Black spots = Betta pattern?

[bettalover212]

Okay, so about three weeks ago I rescued three male bettas from a petsmart and since then I have been finding more and more problems with my fishies. I have two crowntails and a veiltail. My red crowntail (Draco) has pretty bad fin rot, and I began treating him with bettafix, only to see no improvement after the initial 7 day treatment window. I forgot petsmart and went to a family owned pet shop where the owner sort of specializes in fish and has 25 yrs of experience YAY! He recommended using ampicillin for him, which I've since started and three days later I already see improvement. Just before I began the ampicillin treatment I noticed a very slight thinning and a hole in my veiltail's (Ilarius's) tail fin. Itook a look at my other crowntail (Nightshade) and noticed he had some slight curling in his fins as well (the first symptoms I noticed in Draco). So, I started all of them on ampicillin. YAY, everyone looks like they're doing better.

HOWEVER.......(after all, why be in the disease forum if everyone is healthy and happy?)

Nightshade, who is black bodied with green and blue fins is now covered in black spots. He originally had some perfect black spots that were placed on his bottom fin on the membrane between his spines, they went in nice neat little lines and so I assumed that it was part of his patterning. NOW, the spots are appearing on his dorsal fin and they are much smaller, have no clear pattern (are randomly places all over), are very numerous, and in some cases are small lines instead of actual dots. I've read a lot about Black ich/ Black Spot Disease and I think that my little guy has it, but I took it to the little pet store and they don't think he has it, they merely think because he is doing better, he is showing his true pattern (his color is returning).

So....should I listen to 25 yrs experience and just finish the ampicillin and call it a day

Or....should I listen to my gut and treat my lovely animated little babies before it's too late?

PS, I also heard that Black Spot Disease does not exhibit such numerous spots?

 

[Pure]

Something for you to google, Melano gene in bettas.

Basically black aka Melano in bettas is very hard to reproduce, because full Melano bettas are sterile. So normally a breeder will cross a melano with a steel (silvery blue) with a green or green mask. The resulting fry will have the melano gene. You see this with the black spots. All they fry may not show these but the ones that do should show it in all the fins. If he wasn't doing well the spotting or coloration may have been off and he may indeed be showing his true colors now.

Crossing 2 melano geno bettas will result in some true 100% melanos. BTW

 

[bettalover212]

I think I may have been jumping the gun earlier, because now the spotting is spreading and it's showing up more and more and the black areas also are beginning to change irridescense a little. He had a black face before, but now it's coming out as more of a blue/green mask, so I think he's just doing better and showing his real coloration (which is rather all over the place)now? *crosses her fingers*

It would be neat to think my tiny little petsmart betta actually had some hard to find genes in him! He's become much more active and I'm approaching the end of the ampicillin cycle. Even with the tanks a good foot apart, Draco and Nightshade (aka spotty mcgee) are flaring at each other. I have to move Nightshade clear across my desk. Now he looks all pooped and he's just blowing bubbles at me.

Thanks a bunch for the advice! How old is a betta before the full pattern becomes established? Could he be younger than I imagined?

 

[Pure]

doesn't really work that way with bettas. normally once they are old enough to sex what color they are going to be is well in place. It may change some but not much depending on the fish.