New Betta From Petco has Velvet? Help Please!

[witheringroots]

I just got a dragonscale from petco 2 days ago but his head has turned a gold/copper color in patches. his body is whitish/pink and his tail is red/a little bit of blue. I don't know if I'm being paranoid or what but he's my first fish so better safe then sorry.
Housing
What size is your tank? 5.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? about 81 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Zoo med Betta Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2/3 pellets twice a day
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? I got him 2 days ago. changed maybe 10% of water today?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 10/15%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
no...it's a brand new tank though

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? yes, his head has changed to gold/copper
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? don't know? earlier today he was spazzy and bumping into the tank...right now he seems calm
When did you start noticing the symptoms? I noticed it a couple hours after putting him in his new tank.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? don't know
How old is your fish (approximately)? he's from petco...and his body is only about 1.5 inches at most

The first pic is when i first put him in the tank and the other 2 are from today

[veggiegirl]

Hey there,

You have a beautiful little betta He looks alright to me just a little skinny which I am sure you will fix in no time. As for his erratic behaviour it could just be that he is nervous is his new surroundings just give him some time to settle in. Velvet can be difficult to see, I think one trick is when it is dark to shine a torch on your betta, this can help make it more visible. I have only ever seen one betta with velvet and that was in a petshop. Velvet appears as tiny gold dust covering the betta. If you cannot see any gold dust then just keep a close eye on him. If he seems otherwise happy I wouldn't be too worried but be sure to keep us updated if you have any further concerns. Good luck

[veggiegirl]

Sorry but just noticed his tail appears to be shorter in the second and third picture, have you noticed this or is it just the angle of the photos?

[witheringroots]

Thanks for the quick reply :)
I'm pretty sure that the tail looks shorter because of the angle of the shots...he won't stay still for me.
So I shouldn't worry about those spots that have appeared on his head?

[veggiegirl]

Hey there,

No problem, always happy to help that is great if his tail is fine just wanted to rule out finrott. I cannot say 100% that the mottling on his head is normal because I would need a really clear close up photo to tell 100% (does your camera have macro setting cause it is great for fine detail) but from what I can see from the photos he looks just fine to me and if he seems otherwise happy I wouldn't be worried about him. As always I recommend checking all your bettas over daily for any changes that may be a sign of ill health so just keep a close eye on him but he looks happy enough. A lot of bettas have mottled colour on the top of their heads, I have a giant plakat that has red mottling. Anyhow just keep an eye on him and don't hesitate to ask if you have any further concernsGood luck with your beautiful boy!

[Tikibirds]

That looks like a normal betta coloring. Some have weird golden heads like that.
Is the lighting brighter in the top pic then the other 2? His coloring looks more vibrant in that and i can'ttell if its just the lighting or his body has lost color.

I would keep an eye on him - looks for anything different in his body appearance AND anuthing different in his behavior - like if his fins clamp up, fuzzy growths on his body, ect.

[witheringroots]

I took the first picture in the afternoon with all of the lights on and window open and the other 2 at night.
He ate 2 food pellets this morning...he seems calm too.
On his head (and you can see it a little on the 3rd pic), there is this white area that is slightly lower than the scales around it...does that mean he's losing his scales?

thanks for the feedback :)

[shellieca]

I agree with the others that its his coloring. Since you have a new tank have you read bout cycling a tank? If you haven't bought one yet I strongly suggest a liquid water test kit so you can monitor the ammonia, nitrites, nitrates & Ph while the tank is cycling. You'll probably need to do 50% water changes about every 2-3 days to keep the water safe until its fully cycled. Also I would lower the temp to around 76-78F. You'll see some changes in him since he's now in much better living comditions.

[DoctorWhoLuver]

I think the temperature is fine. They prefer temperatures from 80 to 82.

[witheringroots]

Hi,
thanks for the replies...Genesis is doing a lot better. I change about a quart of water everyday is that okay?