New Betta Has White Patch On Chin

[AnimalsRmyLife]

Hello all,

I recently got my first betta a few days ago and earlier today I noticed he's gotten a small section of white under his mouth that I think may have gotten slightly larger. I'm just wondering if this is something I should be concerned about?

IMG_5461 & IMG_5465 are of him from 2 days ago
And IMG_5478, IMG_5481 & IMG_5489 are some I took about a half hour ago (at the time of post publication)


I also noticed him sitting at the bottom of his tank a lot so I upped the temperature in my room slightly and that seemed to perk him up for a bit. Currently, he's at the bottom of the tank looking like he's breathing rather heavily
This is a video I took a few minutes ago of what he's doing:
IMG_5490.MOV

Any response is greatly appreciated. I'm still trying to learn as much about Betta care as possible.

 

[WanhiBetta]

First what are your water parameters? the tank size? ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? I believe there is no heater in the tank since you changes the temperature in your room?

Have to admit that I can't really see the white patch with your pictures...

Btw, this is a beautiful betta.

 

[AnimalsRmyLife]

Nitrate - 20 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Hardness - 150 ppm
Alkalinity - 120 ppm
pH - 8.4

I tested the pH of my water straight from the tap and it was around 7.8, so part of me is thinking that there might be something I have in the tank that's causing the pH to have increased. I have Top Fin Betta Water Conditioner and I did put that in the water before putting the fish in.
The test strip I used didn't have an ammonia tester on it, but if needed I can run to the store and get one.

The tank is a 3.5 gallon (Top Fin Aquaponics 3.5 gallon) and I do have a heater in there. I just happened to stick the tip of my finger in the water and it felt quite cold, but that might just be me. As of this time I have purchased a tank thermometer and it says the tank is in the upper 70's.

As for the pics, sorry they were taken through the glass tank by my iPhone. I have re uploaded 2 of them, one from before & one after with a circle around the area in question.

 

[Algonquin]

Looks a bit like some colour loss, which may be due to stress. The tank temperature should be 78-80, bettas like it nice and warm. If you've only had him a few days, it may take a bit of time for him to settle in.
Keep a close eye on the water parameters, your nitrates are a bit high for him - do a partial water change every couple of days to keep them at a better level (5ppm or lower). It's a smaller tank, so will probably need water changes a couple of times a week.
He's lovely!!!

 

[CanadianFishFan]

Looks a bit like some colour loss, which may be due to stress. The tank temperature should be 78-80, bettas like it nice and warm. If you've only had him a few days, it may take a bit of time for him to settle in.
Keep a close eye on the water parameters, your nitrates are a bit high for him - do a partial water change every couple of days to keep them at a better level (5ppm or lower). It's a smaller tank, so will probably need water changes a couple of times a week.
He's lovely!!!

Yes it looks more like just apart of his colors. Overtime he should color up. Its just from being stressed out in a small cup in a petstore.

 

[OneLittleBubble]

Keep the water pristine and he should be betta (get it) . It's probably from living in a cup.

 

[AnimalsRmyLife]

Thank you all for your responses. I did the partial water change a bit ago. He's still sitting at the bottom of the tank but he did get up and swim around a few times when he heard me talking to him. I really am hoping it's just stress making him this way and that he'll be back to normal soon.

 

[AnimalsRmyLife]

A rather sad update,

So I returned home from work about an hour ago (at time of post) and found him lying on his side at the bottom of the tank. Further investigation found him to have passed on to fish heaven at some point during my 7 hours away.

I’m not sure exactly how or why he died as the parameters still seem to be more or less the same as recorded above. I think the pH might’ve decreased slightly since the partial water change earlier today, though. Both heaters (the one I originally got, and the one I got last night because I thought the first one wasn’t working because of my cold water touch as explained earlier) were and are still saying the temperature is at a proper level and the thermometer is putting the water at around 78°.

I’m sorry that my new friend has left and I’m hoping he went peacefully.

 

[Algonquin]

I'm so sorry for your loss
It's quite possible that he had some kind of illness that wasn't known when you got him. He was likely already ill from being kept in poor conditions at the pet store.
Be at peace knowing you did your best to provide him with a good home, and although short, he got to have a better life than what he had before.
RIP.

 

[CanadianFishFan]

A rather sad update,

So I returned home from work about an hour ago (at time of post) and found him lying on his side at the bottom of the tank. Further investigation found him to have passed on to fish heaven at some point during my 7 hours away.

I’m not sure exactly how or why he died as the parameters still seem to be more or less the same as recorded above. I think the pH might’ve decreased slightly since the partial water change earlier today, though. Both heaters (the one I originally got, and the one I got last night because I thought the first one wasn’t working because of my cold water touch as explained earlier) were and are still saying the temperature is at a proper level and the thermometer is putting the water at around 78°.

I’m sorry that my new friend has left and I’m hoping he went peacefully.

Poor thing, SIP little fishy. Sometimes we just dont know whats wrong.

 

[AnimalsRmyLife]

Thank you. Part of me is thinking it was either immense stress or possibly New Tank Syndrome (though the parameters seemed fine to me). I'm going to most likely buy an ammonia test kit as well, as the test kit I have currently doesn't include ammonia testing in it & I'm hoping I can get a new betta in the next few days.

Should I fully empty and clean the tank or anything like that? Right now, I've drained about 50% of the water but I've left the rest because the tank is a hydroponic tank and I've got a plant at the top right now.

 

[CanadianFishFan]

Thank you. Part of me is thinking it was either immense stress or possibly New Tank Syndrome (though the parameters seemed fine to me). I'm going to most likely buy an ammonia test kit as well, as the test kit I have currently doesn't include ammonia testing in it & I'm hoping I can get a new betta in the next few days.

Should I fully empty and clean the tank or anything like that? Right now, I've drained about 50% of the water but I've left the rest because the tank is a hydroponic tank and I've got a plant at the top right now.

Id just give it a nice water change.

 

[AnimalsRmyLife]

Alright sounds good. Full water change? And I used the net to grab the little guy out of the tank for disposal. Should I do something with the net?

 

[CanadianFishFan]

Alright sounds good. Full water change? And I used the net to grab the little guy out of the tank for disposal. Should I do something with the net?

Just rinse the net. I would do a %75 waterchange and keep the filter media.

 

[AnimalsRmyLife]

Sounds good. Thank you.