Betta Color Change

Today I noticed that Mr. Moto (my blue veil-tail Betta) seems to change body color/pattern almost instantaneously and I began to wonder why this was happening.

Mr. Moto's bright coloring (left) & stripes and dull coloring (right)

The Analysis

I am pretty certain this change is not due to any drastic water changes since that has not really changed at all and his coloring changes so rapidly depending on him it seems. Sure a Betta or any fish for that matter could change colors due to poor water conditions and such but this does not seem to be Mr. Moto's case.

I also have not changed his diet, he loves to eat the Aqueon Color Enhancing Tropical Flakes and he will really make a pig of himself. He also prefers to eat flakes while they are still floating on top the water, which makes me wonder why Betta pellets are generally what is given to them via pet-store Betta food since they tend to sink to the bottom quickly.

Other people have suggested that these horizontal stripes are "stress stripes" but I really don't see that being the case because he'll change back and forth randomly which seems more mood based than anything. To me signals of fish stress would be...gasping for air, clamped or rapid movement of fins, irregular swim pattern, loss of appetite, pale coloring, etc.

I do wonder if it is either a mating or defense mechanism of camouflage that spikes these color changes. Or perhaps it is just a characteristic only shown in some Betta's as I have read that this is more likely to happen in iridescent colored Betta's. However, I'm not sure Mr. Moto is considered "iridescent". I am not sure why this would be mating related in his case as there are no other Betta's around for him to compete with or for.

The Answer
This color change seems to happen from when he gets excited to when he is in a sleeping stage. He turns a vibrant blue shade when he knows I am paying him attention and he may be getting food (his excited stage). However, when he is in a deep sleep his colors tone down and he develops a dull body color with dark stripes. He also has an in-between color variation of both during these mood changes where the top half of his body will be blue but there will be some dark striping coming through the middle lower half of his body. This would more than likely come in handy during mating courtship where the colors would be bright and vibrant (excitement stage again), and as a defense mechanism to camflouge when he is at a more vulnerable stage (ie. sleeping) and the colors would dull into his stripe stage.

Oscar the Tiger Oscar Cichlid

I recently helped a very good friend of mine start up a tank of his own since he had recently aquired a 10-gallon tank and he knew I was into fish so I could be of assistance. I was quick to learn he had a love for Oscar's, a fish I have yet to own myself...but obviously this is a fish that is said to require much more living space than he currently has in this tank. So...I couldn't sway him toward the smaller line of hearty tetras, guppies, neons, etc and...we decided to push our luck and try our hands at a Oscar regardless.

A few things I have learned and observed about Oscar's...

#1 They apparently grow fast, so his Oscar that is pushing 3 inches may soon get too big for his tank as they can grow over a foot in length.
#2 Their poop looks similar to many turtles I've seen (yes, a bit large) so a good filtration system would really help (however, his 10-20 bio filter probably isn't up for the job).
#3 They are said to be interior decorators...as their size does not stop them from up-rooting plants and moving heavy decor that you strategically placed in your tank.
#4 It's also said Oscar's will jump out of their tank, as for the reasons why...perhaps to see if the water is cleaner on the other side??? or lack their of, heh.
#5 They love to eat and will eat a variety of food however, vitamins B and C are very essential to their health.
#6 They will lay at 45 degree angles, this is mainly to catch prey by acting as if they are a bit dead.
#7 They tend to be more active at night (or perhaps just like dark places in general?).
#8 They can be aggresive and should be placed in a tank with similar sized fish, they will eat small fish.
#9 I have read it could take them a good week or so before they become more active in a new environment.

So, I had to think up some ways for my friends Oscar to survive in such a small environment...of course I'm always up for a little challenge when I'm limited in resources. So...here's the plan for now...

Our Tank Process

We started by cleaning out the old tank and filtration box (dish soap and a scotch brite goes a long way). Dumped out the old clown colored gravel, bought 2 bags of natural looking gravel (rinsed and placed into the clean tank). Had no clue what filter cartridge to buy because I couldn't tell the actual brand of the filter box, however I got lucky and found that the Whisper cartridges fit perfectly as a replacement for the old one we threw out. Also got him to buy some Seachem Prime water conditioner however, Petco did not have the right size of fish net available so...perhaps we need a trip to PetSmart later. We added roughly 8 gallons of luke warm water to the tank, a small amount of Seachem Prime and let the tank run for several hours (this isn't recommended by most aquarist but...the fish has survived thus far) with the Oscar in the bag on top the tank water. We also bought some pellet type cichlid food (recommended by the Petco employee who gave her 2 cents) which Oscar does enjoy eatting.


