BettaMamaPDJ

No, it’s not fuzzy at all.

Thanks! I had thought about the possibility of a benign growth (the betta who trimmed his own fins also developed one, though he still lived a fairly long life). I know that some bettas can change color, I just hadn’t heard that before with a mustard gas. I will keep an eye on him, and update as needed. Thanks again!

On Saturday or Sunday I noticed a little white spot on top of Charlie’s head, just behind his gills. I thought it was just a loose scale or that he maybe bumped his head (see first 2 pictures), but now it looks like it’s spreading…(see last 3 photos). I have been keeping bettas for 3 1/2 years and am very dedicated to caring for my wet pets. I haven’t made any changes to his 10 gallon aquarium. He is the only fish in the aquarium, no snails or anything. He has 2 small sponge filters, 2 heaters (don’t ask), and several live plants, so the parameters stay healthy. I have never had any problems that way. The temperature varies from 80-82 degrees. My last water change was done on Monday (which he didn’t like, but I didn’t see him in a location where he could have gotten hurt). I’ve had him for just over 4 months. He’s acting normal: happy to see me, excited for food, occasional bubble nesting. He did rip a chunk out of his tail earlier this week and I thought that somehow during that he might have bumped his head (I had another betta who was constantly trimming his own fins, so I’ve seen that before). He has been growing, most notably his fins, but his body seems to have grown a bit too. I’ve been doing research, but I can’t seem to find anything that matches as far as illnesses/diseases go. I’ve been adding Seachem Stress Guard the last few days and I put fresh almond leaves in his tank on Monday when I changed the water in hopes that they would help. It’s not ich, it’s not fuzzy…. Does anybody have any ideas? I would really appreciate it!

Thank you so much! I had been thinking about getting a snail, but knowing this changes that. I really appreciate your input!

Thank you so much!

Ok, one last question 😬 do I need to do anything to maintain the good bacteria in my tank? Add ammonia (which really scares me) or ghost feed (I have betta pellets and freeze dried daphnia)? thank you!

Will do! Thank you so much again! I truly appreciate all your help! 💕

Thank you! I will be sure to does with the Coppersafe. Should I still do my weekly water changes, testing the water to keep the Coppersafe dose where it needs to be? and should I keep the tank covered and dark or would it be ok to uncover it so my plants can get some light? Sorry for the extra questions, but this is my first time dealing with the aftermath of velvet. Thank you again for your help, I can’t tell you how much it means to me 💕

Unfortunately, my sweet Linus just passed away 😭😭😭 He hung on and waited for me to check on him, so at least I was able to be with him for his last moments…. Now, the question is: how do I make sure my tank is safe for its next fish? Keep the tank dark? Raise the heat a bit, since there are no fish? Water change tomorrow or wait til next week? Treat the tank with Coppersafe on Wednesday? And how long should I wait until introducing the next fish? From the research I’ve done, I’ve seen the life cycle of the velvet parasite ranges from 8-12 days…. so what should I do? My main goal is to keep my plants and good bacteria alive and make my tank safe for its next inhabitant. I’m sorry for all the questions, but I really appreciate your taking the time to help me 💕 thank you again!

Ok, so I just finished the 3rd day of treatment with the Ich-X, but Linus is not doing good. Compared to yesterday, he is worse, more lethargic, though he is still moving around some. Fins mostly clamped (they were clamped worse on Saturday). Though he is worse than yesterday, I would say he is still a little better than before I started treating him on Saturday. He was not completely disinterested today and his swimming is not jerky like Saturday, but he did twitch once or twice. At this point, I am planning to treat him with the Ich-X again tomorrow morning. The Coppersafe is coming tomorrow(Tuesday), but the copper test kit will not arrive until Wednesday. I would normally never ask this, because I know the wrong dosing could be dangerous, but I’m afraid that delaying the treatment could also be fatal, so…. Would it be safe and/or beneficial to add a small dose of the Coppersafe tomorrow afternoon/evening without having a test kit? And when I say small: I have a 10 gallon tank with approximately 8-9 gallons of water in it. If I was to add enough Coppersafe to dose maybe 2 gallons, would that be safe? I know that it wouldn’t be the therapeutic level to kill the velvet, but would it help him to fight it enough until I can properly dose the tank the next day??? I just really don’t want to lose him and I want to alleviate his suffering if I can. Please let me know your opinion. Thank you again!

