do bettas have a "puberty" period?

[marcusbacus]

I've been noticing so many changes in my red betta (appearance *and* mood changes) so I though he might be going something like a "fish puberty" period... I don't know how old he is but he's been with me for almost 2 months and was much smaller then so I'm thinking he probably is not much over 6 months old. In like 2 weeks or less his appearance has changed a lot, the tail shape has changed and now there are lots of light blue/purple stripes (not only one like last Friday which I thought was lavender but it's actually purple) on his tail and I think I also saw signs of fin growth on his dorsal fin... is it time to tell him the secrets of life?

[amanichen]

Bettas change color as they age, and as they are fed better food and as they are kept in better living conditions.

So, we'll assume that:

1. He's getting older.
2. He wasn't fed very well at the breeder.
3. The living conditions he's in under your care is better than at the breeder.

[marcusbacus]

But is there a period where these changes are more frequent/intense? I saw him growing slowly in a month then the next month *poof* there's a new change almost every day (the colour changes for example are going quite fast). The blue fish which seems to be older didn't suffer too drastic changes other than the now giant spikes on his fins (he's not a crowntail though) and some more noticeable iridescent green on his tail, and his colour is now more like a purple than a dark blue, depending on the light source.

I must confess that even though I'm making things as better as I can for them (some of these foods are expensive!), I don't follow every advice I read... or I would have gone crazy with so many (and often controversial) information. See the "feed flakes/don't feed flakes" discussions and similar subjects... it's like that sentence "if it's not broken, do not attempt to fix it".

[amanichen]

marcusbacus said:

But is there a period where these changes are more frequent/intense?

Usually this is within a fish's "childhood," and the growth rate will slow, and the fish's color will become paler as it ages. Remember though, that living conditions can have a large impact on the growth rate of an animal.

What you are seeing is a product of specific conditions rather than a general stage in a betta's life.