5 days later, my friend added a few items to the tank...Oscar's laying on the bottom right.

More to do later

Now that we've realized Oscar the Oscar likes to play dead and be inactive I figure we need to get some heavy peices of driftwood (which ugh...takes forever to soak out the tannins from my past experience). The driftwood will help with nitrite levels and such which will probably be a must for a fish like this in such a small environment. I also think this will help Oscar become more active as he'll have some places to hide and feel more secure rather than just a tank with an inch or so of gravel in it. I will also have to show my friend how to do bi-weekly water changes because a messy fish like this is going to need this done to stay healthy (around 2-3 gallons of water changed every other week) and also cleaning/replacing the filter cartridge. A gravel vacuum will also be of use because I'm sure this filter box will not get out everything from the tank so we'll probably need a 5 gallon bucket as well to help move things along. I read that Oscars don't like much water agitation...however I'm hoping that won't be the case because I feel the more water pressure falling from the filter box may be able to keep particles moving and being filtered through (however, that is just my logic whether it's accurate or not). All else fails...we'll go buy some water test strips and try something else.

New Guppies

Pregnant Guppy

The female guppy I bought appears to be a variation of White Tuxedo (correct me if I am perhaps wrong), however when under stress her black tux turns yellow with a black trim. The black appears at the very base of her fins and caudal as well, and her fins also have a bright blue line down the front (which you may not be able to see in the photo). She was pregnant when I bought her (which you can see from her photo above) so it will be interesting to see what her mystery fry will look like (since I don't know her mate) and she has recently given birth in my tank to over a dozen fry that I have found thus far. I had purchased a Blue Tuxedo male guppy at the same time (shown in the background behind the female)I bought the female but he turned out to have a case of fin rot and unfortunately didn't survive the week.

Moto & Marimo Ball

Moto my betta is still doing great and he loves to watch me while I'm laying in bed typing away on Guppy-Guide!

My Marina Cubus Setup

It's not often that I share an entire tank setup however, I had so much fun putting this adorable tiny tank together that I wanted to share it and also share my new pet Betta that I have named Moto!

What I used...
Marina Cubus Glass Betta Kit (0.9L)
White Aquarium Gravel (5LB Bag, used about a cup of gravel)
Blue Male Veiltail Betta
Red Sea Deco Art Nano Filter
RockGarden Tufa Rock Aquarium Plant (Small, I believe all these look different)
Reversible Aquarium Background in Blue/Amazon Waters (Used the blue side and cut it to fit)
Marimo Ball

My Tap Water Additives...
Kordon AmQuel Plus Ammonia Detoxifier
Kordon Fish Protector

P.S. Moto loves napping on the soft Marimo Ball, so cute!

3 Million Dollar Aquarium *Laughable*

I recently saw this article about a 3 million dollar aquarium.

3 Million Dollar Aquarium

Why I find it humorous, because these people wanted a unique aquarium, only to basically end up with one that to me...looks like a regular wall aquarium. Who could tell that this was made of real gold, t-rex, etc?

Not to mention, Oh REALLY...a "dual filtration system, heater, air pump, lighting, CO2 generator, and automatic feeder", LOL...I think these people got ripped off and should have went to PetSmart for that stuff. For that price...it should atleast have a dolphin living in it! hah.

Questions and Answers

You've asked Guppy-Guide your questions, so here are your answers!

Q: How much do I feed my goldfish?
It is about 2cm high 3 1/2cm long (not including tail), I have been giving it a 'large pinch' of the food every night & I've had it since like halfway through last year (so I know i'm not starving it), but the thing is.. I was reading the back of the food thing last night and it said "just enough for your fish to consume in 5 minutes" & my fish eats all the food i give him in like 1minute.

A: Most fish food states however much your fish can consume in 2-3 minutes. Overfeeding a fish can shorten its lifespan overtime. If your fish has been surviving for this long then it is probably getting enough food. Sometimes fish have eyes bigger than their bellies, so if you find your tank water getting dirty rapidly or food particles sinking to the bottom then it is probably too much food (also look and see if you have food stuck in your filtration system). You could try giving it 2 small pinches throughout the day rather than 1 large one once a day to insure all its food does get consumed and it isn't going to starve to death.
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Q: Is the Top-Fin 10 good for my 10 gallon tank?

