female betta color change?

[dancersmama79]

ive heard bettas change colors as they age as well.... when i got mine he was in blue water and i thought he was more of a bluish purple color... when i put him in his tank he was a true red color with a bluish body and bluish tipped fins... now he has a light blue colored face and because of the fin rot he had at first his fin tips are a whitish color and his fins have a bluish iridescent color to them

 

[KeeleyBurd]

He is quite pretty! The red and blue are very striking

 

[dancersmama79]

thank you... seems to be havin some issues with his gills today but after the water change he seemed to do better... not sure tho.,.. i posted some pics in another thread "fairly new to bettas" his gills look like they are still a bit open to me

 

[KeeleyBurd]

Youculd try adding a small amount of aquarium salt! I know it is supposed to aide in gill function

 

[dancersmama79]

ive been doing that... i dont have an API test kit yet so im doing daily partial water changes just to be on the safe side he seems to have adjust to his new 5 gal tank to me his fins look bigger and longer and hes more vibrant than the other one gal.... just didnt do him justice as beautiful as he is.... cant capture that in a picture tho he wont "pose" lol his gills just seem to have a "turned out" look to them if that makes sense.... im also wondering what is the best water conditioner for bettas? aquasafe or stress coat? ive been using Top Fin betta water conditioner but im running out and either need to buy it online or at walmart cause petsmart is a 2 1/2 hr trip which wont be possible til the 7th of Feb which will also be when i get my test kit and other things i need for him...

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I'd recommend seachem Prime as a water conditioner. Might be a bit more expensive but super concentrated so it goes a long way.

 

[dancersmama79]

ive read about the stress zyme or aquasafe's start zyme.... what is the difference and when do u know to use it???

 

[KeeleyBurd]

I agree! I love prime. I love most seachem products! I also like the stress zyme. Mine gets quite a medley to make sure she is comfy

 

[KeeleyBurd]

I'm not sure of the difference but I would assume stress zyme caters more to the fish while the other one caters to the environment?

 

[dancersmama79]

im not too sure about mixing different things... i dont want to poisin him or his water or anything....

 

[KeeleyBurd]

I use seachem which you cannot o.d. your fish. And I use the prime and the pH balancer because they both have their special qualities that one doesn't have! I alsoo use stresszyme to help with the good bacteria and I use a very small amounts of aquarium salt to help soften the water since in Florida, our water is hard and the salt is completely beneficial for miss petunia.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I use seachem which you cannot o.d. your fish. And I use the prime and the pH balancer because they both have their special qualities that one doesn't have! I alsoo use stresszyme to help with the good bacteria and I use a very small amounts of aquarium salt to help soften the water since in Florida, our water is hard and the salt is completely beneficial for miss petunia.

You can over dose on prime.
You don't need anything except fresh water and a dechlorinator. Messing with the pH can be stressful or even fatal for fish. You want a stable pH not a chemically altered one. pH chemicals can cause pH swings which can kill fish and some of the products themselves are poisonous. Stresszyme is not needed. The bacteria you want are free around you in the air and water. Adding a bacteria product is just a waste of time and money IMO. Salt in an aquarium is not needed. They are fresh water fish therefor needing fresh water. Adding salt to a tank continuously can be detrimental to a fishes health IMO. Others will disagree.
Save your money, you don't need all these additives.

 

[absolutangel04]

I agree with Mumma. The extra products are not necessary. Chemically altering the pH can have detrimental effects on the fish because it creates pH spikes sometimes.

 

[KeeleyBurd]

all water has salt the salt helps produce slime coat, improves gill function, helps inhibit the growth of parasites, softens the water and can help the fish from absorbing things like nitrites i believe? the tap water in my area has a pH level that is reading high every time i test it which calls for the pH balancer (which i only use small amounts to ease off the acidity). also if i dumped the entire 3.4oz bottle into the tank i would overdose her absolutely, which i have not! lol. it is the only one i feel comfortable with using while my tank is cycling as well as when adding new water (i can use more as needed -if needed-). i use 2-3 drops per gallon considering the bottle calls for one cap full for 50 gallons. also the streszyme is used when her tank is cleaned to keep her comfortable if any of the beneficial bacteria has been killed off while adding new water! (like adding probiotics to our diet when we are unbalanced)

