small black dots showed up on bettas body

Tank size: 3.5

pH: neutral

ammonia:

nitrite: 0

nitrate: 20

kH: 80/ moderate

gH: soft?

tank temp: 70



Fish Symptoms:

normal behavior but there are small black dots on her body that weren’t there before, i noticed today as i was feeding her



Volume and Frequency of water changes:

50% every two or three weeks



Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:
none


Tank inhabitants: just this one betta

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): a live plant on a rock, i also started to feed freeze dry bloodworms

Exposure to chemicals: none



here’s a photo of the plant when i got it





the strip test





and her body

where are the black dots?

danae said:

View attachment 98291

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right near her fin close to the head. they’re small and hard to see in picture and she was moving around a lot but u can see the darker spots

danae said:

right near her fin close to the head. they’re small and hard to see in picture and she was moving around a lot but u can see the darker spots

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As @Colin_T like to say, do daily 75% water change substrate clean and filter clean.

It looks like chemical burns from either medications or something in the tap water (possibly chlorine or chloramine or something else). Chemicals can also get into the tank from aerosols like hair spray, perfume, deodorants, paint fumes, cigarette smoke, etc.

Make sure you don't have any creams, oils, grease, perfume, etc on your hands or arms when working in the tank.

Don't use anti-bacterial soaps before working in the tank because they can leave a residue on your skin that can wash off into the aquarium.

Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?
Use a clean fish only bucket and add some tap water and dechlorinator, Aerate this water for at least 5 (preferably 30) minutes and then use it to fill the tank after a water change.

Make sure you use a bucket specifically for the fish. If you don't have a fish only bucket, buy a couple the next time you're at the shop and use a permanent marker to write "FISH ONLY" on them. Use those buckets for the fish tank and nothing else.

The other thing it could be is the fish is changing colour. Apparently some of the newer strains of Betta splendens (Siamese fighting fish) can change colour as they get older.

Really beautiful betta though.

Barry Tetra said:

Really beautiful betta though.

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thanks so much

My betta has darker spots on his body, I think it's just natural colouring.

danae said:

and her body

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Are you sure she's a she? Looks more like a male to me.

essjay said:

My betta has darker spots on his body, I think it's just natural colouring.


Are you sure she's a she? Looks more like a male to me.

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when i bought her as a baby her bowl said baby girl, so i’m pretty sure she is! could be wrong tho i’ll have to check

Just because that's what the label in a shop says doesn't necessarily mean that's what it is.

The ventral fins, the ones hanging down under the head, look a bit on the long side for a female. And the other fins and tail are longer than a female usually has.
If you put a mirror in front of the betta does s/he flare? If the fish does, look at the gills. If they stick out only at the side, it's female. If they continue round under the chin so it looks like a beard, it's male.

i have this picture it does stick out on the bottom a little, is she actually a boy?

I think you have a male there. Also, you need to do at least a 50% water change every week. Going 2 or 3 weeks is way too long. The spots are probably natural pigmentation as she is maturing. Beautiful betta!

okay thank u for the advice! and thank u! i guess i do have a boy now haha