Does my betta have Velvet? I’m so worried

my betta was sold to me as a green white mask betta from a very trusted breeder. Since then he’s turned all blue. maybe I’m just paranoid but when shining a light on him he has a gold sheen, it may just be his coloring but without a light shining on him he is perfectly blue with no signs of dust. He seems very healthy, no clamped fins, swimming around, he is flaring often and I can’t tell if he is rubbing on his plants because there are a lot plants in his tank. Below I will post images of him when I first got him, then one from yesterday without flash and then some from today with flash. I’m sorry if the pics are low quality I really tried to get them clear. I would really appreciate your opinions! He is my love! Also he is in a 5gal heated and filtered and I do regular water changes and always check the water levels and ph

Hi and welcome to the forum

How long have you had the fish for?
Have you added anything new to the tank in the last few weeks?
Is there any other fish in the tank?

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When the tank lights are off, try shining a torch (flashlight for the American community) on the fish and see if it has the gold sheen.

If the fish is not rubbing on anything and you have had it alone for more than a month, it is unlikely to be velvet.

If you are concerned you can raise the temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks. Then lower it back down. The high temperature will kill the velvet and you won't need to add chemicals.

Do a big water change, gravel clean the substrate and clean the filter before increasing the temperature.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise the oxygen levels in the water.

I’ve had him for a little over a month but I did recently add new plants. When I shine the light he dose look golden but it’s shining everywhere on him but not under his face or on his belly and it doesn’t look like it’s coming off his scales I think, do you think it’s possible that it could just be his natural shine/iridescents since he is technically a green betta? I’ve noticed green blue bettas have more of a shine to them under light.

But I will raise the temperature and do a large water change and turn the filter up a bit for surface turbulence. Would it be okay to add an almond leaf or two?

Also thank you so much for replying !

It's possible that it is just colouration, however you have to be careful because if it is velvet and it's left untreated, it will kill him. That's where the heat treatment comes in. If it doesn't make any difference then the fish hasn't been exposed to chemicals, but if it reduces the yellow sheen, then it has done it safely.

Don't put almond leaves in when increasing the temperature. They break down and produce small amounts of ammonia and use up oxygen. They also don't do anything to help with diseases.

Okay^^ thank you so much for your help

Here is a clearer photo

Okay so I took clearer photos this morning and it definitely looks like velvet, is it? I’ve looked at pictures everywhere but not many are clear enough for me to distinguish. I just want to make sure it is so that I take the best steps at treating him and not ignore the signs

Renvdn said:

Okay so I took clearer photos this morning and it definitely looks like velvet, is it? I’ve looked at pictures everywhere but not many are clear enough for me to distinguish. I just want to make sure it is so that I take the best steps at treating him and not ignore the signs

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Is he scratching against anything in the tank? How is he breathing? His gills definitely look more inflamed than the picture yesterday