hi, i've just got a new betta (pics coming soon i promise) and he was labelled as a male in the shop. He seems to have vertical stripes on his body, but i have only heard about that happening to females during breeding.
For what reasons might he have vertical stripes????

Stress.

I thought horizontal stripes meant they were stressed?

Maybe you have a long tailed female

i figured it was stress. (or maybe he's a she)
I guess i'll let him get used to his surroundings for a while, before i worry too much.


seems to be looking a bit better now anyway, i hope i was worrying over nothing

ok the stripes are gone now and he seems ok. it's dark in my room now so he should calm down a bit.

however, i have noticed what i could interpret as odd behaviour. basically, i have heard that bettas dont like currents, and so i have put my filter in a corner, so the flow doesnt affect most of the tank, and surrounded it with plants to stop him getting too near it. however, he keeps swimming to that end and resting where th outflow is, just staying still and the flow moving his fins. Is that ok??? i have heard that the current can upset them and make them gnaw off thier fins. will he get upset by the current or will he eventually learn not to go near it if he doesnt like it??

They will certianly NOT gnaw off their own fins. If he didn't like the current he would not be next to it. THey also like surface strucre though, if that's the only place he can hover under he will use it. The problem with currents is that bettas are weak and the current can sometimes push them around.

really?? i coulda sworn i read on here that they will bite their own fins off as a result of them being blown about by a strong current.. hmm well good to know he may not be in danger like i thought.

he isnt under it by the way, he's in front of it, where the water whooshes out. i have a cave/skull thing he likes to hide in and some plants as well.

i think he will learn not to go that side if he doesnt like it then.

thanks for the help

Yes, some bettas will bite and tear their own fins when stressed, and too strong of a current certainly can be a stress factor. Some even do it out of boredom or habit, and unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done to prevent that type of tail biting. I have a "special needs" betta that falls into this category.

Katmud, your betta will probably be fine, and just needs some time adjusting.

Yeah I've certainly heard of Bettas biting and tearing there own fins when they are stressed. It must be some kind of fight and flight behaviour

I agree with Kissy, give him a little more to adjust to his new surroundings, then if necessry you can rethink his environment