 

[absolutangel04]

What is the pH? Stability is generally much more important than any actual number.
No, salt does not improve gill function. Salt in the water permanently can lead to issues for fw fish because it upsets the osmotic balance that the fish's body naturally needs to maintain. A healthy fish will have a healthy slime coat without salt in the water. While a lot of water has minute amounts of salt in it, the amount usually dosed in a tank is much higher than that.
Adding new water doesn't kill BB unless the water hasn't been dechlorinated.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

all water has salt the salt helps produce slime coat, improves gill function, helps inhibit the growth of parasites, softens the water and can help the fish from absorbing things like nitrites i believe? the tap water in my area has a pH level that is reading high every time i test it which calls for the pH balancer (which i only use small amounts to ease off the acidity). also if i dumped the entire 3.4oz bottle into the tank i would overdose her absolutely, which i have not! lol. it is the only one i feel comfortable with using while my tank is cycling as well as when adding new water (i can use more as needed -if needed-). i use 2-3 drops per gallon considering the bottle calls for one cap full for 50 gallons. also the streszyme is used when her tank is cleaned to keep her comfortable if any of the beneficial bacteria has been killed off while adding new water! (like adding probiotics to our diet when we are unbalanced)

If all water contains salt, why add more???
What is your pH? Unless it is in the 9s it's not too high. No bacteria will be killed off during a water change. If there is, only a minuscule amount. The nitrifying bacteria attaches itself to surfaces in the tank and filter. It's not just floating around the tank water. Stresszyme does not contain the right type of bacteria. Most cycling products/bacteria boosters contain the wrong or dead bacteria. As I said, save yourself some money and ditch the unneeded products.

 

[KeeleyBurd]

as i already said, i add salt because the water is hard. i mentioned nitrites because the salt helps the fish stave it off if there are any spikes in the water. bettas like their water at 7.0 (comfortable between 6.8 and 7.2) mine was testing around 8 which is too high. once it starts to test up there she gets a sprinkle of the pH balancer. while cleaning her tank (getting a real deep clean) she gets new water which does not contain any bacteria because of the chlorine in it. there for i add the stresszyme to assist my filter which i keep in the old sponge assist in growing the bacteria. why would they sell a faulty product? that doesnt sound right to me. has anyone had this tested?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

as i already said, i add salt because the water is hard. i mentioned nitrites because the salt helps the fish stave it off if there are any spikes in the water. bettas like their water at 7.0 (comfortable between 6.8 and 7.2) mine was testing around 8 which is too high. once it starts to test up there she gets a sprinkle of the pH balancer. while cleaning her tank (getting a real deep clean) she gets new water which does not contain any bacteria because of the chlorine in it. there for i add the stresszyme to assist my filter which i keep in the old sponge assist in growing the bacteria. why would they sell a faulty product? that doesnt sound right to me. has anyone had this tested?

I have extremely hard water and a pH of 7.6-8 through all my tanks. I keep bettas among other fish including fish like harlequin rasboras that's have a preferred range in the 6s. As long as the pH is stable you have nothing to worry about. 8 is not that high. If you are using something to dechlorinate your water it is not going to kill the bacteria in your filter. As I said before, it does not just float around in the water. The nitrifying bacteria fixes itself to surfaces in the tank but mostly in the filter. Even 100% water changes will NOT put your tank into a cycle. They sell it to make money, simple as that. There are plenty of products out there designed to 'help' keep your fish healthy when infact they are useless or can kill. All I add to all 8 of my tanks is tap water and dechlorinator. Nothing else.

 

[absolutangel04]

Yep. There are tons of products for sale that don't work. There are hand lotions that dry out skin. There are shampoos that leave wax in your hair. There are fish care products that don't help fish. Just because it is for sale does not in any way mean that it works. Yes, people have tested it and shared their experiences on site reviews and on forums like this one.
Like Mumma said, the bacteria is not floating around in the water. Thats why water changes don't effect it.
Lots of people have a pH of 8 or even higher like Mumma for example. Mine is pretty high too. The fish are fine in it. It doesn't hurt them.
Anyways, not trying to be confrontational, just giving you some info.