Betta Fish Lost Color

Question
QUESTION: My betta is normally a variety of really bright colors. Lately he has been going in and out of being really pale. He's hasn't been as bright as he's supposed to be in about the last two weeks. I've been changing his water more frequently hoping to clear up the problem. I'm adding a little bit of aquarium salt, and using water conditioner. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I'm only feeding him 4 or 5 little pellets a day, he has a heater and a filter. What else should I be doing, his body is close to white at this point where it's normally close to black, his fins are starting to lose color too :O( Please help!!

ANSWER: they loose colour with old age..is he old? (how long have you had him?)

also what are you feeding him? you can buy special types of food that help keep and brighten there colour

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QUESTION: I just bought him in September, so he's pretty young still, old age shouldn't be the issue. I have food that will brighten him, I'm just worried that's not the problem. He was fine and brilliantly colored one day , and then next he's practically white. Last night I changed him into an empty container based on some other things I've read. He's gained a tiny bit of color back but not much. Also he's acting fine, I just don't get it.

ANSWER: this might not be his case but this has happened..

some people breed betta's and when there males get too old they take them to the petstore and as long as the fish is healthy the petstore will usually take them for free..

this could have happened to him..i had a betta this happened too..(i worked in a fish store for a while) and saw this happen so much.

do you have a picture you could attatch??

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QUESTION: Unfortunately it seems this has led to a painfully slow recognition of dropsy. He has just started to pinecone a little bit. Any advice, I'm hoping I've caught the dropsy part of this early and I can still do something about it, I recognize that there may be no helping him at this point.

Answer
Name: DROPSY  
Symptoms: Big fat belly, not pregnant
Huge Swelling of Body
Bulging sides and stomach
Scales almost popping off
Scales may be forced outward
Eyes may pop out


Dropsy General Description
Dropsy is not really a disease. For all intensive purposes we will call it one. It's really an internal bacterial infection usually caused by poor water quality.

Fish may recover with no treatment and may die despite it. There are multiple possible causes. Sometimes it's not contageous, but sick fish should be isolated and treated since determining the actual cause may be impossible. The swelling is because the fish is absorbing water faster than it can eliminate it, and it can be caused by many different problems. High nitrates are one thing to check. Internal bacterial infections, including fish TB, are other possibilities. If there are no water quality problems, you may want to attempt antibiotic treatment in a separate tank.

There are multiple possible causes. Usually caused by kidney damage. Kidney damage may be caused by overuse of drugs or a disease. Eventually the swelling will cause the scales to raise, giving the fish what is called the "pine-cone" appearance.

You can best see this by viewing your fish from the top. Fish may also stop feeding, appear off-colour, become listless and/or lethargic, have sunken eyes, and hang at the top or stay at the bottom of the aquarium.  
Dropsy Treatments
Dropsy is not very contagious; however, Fish usually die from this, but in some cases where the problem is due to bacteria, if detected early enough, it can be treated.
It's possibly the hardest internal bacterial infection to cure. There are a number of medications available such as penicillin, tetracycline and naladixic acid. The fish usually doesn't make it. By the time the scales begin to raise, however, it is very fatal to the fish. Salt baths can help to draw the fluid out of the fish. A variety of medications can be purchased that treat dropsy, which sometimes occurs due to an internal bacterial problem. Medications for external bacterial problems only will not be effective for this problem.

Dropsy Prevention
Poor water conditions are often the culprit. Gouramies, Cyprinids (barbs, danios, etc), guppies, betta and goldfish are prone to this disease. Goldfish are said to be somewhat more prone to dropsy than other fish. High nitrates are usually the culprit. Clean Water, is a must! Clean Water, should I say that again? Good water conditions prevent this.