Does my fish have Velvet?

[missketie]

Okay, I've had my Betta for exactly 9 days. His name is Prince William because I was watching the Olympics when I was thinking of names for him. He's a Half-moon Betta and his fins were like that when I got him. So I'm taking care of that with Bettafix.

Anyway, I've never noticed it before until I started reading articles about Velvet disease. So I'm not sure if he's always had a gold-ish hue and I'm just being paranoid, or if he really is sick. I've answered the form and will attach photos next.

Housing
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? between 80-84F it fluctuates but it's usually around that.
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? I bought a heater but opted not to install it yet since it's still pretty hot
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? I alternate with pellets, dried bloodworms, and dried mysis. He doesn't like Daphnia.

How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 pellets in the morning and 1 at night. or 1 bloodworm cut in half in the morning and another one at night. (I do this same process with the Mysis. I have to cut it because it's too big for his mouth.)

I didn't feed him today because I read that I have to skip a day to help him clean out his system. So I'm thinking I'm not going to feed him on Tuesdays.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Water conditioner and Bettafix to help heal his torn fins

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No, I'm not sure, I still have to get test kits.

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

Symptoms and Treatment

How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Bettafix for his torn fins.
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

[missketie]

He has bubble nests on top of the water so I don't think he's stressed and I've never seen him try to scratch himself against the aquarium toy. So I'm not sure. I'm really looking for an opinion here.

[LebronTheBetta]

Doesn't look like it... The gold rust is supposed to be all over the fish. He just seems to have a VERY light green sheen. Pretty.
You should feed the bloodworms and mysis 2x per week. 1 worm, other shrimp. DTs get bloated easily because of their short bodies so I suggest that. :) And I also think you should be doing 1 100% and 1 50% per week.

[missketie]

Ohh! Thank you so much! That's a relief to know. This is my first Betta and I really want this to work out. Last time I had a goldfish and it died after only a couple of months and I haven't had a fish since then. This time I really want to take care of him. So I want him to be in the best health.

I also thought about changing the water twice a week but I was afraid it might stress him out. But I'll try that out too. That might be better for him since he's currently only in a 1 gallon tank. I do plan on getting a bigger one in a few weeks.

Do you have any thoughts on how long Betta fins usually heal? I don't like putting Bettafix on his tank, it has a weird smell that I don't much care for.

[LebronTheBetta]

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that you have to do a 100% change since BettaFix can harm their labyrinth organ. I'm so sorry!! I forgot to tell you. Just do as I say and he probably won't get harmed. Clean water should fix torn/bit fins. If it's rot, you have to do the AQ Salt treatment.

[jeremywadejunior]

Your betta just has irredescense to him :) Mine does too, and when I first got him and read about velvet, I was just as paranoid. No need to worry though :)

[missketie]

Originally Posted by LebronTheBetta

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that you have to do a 100% change since BettaFix can harm their labyrinth organ. I'm so sorry!! I forgot to tell you. Just do as I say and he probably won't get harmed. Clean water should fix torn/bit fins. If it's rot, you have to do the AQ Salt treatment.

So is that 100% water change twice a week? I don't know if it's fin rot. I don't think it is, I think it just got torn during his first day with me and I had a plastic toy inside the tank. But I'm not sure.

I think I'll just keep on with the Bettafix for the next two days, then change the water 100% and see what happens. I hope it heals soon. I like seeing his fins spread out. It's so pretty.

[LebronTheBetta]

I meant to do a 100% change because of the BettaFix. It's known for harming their labyrinth organ. It's vital to their health. They could die without it. The fins will heal on it's own. It's fin rot if the fin keeps getting smaller and smaller and has black or dark red edges. If you're doing a normal water change, the schedule should be 1 100% and 1 50% per week like I said before.

[missketie]

Originally Posted by jeremywadejunior

Your betta just has irredescense to him :) Mine does too, and when I first got him and read about velvet, I was just as paranoid. No need to worry though :)

So good to know I wasn't the only one who felt that way. I think it's going to be really tricky to know if fish is sick, because you can't touch them and they don't make sounds. It's so awesome that this forum exists.

[jeremywadejunior]

Originally Posted by missketie

So good to know I wasn't the only one who felt that way. I think it's going to be really tricky to know if fish is sick, because you can't touch them and they don't make sounds. It's so awesome that this forum exists.

You'll get used to what behaviors are normal for your betta. If your betta is acting healthy (eating, swimming normally..), chances are he is healthy indeed! :) But yes, this forum is super helpful when it comes to learning about your betta and his needs. Everyone is more than willing to help :)