What happened with my Betta?

Question

This was a while ago, and he's doing fine now, I'm learning how to better take care of him and working on a getting a larger tank for my goldies so I can move the betta into their old tank with a heater. Anyway, when I bought him, he was bright blue. I didn't know any better so I bought him one of those little bowls and kept him in it maybe 3 days.... he turned red, then brown. The water clouded over. I freaked and knew most of it had to be the tiny living space so I bought a bigger bowl. He went from brown back to red, and of course is much more active now. Why did he change colors? He sometimes goes back to blue, but his fins are always blue between the veins. And please don't be too mean, I'm making an effort to get him a better environment now. He won't be in the bowl much longer.

As far as the comment bout putting two males in together with a seperator, not a good idea.... I have a friend who tried that(he made a seperator out of plexi-glass), and the two bettas charged the seperator till one of them killed himself.

Answer 1

Congratulations on learning more about your fish and working to do your best at keeping them healthy. You should be proud of yourself!

Bettas can change colors some depending mostly on temperature. Red is a really dominant color in bettas so it's no surprise he has lots of red color showing. When you got him he was probably very stressed out and the red wasn't showing well. Once you got him home and happy he best colors are showing.

MM

Answer 2

I'm not sure about such a drastic color change, he could possibly be sick before you got him. The only thing you can do is make sure you keep up the water changes in the bowl. I have kept my bettas in bowls for years now and its really ok to do so BUT you will need to change their water a lot more. Feed them every other day like 5 or 6 pellets for an average size beta, if he's a little guy feed 4 or 5. If the bowl is around a gallon then change 100% of the water every 5 to 7 days. If you feed everyday then change it for sure every 5 days or so. If the container is smaller than a gallon then change it 2 times a week. Make sure the water is declorinated and same temp. I use either distilled or spring water but you have to use buffer salts in those waters or it won't be stable. Since I keep Goldfish as well and I use reverse osmosis water for their water changes I keep the buffer on hand. The products for buffering water are Marine Kemp R.O. Right and Neutral Regulator. They must be used or the fish will suffer in unbuffered water. Tap water usually contains too many salts and buffers and lots of other toxic stuff so it not good to use here where I live. I don't drink tap water and I can't expect my fish to live in it either. I've been completely unsuccessful with fish in tap water no matter if I use declorinators. Do a little research on your local water, you might be surprized at what is in there. Ask your water provider for a water report and they will usually send it to you free of charge. That way you will know if it is ok or not to use the tap water.

Answer 3

Believe it or not Betta prefer still water. They are also called Siamese fighting fish. If you get a 10 gal. tank put in a divider and add another Betta (male) their colors will enhance they will try to out shine each other. Just like birds Betta males are the more colorful fish. As far as changing colors there like we humans they have moods and the colors reflect their mood. Their natural habitat is in the rice Patty's of china and japan. They were first bread for sporting events to bet on.

Answer 4

Fish change colors with the condition of their well-being. If the tank was the right temperature for the Goldfish it was too cold for the Betta,or vise-versa. It sounds like you are on the right track.Try to research your pets before bringing them home. There are tons of websites with good information about pets and their needs.The most common mistake aquarium beginners make is purchasing a fish before knowing how to care for it.

Answer 5

Betas change color due to lighting, time of day, stress, excitement, temperature, almost anything really. Color change is how a Betta communicates. Try keeping the water around 80-82 degrees.

Answer 6

Well Betta's prbably change to a darker color for tighter spaces or different inviroments.I'm glad you're working to fix this problem.
Or maybe he was changing colors to tell messeges to people. M

Answer 7

It could be because of stress, im too sure, but my old betta went from dark red, to a blueish color. And he was in such a small tank, and my cat kept starring at him, and freakn him out. So i think they change color over stress...?!