How do you treat velvet and what are the symptoms?

Question

I just purchased a betta. He is currently in a 2.5 gallon q tank. When I'm sure he is healthy, I want to put him in my ten gallon divided tank with my other betta. The scales on his head look funny. I turnned the lights in the room of and put a flashlight on him... it looked like he had tan spots on him. Is that the 'gold dust' i've read about or normal betta colloring? Any advice would be appreciated.

the 10 gallon is divided, the other betta is a male as well, but I have a lot of plants to each side of the divider to hide them from each other, and each side has it's own cave to hide in. I wouldn't think of putting to bettas, male or female in the same tank with no divider. thank you for your concern though!

Answer 1

Velvet (Oodinium)
Velvet is a parasite that is often confused as ich. The difference is, velvet is
smaller and infects predominately the body and looks like a fine powder rather
than salt sprinkles. Velvet attacks the body of the infected fish and is very
contagious. Velvet is most likely caused by stress, poor water quality or chilling
(sudden changes in water temperature). Velvet is a bit easier to cure than ich
because the life cycle is shorter. However, this disease can prove fatal if left
untreated. The parasite attaches to the skin and gills and large infestations can
kill in a very short time
Symptoms: The parasites can usually be seen as a light dusting of gold spots
on the flanks of the fish but can also appear as blue/grey fur like patches, if the
parasite has entered the gill cavity then the gills will be flared and bright red in
colour, fish will usually gasp at the surface. Fish will dart around and flash or
scrape its self against aquarium décor, appearance of fine yellowish or white dust
on body, fins clamped and/or rapid gill fluctuation (breathing heavily).

Treatment: Use a medication intended for Velvet/oodinium, most white spot/ICH
treatments will also work on velvet but check the label to be sure, if your fish
allow for it add 1tsp per gallon of aquarium salts as well. The parasite while in its
free swimming form is photosynthetic and takes its energy from light, for the best
results in curing the disease completely cover the tank to block off any light and
leave the tank in darkness for seven days, any live plants should be removed at
this time and treated in a separate container. Increasing the temperature to 82°F
and application of a commercial chemical treatment is most effective.
Cause: A parasite similar to white spot/ICH velvet is present in most aquariums
but will only infect fish and become a problem at times of stress, i.e. when water
quality is poor or a fish has been newly introduced...
Here is some info of velvet hopefully this helps.
Lucke

Answer 2

I've dealt with this with two previous bettas. Velvet can appear as small white dots (similar to ich, but a lot smaller) and can be particularly noticable on the fins. Ich usually remains the same in appearance, but velvet tends to enlarge and the spots "grow together". If you look at the spots under bright light (like your flashlight) the spots will have an amber-colored iridescence - see photos:
http://www.flippersandfins.net/velvet.htm
http://www.worldcichlids.com/diseases/images/Oodinium.jpg
http://www.aqua-flore.com/aquarium/photos_maladies/_20030506233658.jpg

It's hard to tell if your fish would have velvet without seeing him - I know there are some bettas with naturally different colored scales from the head to the dorsal, so what you're seeing could be the natural coloring: http://www.croa.com.ar/docs/articulos/betta_img/betta1.jpg Velvet should show up as something slightly raised fron the scale surface. This is a fast-acting parasite, so it should be treated aggressively and early once positively identified.

Medications used to treat velvet would be the same as for ich - mostly these are copper based treatments, some of which can be carcinogenic, so they should be used with care.

Because the parasite contains photosynthetic chloroplasts, reducing light is also recommended by many sources to be used during treatment.

If you want to look for more info on this parasite, try to find sources that use the name "Piscinoodinium" - this is another organism that's been reclassified, so at least sources using this name will have current information.

Answer 3

Well, honestly it could be either normal coloration or velvet. That really depends on the color of your betta and if it has a metallic coloration.

If the coloration spreads by tomorrow, assume it's velvet. Treatment for velvet is generally with an ich medication that contains copper sulphate. Treat at the directed levels for ich and also turn up the heat in the tank at 82-85F. Leaving the light off in the aquarium and covering the aquarium to prevent room light from getting to it also helps. Treat for 10 days to be sure you eliminate the parasite. Feel free to email me with any other questions or if you feel I can help further.

Best of luck with him!

MM

Answer 4

Hi!
It sounds like velvet. If his skin or fins appear dusty with very fine spots of yellow or gray patches, it's a very good bet. The best treatment for your finned friend is Jungle's Velvet Guard. Read the directions very carefully.

You say you want to put him in a 10-gallon tank with another betta. Is the other betta a male or female? If it's male, that wouldn't be wise because male bettas fight to the death. A female would be ok, but gradually acquaint them first through a partition.

Another good idea is to join Tim's Tropicals. Google it and sign up. It's free! And, there's good information. I recommend it to anyone in the fish hobby. Good luck!

Answer 5

it could be lots of things from infection to normal discolouration.

to be sure, you should treat the tank for parasites.
.