Betta has developed shiny scales. Is this normal?

Question

He is a regular crown-tail betta, dark blue. A couple days ago, on his belly, from his pelvic fin to his mouth, he's developed this area of shiny blue-green scales. At first, I thought his pectoral fins were dirty, but when I shined a flashlight on him, those "streaks" were shiny too.

He lives in a 2.5 gallon tank with a small whisper filter, and we try to keep the water around 82 degrees, (it's harder to get it cooler in Hawaii :( ...) and we feed him with bloodworms and betta pellets.

He also seems to be swimming around normally and he still flares up in front of a mirror, but he likes to rest on the bottom of the tank a lot. We're afraid he might be getting sick. :(

Answer 1

Did you notice if there are any fine spots on him and when you shone the light on him was the shiny part gold-rust colored at all? The reason I ask is that this sounds like he could be developing velvet, a parasite. This normally looks like a fine white powder, mostly visible as distinct spots on the fins, but when under bright light, the spots have a golden iridesence.

If this is what he's showing, he need to be treated. This can be done with the same medication as is used to treat ich, and a combination of malachite green and formalin is the best (look for brands Quick Cure or Rid Ich) and treat with one drop per gallon. The parasite has a photosynthetic pigment, so it's important to turn off any lights over the tank and keep him where there's no direct light on the tank. This can take 2 weeks or more to clear (I recently had a case that took 3 weeks).

http://www.flippersandfins.net/Velvet.htm - see photos and treatment info

Answer 2

I'm wondering how old he is and how long you've had him?

If he seems otherwise healthy I think that he is developing this color from the food you have been feeding him which may have more color-enhancing vitamins in it than what he has been fed at the store. Bloodworms are high in vitamins and betta pellets are usually full of color enhancers.

Also they may adopt new colors as they mature into adults.

It is normal that bettas often sit on the bottom of the tank, they are somewhat slow low energy fish that need their resting times and not too much food as they cannot metabolize it. My betta often sits on the bottom of the tank too though he is quite healthy.

I can't say for certain about the reason for for the shiny color but it sounds to me like he is ok. Hope it helps.

Answer 3

Actually it sounds normal to me. It's common for bettas to change colour or develop new colours as they age. If he's not displaying any other signs of sickness it's probably nothing to worry about.