[paigewillrage]

I am on my fourth day of treating my Betta with malachite green for Velvet. What should I do if after four days it still hasn't gone away. The back of the bottle says treatment should usually last 3 to 4 days and I'm worried if I continue I will overmedicate him. He is still eating lots and has lots of energy but I think I still see the shimmery gold near his face and he's swimming right into his bubbler and just hanging out over it. I attached a photo of him because I'm second guessing my original diagnosis.

 

[Rana]

The good news is I don't see any signs of velvet. It is not a very common disease, but many new betta-keepers get confused because of a betta's natural gold iridescence. Velvet looks like dust covering the whole fish rather than a trace only found in a few spots, and the betta will act very itchy.

So you should stop adding the treatment, and do a water change to get rid of the medicine that's already in his water. Activated charcoal will also help clean it out of the water.

If you have only had him a few days, he's probably still settling into his new home which may be why he isn't very active at the moment.

If you've had him longer and are noticing a change in behavior or appearance now, there may be something else the matter. In that case, please fill out the info form so we can help you figure out what is going on: PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Fill out this form so we can best help your Betta

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

Agree with Rana: No sign of Velvet; just iridescence. Velvet is detected using a flashlight; seldom can be seen under natural light.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Agree No sign of Velvet, stop the treatment and do some water changes to get rid of the medication.