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View Full Version : I Scared the Color Right out of My Betta



WaterBaby
10-25-2003, 8:13 AM
So I check the temp of my Betta's tank yesterday and noticed that it was too high. I have a Marineland submersible heater and have it set to 75, but the temp in the tank was almost 85 :eek:. I opened the lid on the top of the tank to cool it down.

I turned the heater down a little to about 73. I didn't want to lower it too much. Last night I noticed that the light was on again, so I turned on the light in the tank and "Bluestar" freaked out. He raced behind the filter intake tube all flared out.

I figured he was sleeping and I startled him with the light. I checked the temp again and it was 81 :mad:. I thought maybe the heater needed to be "reset", if there is such a thing. I turned off the power strip that all the plugs are in and waited about 15 secs and turned it back on. The light on the heater did not come on this time but the light in the tank did again, and there was "Blue". He looked dazed and his head was "white" :eek: . It was though all the color drained out of his head. Very Strange!! I had read that bettas get Fright Streaks, but I didn't know that they could lose their color.

FYI- The temp in the tank this morning is about 76. I'll be keeping an eye on it today to see if it fluctuates. It's a fairly new heater and am sure it's still under some kind of warranty.

MaryPa
10-25-2003, 4:38 PM
Waterbaby,not knowing the tank size or light wattage i`ll just guess and say maybe the light is adding heat.Mine did:rolleyes: My poor betta is in a 10 gal with two 25 watt bulbs,they had the water sooo hot it scared the do-do out of me:confused: It`s supposed to be 1.5 watts per gallon of water:rolleyes: I didn`t know this until today.

WaterBaby
10-27-2003, 7:05 AM
The tank is a 6 gallon eclipse system. The light is the same one that came with the tank. The tank has been set up for over a year with no problems in the overheating department (except on those very hot summer days). ;)

I have been keeping an eye on the temp all weekend, and it seems to have stabilized and is staying at 73.

Maybe a "heater glitch". Don't know, but a worrisome mom I am, so I'll be "checking on it" for days until I know for sure that it's working properly again. :)