H0pefulDad
Fish Fanatic
I've decided that I'll try fostering bettas, taking them from terrible pet stores in an attempt to get them healthy enough to find a new home. Even if I don't succeed, I figure I can at least give them a nice big home to spend their final days in, instead of dying alone in a tiny little cup.
Yesterday I went and got my first fish for this process, brought him home and acclimated him. The label on his cup said that he's a black orchid male, and a community egg layer, whatever that means.
Behavioral wise he seems to be doing fine, especially since he's now in my 10 gallon tank. He's still a bit shy, but more curious and energetic than he was yesterday. He seems to be a bit skinny, so my main focus will be on getting his weight up before I try to find him a new home.
I do have one concern though, in that his lips and patches on his body and tail seem to be quite pale. His lips were already quite striking when I got him as they seemed to be to be too big for his head, but that can be attributed to his being underweight. The white/bluish color though, I'm not sure about. I've noticed a lot more of him having this coloration since I've gotten him under the proper lighting of my aquarium, and it's especially noticeable since he's entirely black otherwise.
Like I said, so far he hasn't been acting like he's sick or in pain, but I'd rather not take any chances. I did some research and learned that columnaris can start showing like this, and if that's the case I want to start treating him as soon as possible.
I've attached pictures I've taken, so can anyone tell me if it looks like he is in fact sick with something, or if it's probably nothing? Since columnaris is bacterial, if it does turn out to be that could I treat it with API Triple Sulfa?
Yesterday I went and got my first fish for this process, brought him home and acclimated him. The label on his cup said that he's a black orchid male, and a community egg layer, whatever that means.
Behavioral wise he seems to be doing fine, especially since he's now in my 10 gallon tank. He's still a bit shy, but more curious and energetic than he was yesterday. He seems to be a bit skinny, so my main focus will be on getting his weight up before I try to find him a new home.
I do have one concern though, in that his lips and patches on his body and tail seem to be quite pale. His lips were already quite striking when I got him as they seemed to be to be too big for his head, but that can be attributed to his being underweight. The white/bluish color though, I'm not sure about. I've noticed a lot more of him having this coloration since I've gotten him under the proper lighting of my aquarium, and it's especially noticeable since he's entirely black otherwise.
Like I said, so far he hasn't been acting like he's sick or in pain, but I'd rather not take any chances. I did some research and learned that columnaris can start showing like this, and if that's the case I want to start treating him as soon as possible.
I've attached pictures I've taken, so can anyone tell me if it looks like he is in fact sick with something, or if it's probably nothing? Since columnaris is bacterial, if it does turn out to be that could I treat it with API Triple Sulfa?
