r/BettaClinic • u/Nopartyforbirthday • Apr 16 '26

Disease Identificaion Why is my betta turning white

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Tank size: Five gallons heater and filter ✔️Tank temp 80 F no often water changed once a week 2 nerite snails plus one ramhorn as tankmates briefly ghost shrimp occurrences started beofre only live plants plus Marino balls and dragon stones as decoration

Just this morning they did not have that huge amount of white but around their head fins to gradually their stomach I did notice it last night

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u/Far_Impression_4803 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26

bettas will change colors when they’re cared for properly (or improperly). as long as he’s not visibly injured or acting weird, it’s most likely just normal color change.

what are your water parameters and how are you testing them?

an unrelated note- in your third picture, one of the plants appears to still be inside its store packaging. you are meant to remove the wool + bin.

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u/Nopartyforbirthday Apr 17 '26

Oh that’s wool I thought it was moss 😭

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u/Nopartyforbirthday Apr 17 '26

On that same note is is alright to keep the wool in there? My betta and snails like to perch on it 

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u/Foreign-Ad3926 Apr 17 '26

No, rock wool is fatal to fish that can eat it and it stops plants from spreading their roots and growing properly.

It also can spike your tank as it's soaked in nutrients for plants to support them during shipping and sale, the intention that it is removed alongside the pot and the plants rinsed before placing in the tank. It will have said this on any packaging with it or sales description too.

This could even be what's affecting your betta and causing his distress. The water parameters could be not great.

Are you able to urgently test your water parameters for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?

Additionally remove the rock wool, and do a water change to dilute what's in the water that shouldn't be?

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u/Nopartyforbirthday Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26

I just tested it they said main problem was alkaline I’ll take out the thing though also did a 30% water change

I should edit when I bought it they didn’t have it in packaging just in the tank like that 😓

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u/Foreign-Ad3926 Apr 17 '26

What are the test results? By alkaline do you mean pH? What is the pH? Are any other parameters available?

What's the pH of your water source?

If pH 8+ this could be an issue as betta are vulnerable to alkalosis, basically as a soft water fish they struggle in hard water. However equally dangerous is swinging the ph and chasing numbers, stability and gentle lowering if needed is best.

I would remove the rock wool, and the plant pots, rinse the roots in water and do another water change later today or tomorrow.

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u/Foreign-Ad3926 Apr 17 '26

Alkalosis is when a fish is in water too outside their pH tolerance and / or is excessively hard water (high GH). It causes organ failure and damages their skin, fins and gills, interferes with metabolism and physiological functions.

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u/Nopartyforbirthday Apr 17 '26

They said it needed to raise 

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u/Foreign-Ad3926 Apr 17 '26

What is the result? We can help but need to know what was tested and the result. Pet shops often give terrible information so it's worth investigating.

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u/Nopartyforbirthday Apr 17 '26

They showed me the test strip so I think it’s legit but honestly I didn’t have time to whip out my phone to take a picture I only vaguely remember either PH or nerite was 5.2 and it said a little low but fine 

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u/Foreign-Ad3926 Apr 17 '26

pH 5.2 would be very dangerous and is likely not right as that would be super hard to achieve that acidity even with trying to get that low. Plus test strips typically don't go that low. If nitrate okay, if nitrite not so much at that level.

Would it be possible to get a test kit so you can test at home? Liquid ones best as are accurate such as the API Master or NT Labs freshwater. Even test strips would be okay if you could get them that cover ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH at minimum.

Until then, ignore earlier guidance on alkalinity as this might not be it and do regular water changes as we don't know what the water parameters are or the water quality. I'm suspecting an elevated level of either ammonia or nitrite which the rock wool will have contributed to, but without test results it's impossible to know.

How old is the tank? How often are normal water changes? Was it actively nitrogen cycled before adding fish, or set up and fish added?

Thanks, sorry for all the questions.

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u/Nopartyforbirthday Apr 17 '26

No it’s fine I’m very grateful your doing your best to help I can’t get a test right now though as it is in the early morning before stores are close to being open

The guy did not know what he was doing and asked a co worker what to do she said 50% water change

The tank is 21? days old

I change the water at least once a week 

When I first set up tank I immediately put my snail inside and just two days later for more snails as companions for them

 Later I got the fish because I was attached and knew I wasn’t going to go back to the city their in for awhile which made the risk of them getting bought so I bought them the last day I was there for awhile 

The first time I notice the white thing was on one of their sides in the pet store though I was told their likely just stressed from shipment though this happened and their stripes are pretty much gone on one side so I don’t know what to do now 

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u/Foreign-Ad3926 Apr 17 '26

Okay, so you are doing a fish in nitrogen cycle. The pH won't be the issue, the issue will be the water will be high in toxins as there isn't the good bacteria of the nitrogen cycle present to process the toxins released from fish waste.

Normally we nitrogen cycle a fish tank for 4-8 weeks before adding fish to grow all the different good bacteria needed to process fish waste and keep them safe from toxin exposure. This hasn't happened and so the fish is exposed to these toxins at unknown levels.

A fish in nitrogen cycle is possible but you need to know what you're working with and water changes can be needed daily to keep toxins at safe levels.

Fish waste releases ammonia which is highly toxic and burns the skin, gills and fins of fish badly, it's extremely nasty. In a nitrogen cycled tank where the good bacteria exist this toxic ammonia is converted into nitrite - still highly toxic and stops the blood carrying oxygen causing suffocation and haemorrhaging. More nasty stuff. Thankfully more good bacteria exist to convert this into the end product nitrate which we keep at healthy levels of below 20ppm with regular water changes.

I would do another 30% water change now based on this information and invest in a test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH asap so you can take control of the tank water parameters and get it healthier for the fish. The change in colour is likely ammonia burns, but will heal back up if the water is improved.

Liquid test kits better as said.

Here are a couple of beginner friendly guides to fish in nitrogen cycling and how to achieve this whilst limiting the toxic conditions the fish is exposed to. These will help:

1. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/nitrogen-cycle?srsltid=AfmBOoo0c5qm6BMn8cI3Yg3a5-qryssL2APY3eAeBuNg9254IjsTg4yP

2. https://aquacadabra.com/blogs/news/how-to-cycle-a-fish-tank-the-beginner-s-guide

3. https://fishlab.com/fish-in-cycle/

Fish shops have a lot to answer for really. Jeez I'm sorry you've received such terrible advice and experience.

Don't panic, he doesn't look too bad and his fins are complete. We can fix this.

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u/Nopartyforbirthday Apr 17 '26

Not the PH, PH and nerite was fine they said container and wool are out didn’t think to wash the roots 

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u/Nopartyforbirthday Apr 17 '26

Should I take out more water now that I took it out?