Stressed Betta....?

[becrac16]

A few weeks ago, I added a female betta to my community 55 gal planted tank. When I got her, she had 'stress lines' already and since that time, they haven't gone away. She swims around fine, sticking close to the bottom mostly but I don't think she has any problem swimming. Just wondering if sometimes those 'stress lines' aren't actually connected to stress??

Here's my set up
1 fem. betta
6 rummynose tetra
4 scissortail rasbora
1 sterbai cory
1 small striped raphael
1 bristlenose
1 upsidedown catfish
6 glass catfish

Temp is at 82, ammonia and nitrite at 0, nitrate always hangs around at about 10.

 

[becrac16]

anyone?

 

[HUKIT]

Is she at least eating? Sounds active enough so if she's eating and moving normal just let her settle, they are slow and not great swimmings. I always leave my tank lights out for a short time after introducing new fish, which seems to ease their transition much smoother.

 

[becrac16]

She's eating fine, and the tank is under no additional lighting, and its not super bright in the room. None of the other fish seem to be bothering her, so I'm just not sure what's causing the stress.

 

[siva]

They are horizontal lines, yes? Not vertical ones..

What color is she? Have you ever seen her w/o the stripes?

 

[becrac16]

yes, they are horizontal. She is blue, and the lines are black. I've never seen her without the stripes, but I have seen her flare up at a net...her colors get really deep and some red comes out in her, but when shes ordinarily swimming around she has the stripes.

 

[Juice22]

Give her some time to adjust, if she came from a cup at the store she is probably just getting use to her surroundings and having other fish all around her. As long as she is eating and swimming normally I wouldn't be too concerned just yet

 

[siva]

yes, they are horizontal. She is blue, and the lines are black. I've never seen her without the stripes, but I have seen her flare up at a net...her colors get really deep and some red comes out in her, but when shes ordinarily swimming around she has the stripes.

A few weeks is a long time for her to still be striping like that. My females in communities have stopped showing stripes within a few days. That being said, one of my females in a solo tank stripes if I even look at her funny, so I would imagine that if she was in a community she might be just like your female there. If after a few weeks a female is still striping, I think she's not a good candidate for community living. IME most female bettas are, but there will always be some that aren't, just like the males. If she's still stressed after this much time I would consider giving her a solo tank.