Greying betta with copper gills

[Alcemistnv]

Okay, so Buddha is a royal blue veiltail with a black head and red ventrals with a red hue on his anal fins. This is how I bought him, and how he had been for around the first 3 months of owning him. About a month ago, I noticed that his head is now a grey color and is only black in the dark. With the light on, he's a light grey. Unforunately, I can't get an image because he doesn't stay still.
Also, I had a scare awhile ago because I thought that he had velvet. There was a copper color on his gills and I instantly did tank changes everyday. However, I noticed that the copper hasn't gone away and now it's almost like it's a part of his color. But I'm sure that's wrong, considering royal blues don't have copper gills.


Housing
What size is your tank? 2 gallon Bowl
What temperature is your tank? Lukewarm. It gets changed when it becomes too cold
Does your tank have a filter? Nope
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Nope
Is your tank heated? Not yet
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellets and bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? He gets 2-3 pellets a day and 2-3 bloodworms every other day. He gets to fast on weekends

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Whenever the water is too cold, or simply just every other day.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 75%-100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? I have a conditioner that I started using a few weeks ago.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? I currently do not own a water tester :( I do know that the water we have is from a softner so if someone can give me some sort of gauge on whether it is safe or not, please let me know.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
Mentioned above
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
It hasn't. He's just as mellow as normal.
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
About a month ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
I did more frequent water changes, but nothing changed at all.
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
We had a ick scare, but it was nothing a water change couldnt fix.
How old is your fish (approximately)?
About a year ad four months. (I was told to add 1 year to a betta's age because he was a pet store fish, and I had him for 4 years, but he might be older)

Thanks!!!!

[Sena Hansler]

Copper gills can be from ammonia burns, which have scarred over OR as some of my boys showed me, it's a color that does appear, and isn't anything to worry about.

However, a picture would be lovely considering having a grey head is odd, and he is under 2 years old

[Alcemistnv]

I wish I was able to get one ><

All the pictures I have of him were when he was in shock from the net entering the tank and I managed to snap a picture in time. Otherwise he's be swimming around frantically like normal.

Oh, I do hope it's not ammonia burn :(

[Sena Hansler]

If it is, relax it is rather common. Can I ask how often you clean the bowl? I clean mine every 3-4 days, to avoid ammonia build up. It could also be from the temperature shocks, which can lower the immune system - because "lukewarm" is about....72-75, and temperature fluctuations may be making it 68-70 if anything. A heater would be lovely for the fella, and help

[Alcemistnv]

I was supposed to go this week to get a heater and a new tank, but my mom pulled a "never mind."

He gets clean every 2 days, and during the heat wave we just had, I waited about 4 days since the water was very warm and he was in heaven haha

I do need to get that heater to prepare for when the A/C gets put on in the room.

[Sena Hansler]

Okay, I would do more of a scheduled water change, even if his water is warm - just change the water to about the same temperature that way there is no shock. Try to get a heater soon and that'll definitely help!! That way you could avoid ammonia burn, which trust me I can tell you 98% of bettas get it, one time or another, minor or severe.

[Alcemistnv]

Okay :)

Thank you very much!
Do you know if Petsmart sells any water testers that are reliable?

[bahamut285]

Originally Posted by Alcemistnv

What temperature is your tank? Lukewarm. It gets changed when it becomes too cold

Taking into consideration the size of your tank and the specific heat capacity of water...you're either having to change the water every few hours, or it is fluctuating in between temperature checks which can be hazardous :S

Originally Posted by Alcemistnv

Do you know if Petsmart sells any water testers that are reliable?

API Master Kit is a very reliable system, I've been using it for almost a year now and I'm just about to run out! Very much worth the cost (I believe $30?)



Considering he is almost 4 years old now (Unless I read that wrong, haha) he is probably getting old. My cousin's betta ended up growing a "beard" because the bottom of his head started greying XD

[Sena Hansler]

Whoops I missed the age! (dumb moment for me x.x)

So yes, the age is why he'd be getting greys Spartan was orange, and he got a grey chin

API is worth every penny.

[Alcemistnv]

Originally Posted by bahamut285

Considering he is almost 4 years old now (Unless I read that wrong, haha) he is probably getting old. My cousin's betta ended up growing a "beard" because the bottom of his head started greying XD

Thanks for the info :) And he's actually 1 year 4 months haha :)

Originally Posted by Sena Hansler

Whoops I missed the age! (dumb moment for me x.x)

So yes, the age is why he'd be getting greys Spartan was orange, and he got a grey chin

API is worth every penny.

I hope he isn't old for his age :(