Help! Is This Velvet? I'm Getting Discouraged...

[khd1122]

My daughter's fish is sick...I have really tried to educate myself being that I'm new. Water parameters are good at this time.
Ph 7.5
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
NirAte 5.0ish
Temp around 80*
3 gallon tank

I now use prime. He is getting fed every other day a pellet and the occasional dried blood worm.
I think he actually had a little bit of gold-ish color on his face when we got him but suddenly it was all over his cheeks, chin, and a tiny bit on to the front under-fins. But I haven't found ONE picture of Velvet online that looks like this!
Ive kept him covered without light for weeks and treated with Copper-aid(not too generously because it made me nervous!) and aquarium salt.
He has labored breathing but no clamped fins. Seems a little bloated. Tried to treat with Kanaplex but hard to tell if that's done anything...Any thoughts???

 

[NickAu]

 
He is getting fed every other day a pellet

Thats not enough food, What brand is the pellet?
 

 
Temp around 80*

Whats around 80? Do you have a heater?

 

[khd1122]

The water temp has been staying around 80*. I've been using a heating pad on the exterior of the tank. On a normal day without the heating pad, the water stays right around 76°. With it being only a 3 gallon tank, I'm hesitant to use a heater. I do have a thermometer in the tank. He also has swim bladder issues very easy when he eats. Aquino betta pellets and dried blood worms and a feeding of a pea once in a while.

 

[BettaBettas]

don't feed him the pea unless needed, I guess in this case it may be needed due to bladder

 

[khd1122]

I just don't know what to think with all that gold! Is that velvet?? Or is he just metallic and showing it more as he grows??? This is all new to me!

 

[ZephyrStarPlaties]

It just looks like metallic coloring to me. It's very common for bettas to go through color changes as they age, and even after a couple in a proper tank.
 
Also, a heating pad on the outside isn't going to stay very well regulated, I don't even know that it's safe. If you can, get a nano heater.

 

[Wildbetta]

That does not look like velvet to me.  It appears to just be the iridescence coming out.  Velvet appears almost like a dust on the body and fins.  While it is most widely said to have a "gold" color to it -- I think that is extremely confusing when dealing with bettas who have a lot of iridescence that appears gold.  Velvet tends to look white or grey in color instead of gold most times.  

With your fish being heated with the external heating pad, you may be experiencing spikes in the temperature which would stress the fish.  It really is not a great way to heat your tank.  If you don't want to go with a heater -- you can look into heat mats that are often used with reptiles.  A lot of betta breeders who keep their bettas in small containers use it with great success.
 
As far as feeding -- I would skip the freeze dried foods as they are bad to cause bloating in bettas.  Feed him a couple of pellets a day -- maybe premoisten them in a bit of water first if he has issues with bloating at the moment.  Also I recommend feeding daphnia (frozen or live -- not freeze dried) to combat bloat/constipation instead of peas.  Daphnia works better and bettas take to it better.