What are the problems with pure white bettas?

Merlin is a pure white CT and he is active and eats well but he has had laboured breathing since I got him he goes mad swims about loads, has amazing finnage and scales etc. just that his gills pant a lot in between outbursts

I cant seem to keep pale bettas and I love them.

My Alaska is like that but as he's got older his ourbursts are less often and he sleeps in a plant most of the day. I assumed it was his heavy finnage causing him to get tired out.

Well my white ct arrives tomorrow and didnt realise this sort of thing withthat colouration, will ensure to keep watch on him

they are prone to septicemia

How is septecmia developed? Poor water quality? Off to the internet!

Ah right infected wounds and food can carry it. Bloodworm, I wash the frozen cubes in tankwater and they rarely have live, am I reasonably good?

Is that just down to the bare genetics to produce whites that causes this susceptibility?

Its a bacterial infection that is usually caused from being passed on by food. Ummmmm hold on will get my link to it.

Thanks Modaz So betta pellets a much better option

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white just seem to get it more than often than others, Ive found it very hard to cure in whites and it usually ended in dropsy. Frozen food may make no difference as some bacteria can lay dormant at low temps and even freezing but 100% about this bacteria.
I would still recommend frozen or live, live better and the fresher the better.

Thanks very very much Modaz

sorry meant to be NOT 100% sure on this bacteria and if it survives freezing point.

They can also be prone to eye problems if opaque whites.. same as the dragons.. the thick scaling that occurs in these types can sometimes grow over the eyes causing partial blindness but only in extreme cases.

This is all good to know thanks guys. Im not sure on Enigma I believe he is opaque, still quite young but his eyes are beautifully clear. I keep an eye on all my boys though

Oh no, im quite worried now i have a male white halfmoon being imported from Thailand for me, i wasnt aware of any of these problems and cant cancel my order, what can i do to prevent my betta from getting ill??

Take the best care of him you can and not worry too much about it. Its not all but only some white or very pale colored bettas that have issues. also if you are importing a quality fish rather then say a fish found at a big brand box store the breeding and health will be much much better. I had a pale pink male hm that ended up with problems that he also passed on down to his fry. The pure white female I had from a good breeder lived a long and healthy life and had healthy babies.

congrats on your incoming betta:)

Thank you for that Newfishy, i got pretty worried about it as this is my dream fish that i fell in love with my worry is eased

Whites are just that little bit more delicate, even when spawning they are usually not as aggressive as the norm I've found.

It's hard to get a white (opaque lines which are the whitest .. pastels are different) without any wahes and completly clear lensed, dark eyed.

If you find one def snap it up fast!!!

The breeding side of things...

Pastel whites and cambodian are hardier with less chances of the opaques problems but they are usually much more colour tinted in general ...pinks and pastel blues etc. rather than white.

Opaques probs are mainly caused by too much inbreeding and wrong selection between outcrosses.

Outcrossing to red or blue causes washes from the outcross colour but stops the white going mucky with black in the scaling while clearing the eyes again in next few generations of spawns.

You can breed two cloudy eyed red washed opaques and get all perfect fry or you could get even more opaque cleaner white body colour but with even worse clouding over the eyes depending how close the generation of fry is to the last outcross.

It helps loads to know the lines, outcross colour last used and when last outcrosses were when it comes to breeding them.

Its a delicate balance of keeping them as white as possible while minimising the flaws

This is the main reason you don't see clean, clear eyed opaques for sale very often

Thanks, iv looked at the opaques and didnt really like them because of their eyes being white too looked kinda creepy, lol! Im not going to breed mine just keep him as my little treasure as iv been waiting soooo long.

They're ugly!





I'm sorry had to be done .

You are so wrong Jake!, Your just upset from being scratched and bitten! I think they are very pretty!

Going to keep a close eye on my white/cello boy now. Dont wont anything to happen to him. My mother would kill me as she got him for me.

Thanks for posting this topic MermaidMel.