VERY STRANGE female betta! What's her deal?

[Freshie In Disguise]

I know the first thing everyone's going to want is pictures, but I'm afraid I lost the USB cable to my camera and haven't found it yet.

Yesterday I went to walmart. I was not planning on buying a fish, but they had a gorgeous, sapphire blue female betta with BRIGHT red fins, and she was very lively and healthy, nice fins, good condition... I had to have her. I brought her home and when I got there and looked at her in her little deli cup thing, she was completely brown! She looked like a minnow! I put her in a sandwich bag and floated it in my 10gL, which has been running empty for three months. When I was ready to put her in the tank, I looked at her, and she was BRIGHT PURPLE with bright red fins! Definitely the most vibrant female I have ever laid eyes on. She ended up staying a very vivid reddish-purple with hot pink fins throughout the evening. She would get darker and lighter every hour or so, but no huge color changes. When I woke up this morning, she was completely red with light horizontal stripes on her sides. What is going on? I have had bettas that changed shades, but never any that acted like chameleons!

Also, starting today, whenever I enter the room or approach the tank to look at her, she DARTS behind a decoration and hides from me. Even just opening the door sends her flying. I've never had such a shy betta before. Atleast she is healthy.

So.... How wierd is my fish, exactly?

Don't worry. I will definitely take pictures of her wierd color changes as soon as I find my USB.

 

[herp_mommy]

horizontal stripes can be a sign of stress. Most likely her getting used to her new environment.

 

[Freshie In Disguise]

Her stripes are even more vibrant now. Would she be more comfortable if I draped a sheet over her tank?

 

[blackmolly]

i say just let her be. she'll adjust eventually, and it'll only cause more stress when you take the sheet off. she needs to adjust to her surroundings as they are. congrats on the find though!

 

[Freshie In Disguise]

Well, she's less shy now, so that's nice. It's not fun having a fish you can't always see, lol. If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know! As of now I'm leaving her alone. I actually haven't even fed her yet (I'm not sure she'd eat) so she's basicly just swimming around and occasionally hiding in her little holey-rock-thing.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Congrats on the new Betta. She sounds stressed. If the tank has been empty for months then there is no BB so watch out for ammonia spikes. I'd do a water change every day until you get your test kit to make sure her waters clean.

 

[Koikid88]

Congrats on the new Betta. She sounds stressed. If the tank has been empty for months then there is no BB so watch out for ammonia spikes. I'd do a water change every day until you get your test kit to make sure her waters clean.

Think they meant it's been cycling for 3 months.

Like other shave said, just leave her alone. Do you have a background or a wall behind/beside the tank? If she sees people walking all around her, obviously this would add additional stress.
Did you turn the tank light off for a while when you introduced her?
She's probably also only been used to tiny little cups. Just tripping out like
"THERE'S SO MUCH ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES!!"

 

[Freshie In Disguise]

Nope, it's been empty for three months. It used to have two female bettas in it, then one jumped out and died, and the other died soon after. Although it isn't really empty... There's still a little striped snail in there that keeps the algae away.

The tank has 'walls' on three sides (well... Two walls and a laundry basket). The light is rather bright, so I always shut it off at night. This morning her stripes were VERY vivid. I tried feeding her today and all she does is grab the food and spit it out, then grab it again and spit it out... Over and over and over. I'm planning on 25% PWC daily until I get my API test kit. Is that enough, or should I do them twice a day?

Tank temp. is 78F at night and 80F during the day.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

It will definitely need cycling again then. 25% a day should be ok but IMO 50% would be better just because you don't know what the readings are.

 

[absolutangel04]

How big is the tank? Just curious because the smaller the tank, the more frequently the water needs to be changed while it is cycling.
As for the color, the blue/purple on fish, in particular on bettas, is actually from light scattering on the scales rather than from actual blue pigment. Its like that with birds and most reptiles as well. I am just going to leave it at that. The point is, blue-ish or purple fish often do seem to change color more than fish of other colors because of that. Its not weird.

 

[Freshie In Disguise]

I finally got an ammonia reading on my 10gL, with the betta in it. Last night it was .25ppm so I did a 25% PWC, waited ten minutes, and tested again and the strip stayed yellow (though that could mean anything, this test is so inaccurate). I did another 25% PWC this morning and tested and it was still good. I am going to do 25% PWC twice daily until I can get my good API test kit. I really hate this strip test. I know for certain that some of the strips are more reactive than others, and that throws me off.

Her stripes are faded and she's less... Darty? She started eating too, though I'm not feeding her much as of yet. She follows my finger on the aquarium, which is entertaining....

 

[absolutangel04]

Good to hear she is doing better! Yeah, the strips suck. Its good that you are getting a better test kit.
She should be fine in the long run. If you are ever able to find your usb cord, make sure to get pictures.

 

[Freshie In Disguise]

I haven't a clue what happened to it, and I'm bummed out. She stopped changing colors though anyway. I wish she would have stayed purple with the hot pink fins... That was awesome.

Now she's kind of a dull purple with reddish fins and a grayish brown tone over her body. She's still pretty, just not as vibrant as she was. I won't be spawning her anyway... I have too many other things to rip my hair out over.

 

[absolutangel04]

Well, maybe she will brighten up a little more once she is settled in totally.

 

[Koikid88]

Sorry when I read "running empty" I misunderstood

 

[Freshie In Disguise]

I definitely should have been more specific... Seeing as I've just begun posting here and I have another tank which just started cycling. Very easy assumption to make.

From the sound of it, though, this tank doesn't have much BB left in it because all it's been housing is a small snail. With a snail and a betta in a 10g tank, I shouldn't be getting ammonia readings of .25ppm if the tank was balanced, so I'm assuming it's re-cycling with the fish in it, which doesn't bother me a whole lot. I just need to do 2 PWC's a day; the first one in the morning about 10 minutes after feeding, and the second one in the evening.

I don't have a python or a gravel vacuum so I use a turkey baster to clean up leftover food and waste. I am pleasantly surprised at how well it works, though I wish it were longer. It was definitely cheaper, lol.