. Ghost shrimp can be a bit of a jerk to keep with long finned fish, however. They have been known to hitch rides on the smaller fish and even nip on the longer fins. Not sure if this is happening in your tank. Freeze dried foods are treats, as well, since they are low in nutrients and high in fats and also need rehydrating before feeding.

 

[RedXIII]

He looks fine to me. He is vaguely showing stress/juvenile stripes, but nothing to be concerned over. Ghost shrimp can be a bit of a jerk to keep with long finned fish, however. They have been known to hitch rides on the smaller fish and even nip on the longer fins. Not sure if this is happening in your tank. Freeze dried foods are treats, as well, since they are low in nutrients and high in fats and also need rehydrating before feeding.

Ah ok, I didn't know that about the shrimp. Everybody seems to keep to themselves during the day but I'll start keeping a closer eye on them at night to see if I've been missing any nipping or riding. And yup, I've just been giving him the bloodworms as a snack here and there, but thank you for all the information. You made me feel much better about this, I really appreciate it.