Thank you so much! I just ordered the coppersafe and the test kit, which will arrive in a day or 2, which will time perfectly with the day 5 of ich-x, so hopefully, if it doesn’t help by then, it at least helps him to hold on.

I was able to diagnose my Betta, Linus, yesterday morning with velvet. The gold dust is unmistakable, but I have not been able to get a picture that shows it. His current water parameters are same as normal: pH 7.2 Nitrates 10 Hardness 200 Nitrite 0 KH/Buffer 120 Water Temperature 82-83 (as of yesterday, I turned the heat up to help kill the velvet, the tank is normally between 80-82) He has a 10 gallon tank with live plants and 2 small sponge filters with air stones. I do not have a quarantine tank, but he is the only fish in the tank. I started treating him yesterday morning with Ich-X, as I had it on hand and it says it works for velvet. Unfortunately, all the instructions on using it are aimed at treating ich. I have been following the instructions so far, treating the tank yesterday morning, and again this morning after doing a 30% water change. I know the instructions say to use for 3 days, but other info from Aquarium Co-Op that I’ve seen says to treat with Ich-X until it works (for ich)(but not more than 5 days if there’s no change) and then for 3 days after to make sure the ich is dead. Does the same apply for velvet??? I have also covered the aquarium with a thick bath towel, as from what I’ve read, velvet needs light to grow and live. Aquarium salt was another option to help, and though I’m not doing the velvet dosing quantity, I did add the appropriate amount for the water I was adding back in the tank this morning (a little over 1tsp for 2.5 gallons)(I don’t want to use a ton, as I don’t want to kill my plants) Appearance wise, I haven’t seen any change as to Linus’s velvet. His fins are not fully clamped any more, so that’s a little promising. Yesterday morning I noticed that his blue eyes have changed. The blue is not as intense, almost watered down and the interior rims of both eyes have turned copper. No changes there as of this morning. But behavior wise, he is doing better. He ate before I started dosing the tank, though he has not eaten since (I’ve tried to feed him twice). He is not as lethargic or disinterested. He was swimming around when I was changing his water, slower than normal but interested in what was going on. His swimming was also much smoother and normal, as before I started dosing the tank yesterday morning, his swimming was jerky, like he was having spasms. Any suggestions for continuing treatment would be helpful, especially on how to use Ich-X for velvet 😊 Thank you!

His poops have been fine, though I don’t always see them. I’ve had constipated fish before, but he is acting different. His neck/belly has a copper sheen when I shine a flashlight on him, thus my hopefully accurate diagnosis of velvet. The ich-x seems to be helping some. Does anyone know if I should continue feeding him during treatment, or should I pause? And I’m following the directions on the bottle, but is the 3 day dosing accurate for velvet? The anubias had only been in the tank for 1 week. I did not use glue to anchor it and I bought it from Aquarium Co-Op. It has been taken out of the tank already, and as long as it’s nothing that can cause health problems for my fish, I’m not worried about it any more, as I’ve got bigger problems trying to heal him 💕

So, I wound up taking the anubias out completely (the rhizome was feeling kinda squishy, which I had read could be bad, and I just didn’t want to take any chances). I set one of his silk plants back in the tank to give his somewhere to rest for now. And I’m 95% certain he has velvet, so I’ve started treating with ich-x. He’s already swimming around more, not resting as much, a little more personable, so I’m hoping that this helps

And I just now noticed that his belly has turned metallic. Could it be velvet?