# My Betta has a rust colour on gill covers!



## gamerchic (Nov 27, 2012)

Hi everyone, I hope your fish are all happy and healthy 
My Betta, Rocky was itching himself by rubbing on everything in his aquarium a few weeks ago so I thought it might have been Velvet and medicated him accordingly.
He also had tail rot but that seems to have slowed down completely now that he isn't itchy. Anyway, I'm here because he now has some sort of rust colour on his gill covers which isn't spreading but still worries me some. He isn't depressed and he's an extremely happy, vibrant fishie, though he does sleep a lot at the moment but I'm assuming it's because he's recovering?
I've attached some pictures of him, it's hard to see the rust colour because he is dark, he has also turned a really light blue under his mouth/chin area :-?
Merry Christmas everyone! :wave:


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

*Most likely ick, not velvet.*

Velvet is a somewhat rare. 


Unless your tank light turns on AUTOMATICALLY with a timer, then of course the betta will sleep/rest until light appears.
Every single one of my tank LIGHTs are connected to timers so they turn on automatically @ sunset & they stay on for about 6-7 hours after. 


Gill covers (operculums) can be all sorts of colors, from red, blue, white, black, orange, yellow, etc.... 

This is completely dependant on the genetics of the fish. 

Same rule applies with the bottom of his face/mouth/chin. Mine vary from completely black, silver & white.

It's absolutely NOTHING to worry about. 

But the finrot is caused by being subjected to dirty water, so change it more often, keep your betta in 78+ water & your bettas fins should heal on it's own.


BTW, how many gallons of water does your tank hold? From the photos, your tank looks really narrow, but I do notice the filter intake & the heater.

Do you have a photo of your entire tank?


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## gamerchic (Nov 27, 2012)

*My bettas tank*

The tank he is in is actually the med tank, I don't know gallons but I know it's 8 litres.
His actual tank is 35 litres so it's a decent size, it has a base filter and a slow smooth water flow and is also heated.
here is a pick of both tanks. (His actual tank is green because of the medication in the water)


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## gamerchic (Nov 27, 2012)

I do a 50% change once a week and use aq salt and water conditioner and check his ph as well.
I do a full change once a month and he is kept in his ideal temp of 26-27c (78-80f)

I forgot to mention earlier, he got the rust colour around the time he was itchy and every now and then he appears to gasp after waking.


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

8L = 2 gallons 
35L = 9 gallons

Try to get a timer so the tank's lights turns on at a specific time. Your betta is probably sleeping when you switch on the light, so of course it's going to act weird for for a few minutes till it wakes up.

This is what my 10G looks like.... 

**Notice the wine glass with the dark blue betta in there? That's my hospital tank. 



See if you can find some dried oak or Indian Almond Leaves. I'm not sure what kind of hardwood trees are in your country.





Your water change schedule sound about right, but stop adding salt to your NEW tank water. Conditioner & matching the temperature is all you need. Salt is NOT necessary unless your fish is truly sick.


What other decorations did you have in the 35L tank? 
What is that purpose of the round plastic container floating in the 8L tank?
What was the active ingredient in the medication? 
How long did you treat your betta with salt? 
What ratio of salt/water did you use?
How often do you change your filter cartridge?


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