# Medications to treat Velvet?



## JKfish

Jaffa and Phoebe's velvet is getting worse, so is there any medicine I can buy that will treat their velvet. Also, can I treat them with that medication as well as Maracyn 1 and/or Maracyn 2 at the same time, or should I do do Maracyn 1and/or 2 first then the velvet medication when I'm done using the Maracyn?


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## Adastra

Definitely do one at a time. What symptoms are leading you to believe that the fish has both a bacterial infection and a parasite infestation? Are you _sure_ the betta has velvet? Sometimes when bettas become ill and pale their colors change in a way that brings out a sort of golden iridescence. If your betta truly has velvet, it will be scattered all over the body and it is most evident in between the scales where the cysts tend to gather.

As for what medications work best, malachite green is the most effective anti-parasite medication I've ever used. It is quite harsh though, I would not mix it with other treatments.


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## JKfish

My two in the tank were from 4 girl sorority. the other two were euthanized because of dropsy and other issues. 

One of my remaining girls had severe finrot that refuses to go away, and I'm wondering if whatever caused the dropsy and other stuff in the other girls might still be in my remaining girls. 

I'm close to positive they both have velvet. Phoebe shows it the most, she's got redish-brownish rust colored speckles on her face, fins, etc, and it's gotten worse. Jaffa has goldish colored speckles that are mainly around her face.

I'm treating the tank with 50% water changes and 2 tsps of epsom salt per gallon.


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## Adastra

This picture is helpful and illustrates the tendency for velvet to appear in between the scales: http://www.ibcbettas.org/pages/images/stories/faq/velvet.jpg

If you are very sure that they have velvet, I would QT the fish and start the malachite green treatment with 100% water changes. If they are still very sick a week after the malachite green treatment is stopped, then you can begin to consider the antibiotic treatment. If you hurry with both then you may push them over the edge and lose them. Make sure you give them time to recover and lots of high protein food to help them along. 

I would also wean them off of the salt.


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## JKfish

yes, that looks like what they have. Would the malachite green take care of the finrot too maybe? also, where would I be able to get it?


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## crowntail lover

Coppersafe would treat the Velvet and the Fin Rot.. and you can use the Maraclyn 2 with it as well.


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## JKfish

With coper safe, doesn't it only kill the velvet when it's off the fish?


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## crowntail lover

Mardal Coppersafe

Here is a link that will tell more about it and one place where you can find it. 
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4721


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## JaspersANGEL

Aah sorry about ur two girl's, I really hope they get better and soon!
Sorry I cant help!


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## JKfish

I found it at petsmart, so I'll have to stop by there soon. Thank you Adastra and CrowntailLover


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## crowntail lover

Okay.. Sounds good. I actually just picked some up at Petsmart today! :]. Good Luck and I hope it helps!


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## Oldfishlady

Careful with copper products especially if you have live plants or inverts like shrimp and snails or if you ever plan to get any...it can really be hard on them and often kill them as well as some fish species.... it can also leach into the tank and stay forever...so be careful with it.....maybe only use in QT that you will toss or only use for copper treatment..it is great for velvet however.....hope your girls get better.....


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## JKfish

I'll use tubberwares that Mom will let me toss out to treat them. Thank you for the warning OFL


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## Adastra

Eesh, did you get copper sulfate or malachite green? I've tried Coppersafe twice with severely infested rescues and it was completely ineffective. Malachite green is found in medications like QuICK Cure, Jungle's Ick Clear, and many other ich medicines. It's sometimes called victoria green.


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## JKfish

I'll be leaving to go get the meeds in about 15 minutes, so, Jungle's Ich clear is the way to go?


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## crowntail lover

I have used both. They worked fine for me.. But I prefer the coppersafe... So you could possibly try both.


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## JKfish

I ended up getting tetra ick guard, which had victoria green as the active ingredient, however it's in tablet form, and one tablet treats 10 gallons. How should I go about treating the girls?


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## crowntail lover

I would just break off the smallest piece you can and add it to their bowls...


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## JKfish

I'm really worried about being inaccurate... I have a 2.5 gallon bucket, so, I guess I could break it into fourths and then dose the bucket and pour the water into their qt tanks.


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## crowntail lover

How big are the tanks? I was thinking you had a cup or some type of bowl..


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## JKfish

the tanks are basically tubberwares. I have a sterlite bin about 1 gallon which I'll use, and then I have a 1/2 gallon tank from when I was stupid.


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## crowntail lover

Well than you can go with your idea with spliting it into 4ths


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## JKfish

okay, thanks


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## crowntail lover

:]. Good luck with everything!


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## JKfish

It might just be me being too hopeful, but I _think_ they're perking up a bit with the medications.


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## JKfish

no, no, no, no >.< Jaffa is pineconing... what do I do?


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## Adastra

I would take out the malachite green and resume the epsom salt treatment. I suppose they must have contracted some other kind of internal infection and the pressure from the medication gave it enough of an advantage for it to continue to spread. I still think you did the right thing by treating the parasites first--after all, you can only treat what you can see and what you're able to diagnose. If you had left the velvet and gone on with an antibiotic, the velvet infestation would have absolutely taken off and possibly killed them, and if it did not kill them, the fish would be so weak it probably would not have been able to fight the bacteria. 

At this point, I would do daily water changes in a small container and dose the epsom salt. The malachite green is just too harsh right now.  

How is the other fish doing?


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## JKfish

Phoebe is doing fine. I still see the velvet specks on her, and she's a bit less active, but eating fine and responsive.

As for jaffa, how long should I treat with epsom salt... I'd been treating them with salt for 9 days, so if I had continued, this would have been the last day. Should I bring her back up to 2 tsps or dose with less? When she fights off the pineconing, do I return back to the malachite green (she still has velvet as well). Also, I know I should have mentioned this as soon as I noticed it, but Jaffa hasn't eaten anything since yesterday.


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## Adastra

Unfortunately it may just be Jaffa's time. Dropsy is very hard to bring even a fairly healthy fish back from--just do what you think is right, whether it means treating her with more epsom salt or letting her have a med break in some clean water. I'm not there, so it's hard for me to just give you the answer. Her not eating is a sign that she's deteriorated significantly, and it's very likely that she will pass away soon. If she seemed very close to death, I would probably let her go in some warm, clean water so that she could be as comfortable as possible--it is your decision, ultimately.


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## JKfish

... okay. She's still hanging in there, she doesn't act like she's completely given up, so maybe just good old warm clean water will do her good, and if not, she'll pass on comfortably.

Thank you Adastra.


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