A: According to PetSmart.com these have a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. Here's a list of things you may want to check for to insure it is a good enough filtration system for your tank...

-Is your tank 10gal or smaller?
-Is your tank overstocked with fish?
-How is the water quality with the filtration system?
-Does the filter catch a significant amount of tank debry?
-Do you find the filter to be loud and disturb you?

Me personally I currently like the Aqueon Aquarium Power Filters.
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Q: My fish is dying, please help?
I've had him for a while now along with 4 others, hes a small oranda and all the others are tiny goldfish. They are in an 80l tank. However he got like red streaks in his tail one day so imedielty took him out and put him in a tempary tank of about 20l with a small filter. I got some fin rot medication and they said it should clear in 5 days, however its getting WORSE its been a week now and his tails horribly all white and stringly and its going onto his body now he is like giving up every so often he stops swimming then floats to the top and goes upside down after a couple of seconds he swims back down to the bottom again. is it the end? or is there something i can do? btw how do you check ph levels?

A: I recently purchased an oranda with fin rot, yours sounds like a similar fungal infection. Unfortunately nothing worked, including Melafix, PimaFix, Aquarium Salt, Clear Water, Water Changes all were among the most recommended remedies I found online (check my blog here if you want to read the story of Maguro).

You can check pH levels using something like Jungle Quick Dip Aquarium Test Strips (I prefer these over the API test strips) from Petco. However, there are many different methods for testing the water which you can probably find at your local petstore.
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Q: Help I need a betta expert!
One of my bettas has pop eye, I have put API aquarium salt to help with treatment(not marine salt) and I am currently using Melafix 1. Is pop eye bacterial or fungal? I need to know how long it should be before I see improvement and if I don't see improvement by then what should I do? I have the API fungal treatment if that helps, I can use that later or I can buy the bacterial treatment in the next day or so. The tank is a 5 gal tank with heater and small 5 gal filter, the tank is shared by 2 bettas separated by a divider, please don't say its too small just tell me what to do, should I take out my other betta if I start fungal/bacterial treatment? thanks.

A: Here's a good link on the subject, hope it helps!

Source(s):
http://www.aquariumlife.net/articles/fish-diseases/pop-eye-fish-disease/165.asp

Questioners Comment: Thanks that helped a whole lot, I think my fish is getting better after about 3 days by the maracyn stuff, its a new tank so there really isnt much good bacteria yet, thanks so much hopefully my fish will get well.
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Q: Is my guppy going to give birth soon?
Ok, i brought my Guppy 2weeks ago at the pet store. week later i kepted checking up on her, and she was heavly pregnant, and the males where chaseing her day in and day out, then i buyed a Fry keeper (protects fry from getting eat) and put her in there and now ive kepted close eye on her for 1week now, And she moves very slowly, and stops in the cornr of tank, breathing heavly and then goes to planted area and back out and continues doing same thing, she isnt eating she only pokes the flake food and stops, her gravid spot is black, and goes abit pinky, i can also see all the fry inside her it looks very impacked.

Today, she pooped out a seethrew long thing what is this?
Also heres somepictures of my guppie.

http://i55.tinypic.com/arztt.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/5md8qw.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/2cz8yv6.jpg

I KNOW THEY EAT THERE BABIES!

A: You might be better off putting her in a separate tank with decor for fry to hide in once born, at least 5 gallons with a filtration system that won't suck up any fry being born. She is stressed because for one thing you have isolated her (they are community fish after all) and she is in a small area with little swimming room, hence the white poop. Instead of giving her flake food you should try some freeze-dried brine shrimp (like the Hikari brand) as brine are good to give guppies to induce mating and such. Also a guppy that is near giving birth usually will start isolating herself from other fish and will hang around the bottom of the tank, all you can do is wait at this point. Once she gives birth, you can then remove her from the 5gal tank and the fry will be able to grow adequately without being eaten. I wouldn't worry too much if she does eat any fry because before you know it you will have more guppies then you know what to do with and with adequate fry hiding places she more than likely won't eat them all if any.