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Betta now has stripes...

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fishwatcher

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My betta Frankie, whom I've had for a month now, has begun to change. When he's in his bowl, he looks like has always has. But today I took him out to change the water and I noticed something odd. He now has stripes. Mind you, they weren't there 3 days ago when I did a water change. Is this normal?? He has a reddish color, then a cream stripe, then a dark bluish-purple stripe, then cream again. And the dark stripe goes over his eyes and head.
If you need another picture I'll try to get a better one.
Thanks!
 

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If I'm correct, those are the stripes they get when they're stressed. Fatima, my betta girl gets them when I have her in a cup-thing when I change her water. I've never noticed them on Fabio tho...I guess he doesn't care.
Usually I think she gets stressed when I have to scoop her out, she likes to run away, but I refuse to use a net. Eventually when she's back in her home, and the temps. are satisfactory, she's back to normal.
 
normal

generally called "stress bars" ...you see them a lot on female bettas too (either during stress or when they want to breed i've heard)
 
Yep, you're correct!
They're perfectly normal.
It just means they're supremely stressed out about being in that little cup.
Once you put him back in he should go back to normal coloring within a short time.
Maybe they have flashbacks of the little cups they were kept in before we all took them home? :p
 
He did change back almost immediately. That's what made me say "what the..."
I'm glad to know what it is now. I'll just have to get him a little bigger cup again. He was always fine with that one (the one he came home from Walmart in), but this other one (the one the other betta came home from Petsmart in) is much smaller.
I am wondering, do any of you put your betta in a different bowl to feed them? It seems they don't eat it all and it ends up getting their bowl really messy really quick. I am thinking of moving them to the "cleaning" cup to feed them too. What do y'all think?
 
What do you feed them, and how much?
I have 17... wait, now 16 bettas and I hand feed every single one of them one pellet at a time so there's no waste. -_-
I also feed them bloodworms off a toothpick or popsicle stick one worm at a time, except my girls who fight over them and NOTHING ever hits that tank floor.
 
Usually shrimp pellets. I lay them on the surface and when they sink they'll go after them. I also try tubifex worm cubes pinched into small pieces, but they rarely get eaten. Once a week I throw in a pea, too. They'll also eat frozen brine shrimp every 3-4 feedings. I've also tried sundried baby shrimp, freeze-dried bloodworms and just flake food, all with no interest from them. I feed them once everday or so.
 
I think most of us here use the betta pellets and just give them a few at a time. If they don't eat them, just get a new turkey baster for tank cleaning only and suck them back out. The same with bloodworms, etc. I'd be afraid that moving them every time you feed them would be pretty stressful to them. :)
 
Dory, my female has these stripes. they are REALLY faint but they never seem to go away, only get more prominent if she is pissed. Is that normal?
 
What color is her body? Is she kinda skittish? I think some females just retain a faint shadow of those stripes. I've read that they're as much a sign of submission as of stress, so she may just be a more submissive fish.
 
eudielynn said:
Just a couple of minutes. If they haven't eaten it by then they aren't hungry. :)
Click to expand...
You have bettas that don't eat all their food?
-_-
Mine act like they're dying of starvation ALWAYS. ALL of them. lol
 
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