Does my fish have velvet?

[Gabie]

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I know I am doing a half baked job at this fish. Its cruel, and i know someone could take way better care.
But he's sick so therefore i must try to save him

Housing
What size is your tank? 5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? ...i dont have a thermometer.
Does your tank have a filter? No..
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No..
Is your tank heated? No..
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? no other fish just some fake blants, rocks, coves and the bottom rocks.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Nutrafin Max
How often do you feed your betta fish? I would feed him once about 2 larger flakes, but now he wont eat. and hasn't eaten for a week.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once a week usually, unless it looks bad.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100% but i try to make it the same temp
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Seachem prime, Nutrafin betta plus

Tricky part
Ammonia: last time i checked between 0 & 0.2
Nitrite: safe
Nitrate: 0.5
pH: 5.5
Hardness: i think it was at 150.
Alkalinity: 0

I used Mardel to test for these and I didnt understand how to use them, i know theyre easy but there was only 4 pads on the stick and there were 5 different things i needed to test for.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? paler, dark on fins, white inder mouth/head
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? he does nothing. only comes up for air. no food
When did you start noticing the symptoms? a week ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Seachem prime and Betta revive and salt.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? nope
How old is your fish (approximately)? ive only had him for a month



Ok so i've had my betta for i'd say a month now, and in the beginning he was fine- bubble nests and all that good stuff. But recently i went to mexico and my family didn't clean his tank, so he basically was sitting in the filthiest water imaginable. I quickly cleaned it and added Nutrafin to condition it.
He truly needed a bigger tank so i bought a 5g and now he has stopped eating and swimming. All he does is lay on the bottom of the tank under this elephant toy thingy all day & night. He only comes up for air and then straight back down. Im so worried. I know he's stressed, and has a some fin rot so I added Seachem Prime and im just starting Betta Revive. But my main concern is the fact that he has a white barnacle looking thing right above his mouth. From what i see with the magnifying glass (drastic measures I know) it isn't stringy looking like columnaris. And he is white where his bladder is, but it doesnt look bloated. Every time he swims up for air I try to sneakily place food on the top, but he stares at it and swims down.

I guess i just want to know what to do. Im new to this all and I didnt imagine i'd be spending $50 dollars at petco on a fish. My mother is the type of woman who says "Oh he doesnt need a big 5 gallon tank" she doesnt like to spend money. And i dont have money.. im 15.. yeah.

[Sakura8]

Velvet makes the fish look like he has been dusted with sand. Has he always had those golden spots on the top of his head and his back? If he has not, then I might say he is getting velvet. But it's also likely he just has ammonia poisoning. For now the best treatment is clean water.

His water probably should be changed twice a week, one 50% and one 100%. Many of his problems can probably be attributed to ammonia building up in his tank.

Also, he most likely needs a heater to stay warm. Betta fish are tropical fish who need warm waters of around 78-80 degrees farenheit.

Unfortunately, despite what they try and tell you at the pet stores, betta fish do need some expensive equipment to stay healthy, but these purchases are a one-time deal only unless something breaks. So it seems expensive at first but it's not like you have to spend $50 a month or anything. And the best thing you can do for your guy is free: water changes. Clean water will go a long way to keeping your guy healthy.

[fightergirl2710]

I don't know about velvet but those gray bumps on his head and mouth look like a fungus or columnaris perhaps? I don't know though, someone more experienced would...

[Gabie]

I honestly am not 100% sure if he's had the spots, but im pretty sure he hasnt.
He does seem like he has dust on his back fins. So i'll treat for ammonia poising, velvet and fungus. Yipppieeeee.

and he looks like me might be getting fin rot too.
What type of treatment medicines do i use for velvet and fungus/columnaris?

[fightergirl2710]

I think you should wait for a comfirmation of what it is before medicating. Overmedicating your betta could also be dangerous. If you think its an emergency, PM oldfishlady or Darkmoon17, they are better with these kind of things than most people :) and there are other members of course, with more knowledge who hopefully will see your post :). Best of luck!

[Sakura8]

For all three, start with aquarium salt. Put him into a small QT container like a small cup or bowl or Gladware with half of his old tank water. In a big jug, mix up a gallon of dechlorinated water with one tsp of aquarium salt. Let the salt dissolve, then fill up the rest of his container with the salt water. Save the rest of the water in the jug for future water changes. Since you don't have a heater, you can put the container somewhere safe where it won't spill. You may need to cover it with clingwrap with holes poked in it so he doesn't jump out. Every day for the next five days, change his water and replace it with the salt mixture. If he hasn't improved after five days, up the dosage of salt to two tsps and continue for another five days. At the end of this time, if he hasn't improved or he has gotten worse, he may need medications.

I hope this helps. Keep us posted.

[fightergirl2710]

Yes salt is the best deal right now but don't put it in for more than the mentioned 10 days, it damages kidneys after that point.

[Sakura8]

I didn't know it damaged kidneys. I always wondered why it wasn't supposed to be more than ten days. Thanks, Fighter, I learned something new.

[fightergirl2710]

No problem

[Gabie]

hahaa sweet ok.
And add 1 tsp of salt to the smaller container?

And if he has pop eye will the eye be drastically bigger? Because in the beginning i thought one eye was bigger than normal. But im not even sure what normal eyes look like on a betta now.