Help I think my Betta has velvet!!!!

[alysia1739]

My name is Alysia, my son and I have had crumbs our betta for about 2 months now. He is one of the most commen bettas you see and he is blue. Poor little guy, one day my son and his grandparents came home with him,.5 gallon death trap,gravel, a fake plant and cheap food. I was going to get him one but I wanted to do my research first (which when I did everything that was gotten was wrong)By the time I saw about having at least 2.5 gallons and it had to be cycled first, I already had him in a 1.5 but he has a heater, filter and good food. I started seeing two little flecks of goldish/copper (one on each side of his head area in different spots), his fins weren't flowing that well and one of his pelvic fins started curling and is shorter then the other (which has a white tip). His ph and everything is out of wack but I read that treating a fish with MEDS will kill the good bacteria and throw everything off anyway. First I put him in a methylene blue bath for 5 mins and the next day his eyes clouded up. So then I b tried tetracycline for 4 days, his eyes cleared up but no changed so I stopped. PLEASE HELP!! I have gotten attached to my little crumbs. Through all this he has kept his little spunky attitude and tries to eat like a piggy.

??

[devonjohnsgard]

Hey and welcome to the forum!

Glad you got him in a cycled tank with a heater. Yes meds can though off the cycle. That's why having a strong cycle is key. Using a sponge on a HOB or airpump is very effective. If you're pH is out of wack, that wont help either. You want to make sure it's stable, rather than chase a certain pH. Using KH Alkaline buffers does that. KH of 3-5 will stabilize pH. Making these changes to water, while trying to treat making treatment way less effective. I suggest getting water fixed first, then treat if need be. Getting water under control can heal the fish in its self.

They also need some electrolyte minerals, which you see in a GH reading. This helps keeps immunity boosted.

Baths are good, but they need to be 20-30 mins, 1-2x a day. With Methylene blue at double dose and Salt at 1 tablespoon every 5 gal.

Then I would consider treating, but I'm not sure what the diease is, so I can make a recommendation. Maybe a picture after you get your water figured out.

Here's some resources:

Chemistry Beginners
www.fishbeginner.info/home/aquarium-gh-kh-ph-chemistry-what-to-know/

Baths:
www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2009/07/fish-baths.html

[devonjohnsgard]

A betta reource:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Bettas.html