Nonstop Glass Surfing and possible Velvet

Hello, I got a betta 18 days ago. He lives in a 20 gallon tank. However he glass surfs ALL DAY. Non stop. I know this is normal for them when put in a new tank, but it’s getting too long for my comfort. When he swims against the glass and top occasionally he swims sideways, which also worries me. (Swim bladder) Along with that, I’m not sure if he’s marbling, but he’s turning gold too, like velvet. Any other color would be fine, but gold?? I don’t notice any other behavior because he just is against the glass, I don’t know if the sideways swimming is a result of the glass swimming or not. (Although I think it is).
Part of the problem is he doesn’t know the space he has, he just restricts himself. I’m worried that if this keeps up, the stress will get to him and he’ll get Columnaris or Dropsy or some other horrible disease.

 

What are your tank parameters? Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle?

 

If he’s new then it usually is normal, but just in case, could you fill out the emergency template? A picture would also really help. Did you quarantine him before adding him to the tank?

 

I do know about the nitrogen cycle, my tank is fully cycled. My other fish Reef, died so this is my new one. I didn’t quarantine him before adding him to the tank. Here is the picture.

 

Maybe he feels exposed. I see you have lots of silk plant cover which is good. But they really love overhead cover. See if giving him floating plants (real or fake) calms him down.

 

I added rooibos tea to tint the water and now my little girl doesn’t glass surf.

 

I added rooibos tea to tint the water and now my little girl doesn’t glass surf.

I'm assuming this is a natural tannin supplement of some sort? As long as that's correct and it's not a brand of actual tea, then I agree it could help lol.

 

I'm assuming this is a natural tannin supplement of some sort? As long as that's correct and it's not a brand of actual tea, then I agree it could help lol.

its organic red bush tea with no additives. it basically does the same thing as IAL except its easier to get then almond leaves.

 

I already added IAL leaves to the tank, and lots of them. My old betta like touching them lol.
I’ll try and float some plants of the top of the tank.

Bad news - I think he might have velvet. He’s began rubbing against the gravel. I already started to raise the temperature.

Some poorly taken photos. The gold is from his mouth all the way down to his red fin thingies.
I have an anubias in there too...

 

I just cleaned his tank. I’m still not 100 percent sure he has velvet, so I did a 3 1/2 gallon water change and and raised the temperature to 82 instead of 80. I’m turning off the lights as much as possible, and trying not to kill my Anubis that’s in there. Is there anything else I can do to take precautionary measures? Also, he’s still surfing, although just a tiny bit little less right after I cleaned the tank.

 

I do know about the nitrogen cycle, my tank is fully cycled. My other fish Reef, died so this is my new one. I didn’t quarantine him before adding him to the tank. Here is the picture.

Do you know why your other fish died?

Bad news - I think he might have velvet. He’s began rubbing against the gravel. I already started to raise the temperature.

That’s what I was suspecting it was.
Continue raising your temperature (to 85°F) and add aquarium salt instead of the IAL.

There’s more details about dosing aquarium salt for velvet and medications you could use here:
Velvet - Bettaboxx

 

My other fish died due to Columnaris... the guppy that lived with him didn’t get it though so I don’t think it’s in that.

I’m trying to raise the temperature to 84 but the water isn’t cooperating.
Would aquarium salt kill the Anubis?
Also, will I have to do daily water changes to the salt doesn’t build up?

Tide (the betta) ‘s gone back to his glass surfing again...

 

My other fish died due to Columnaris... the guppy that lived with him didn’t get it though so I don’t think it’s in that.

I’m trying to raise the temperature to 84 but the water isn’t cooperating.
Would aquarium salt kill the Anubis?
Also, will I have to do daily water changes to the salt doesn’t build up?

The salt shouldn’t kill the anubias.
Aquarium Co-op explains using salt really well:
Aquarium Salt: When and How to Use It Properly
I suggest using the level 2 treatment they talk about.
I’m actually not 100% sure if you have to do daily water changes. As long as you add the right amount of salt during water changes, you should be fine.

 

I tried the level three treatment. I’m not sure it’s working. He seems to get more gold every day, although it looks like he might be rubbing a little bit

The gold is in his little clear fins and his red dangly fins as well. He’s still active and eating. I’m not able to notice if he is rubbing or not. He HAS stopped the glass surfing though.

 

It's really hard to tell from the pictures if it's velvet or natural coloring. Do the specks look like grains of gold on his body? Most blue bettas have an iridescent layer that can make them appear to have a gold shimmer under the right light.

If you're absolutely certain it is velvet continue with the treatment, but the salt shouldn't be in the tank for more than 2 weeks. Also, make sure to dose salt proportionate to the amount of water you're changing so you can maintain a consistent salt concentration and monitor for any signs of stress.

 

He only looks gold without the tank light. My only real evidence that he has velvet is that he was rubbing so much, to the point where he was putting his face in the gravel.

 

This is a picture of him before the velvet. I’m sure it’s velvet, the gold wasn’t there before, now it’s on his red and clear fins, + all along the bottom of his mouth/head.

 

I personally don't think it's velvet, but he's your fish so you should do what you think is best. The reason I say that I'm not convinced is because you can't compare those old photos to the new ones, the lighting conditions are very different and are going to affect the image.

 

Hmm, is this a better picture? I really want to make sure it is velvet, so I’m not have all the unnecessary stress.

Do you think I could treat him with copper sulfate/malachite green even if he doesn’t have it?

 

He’s still active as of now, although he’s moving a lot slower.

Ahhhhh I’m so confused. I thought it was velvet because he was running. I actually held off on treatment for a week because I was unsure. I don’t know if it’s getting better or worse and I don’t know weather the rubbing was just him playing and I don’t know if he’s just color morphing. This is all so confusing.

The only time I see him zooming around the tank is when I feed him. Otherwise, there’s not really much else movement, apart from rubbing.