# Is my betta a "marble" or is he sick?



## dburns865 (Mar 25, 2012)

When I got my Betta, Harvey Dent, I thought the white spot on his face was just a cool color variation, but it keeps growing and is starting to worry me. I read about marble bettas but wasn't sure that is what this is. 

I hope he is okay, he's a great fish. He's like an excited puppy every time I come home and flip his light on because he knows it's feed time  


1. Size of tank?

5 gallon

2. Water parameters
I don't know, haven't checked. 

3. Temperature?

78 degrees

4. FW (fresh water) or BW (brackish)? 

Fresh water

5. How long the aquarium has been set up?

3 weeks

6. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them?

Just a snail for three weeks

7. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)?

No

8. a. Any live plants? Fake plants?

I have fake plants and a moss ball

b. Sand, gravel, barebottom?

Gravel

c. Rocks, woods, fancy decors? Any hollow decors?

Just some fake wood

9. a. Filtration?

Whisper filter

b. Heater?

Yes

10. a. Lighting schedule? What lights are used?

LEDs are turned on after work

b. Any sunlight exposure? How long?

A little indirect sunlight all day

11. a. Water change schedule?

Twice a week

b. Volume of water changed?

20%

c. Well water, tap water, RO water?

Tap

d. Water conditioner used?

Yes

e. Frequency of gravel/sand (if any) vacuumed?

When changing the water I stick the siphon end in the gravel, so I guess that's vacuuming?

12. Foods?

Flakes

How often are they fed?

Once a day, 2 flakes

13. a. Any abnormal signs/symptoms?

Sometimes he seems really frisky and jolts around, occasionally he goes after the side of the tank but I think that may be his reflection.

b. Appearance of poop?

Not sure

c. Appearance of gills?

They look fine to me but I am no expert. 

14. a. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis? 

No


15. Insert photos of fish in question and full tank shot if necessary.


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Wow he is gorgeous!! As long as his eyes are bright and he's not bloated or lethargic, it could be he's just starting to show his true colors.

As for feeding, you really want to have a better variation in his diet. Feed him something like Hikari Bio-Gold pellets - two or three twice a day. You can feed flakes as a subsitite once or twice a week and frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp as a good source of protien once or twice a week as well as a substitute for pellets. Be sure to thaw the bloodworms or frozen shrimp in some tank water first.

Welcome to the forum


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## dburns865 (Mar 25, 2012)

Thank you for the reply! I feel much better now. He is quite the cutey, I couldn't believe I found him at a Petco, just had to have him  

He does not seem lethargic or sick, in fact, I was a bit worried about how active he was. He never stops swimming, and will jolt around really fast a lot. He also enjoys swimming in small openings. I guess this must just be his normal behavior. I thought maybe he was uncomfortable and trying to escape or something. 

Thanks again, I will get some pellets asap. I thought they were the same thing in a different shape.


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Too bad you named him before he showed his "Phantom" mask


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## dburns865 (Mar 25, 2012)

Haha I named him Harvey Dent after the character for Two Face in Batman


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