Care library / Health

Health guide, not a diagnosis · Serious

Velvet

Also called gold dust disease, oodinium, rust

Signs

Fine gold or rusty dust on the skin (shine a torch)
Clamped fins, rapid breathing
Loss of appetite

Cause

A parasite (Piscinoodinium). Spreads fast and can kill quickly.

What to do

Dim the lights (the parasite uses light), raise temperature slightly and treat with a copper-based or anti-parasite medicine.

If a fish is badly ill, talk to an aquatic vet.

Prevention

Quarantine new fish.

Medicines used for it

Always read the label first

Ich & velvet treatmentsParasite treatments

DewormersParasite treatments

Species often affected

57 species

BettaBetta splendens

Easy6.5 cm24–28 °C

Honey gouramiTrichogaster chuna

Easy5.5 cm22–27 °C

Pearl gouramiTrichopodus leerii

Easy12 cm24–28 °C

Three-spot gouramiTrichopodus trichopterus

Easy15 cm24–30 °C

Kissing gouramiHelostoma temminckii

Moderate30 cm22–30 °C

Sparkling gouramiTrichopsis pumila

Easy4 cm24–28 °C

Giant gouramiOsphronemus goramy

Moderate70 cm22–28 °C

Paradise fishMacropodus opercularis

Moderate6.7 cm10–22 °C

Boeseman's rainbowfishMelanotaenia boesemani

Moderate10 cm27–30 °C

Dwarf neon rainbowfishMelanotaenia praecox

Easy6 cm24–28 °C

Red rainbowfishGlossolepis incisa

Moderate13 cm24–29 °C

Threadfin rainbowfishIriatherina werneri

Moderate4 cm24–29 °C

Moonlight gouramiTrichopodus microlepis

Easy15 cm24–28 °C

Snakeskin gouramiTrichopodus pectoralis

Easy25 cm22–28 °C

Thick-lipped gouramiTrichogaster labiosa

Easy8 cm22–28 °C

Banded gouramiTrichogaster fasciata

Easy10 cm20–28 °C

Croaking gouramiTrichopsis vittata

Moderate6 cm22–28 °C

Three-striped croaking gouramiTrichopsis schalleri

Moderate5 cm22–28 °C

Chocolate gouramiSphaerichthys osphromenoides

Hard6 cm24–28 °C

Vaillant's chocolate gouramiSphaerichthys vaillanti

Hard6 cm24–28 °C

Licorice gouramiParosphromenus deissneri

Hard3.5 cm22–27 °C

Nagy's licorice gouramiParosphromenus nagyi

Hard4 cm22–27 °C

Frail gouramiCtenops nobilis

Moderate9 cm18–27 °C

Round-tailed paradise fishMacropodus ocellatus

Easy9 cm10–26 °C

Black paradise fishMacropodus spechti

Easy10 cm18–27 °C

Red-finned paradise fishMacropodus erythropterus

Moderate8 cm14–26 °C

Spotted gouramiMalpulutta kretseri

Hard7 cm22–28 °C

Java combtailBelontia hasselti

Moderate20 cm22–28 °C

Ceylonese combtailBelontia signata

Moderate12 cm22–27 °C

Red-tail giant gouramiOsphronemus laticlavius

Easy50 cm22–30 °C

Peaceful bettaBetta imbellis

Easy6 cm24–28 °C

Emerald bettaBetta smaragdina

Easy7 cm24–28 °C

Mahachai bettaBetta mahachaiensis

Moderate6 cm24–29 °C

White-margined bettaBetta albimarginata

Moderate9 cm24–28 °C

Channoides bettaBetta channoides

Moderate9 cm24–28 °C

Brunei beautyBetta macrostoma

Hard12 cm24–28 °C

Javan mouthbrooding bettaBetta picta

Easy6 cm22–27 °C

Wine-red bettaBetta coccina

Moderate5 cm22–27 °C

Brownorum bettaBetta brownorum

Moderate6 cm22–27 °C

Persephone bettaBetta persephone

Hard4 cm22–27 °C

Foerschi bettaBetta foerschi

Moderate8 cm24–28 °C

Akar bettaBetta akarensis

Moderate9 cm22–27 °C

Spotted bettaBetta unimaculata

Moderate14 cm24–28 °C

Lake Kutubu rainbowfishMelanotaenia lacustris

Easy12 cm22–26 °C

Eastern rainbowfishMelanotaenia splendida

Easy12 cm18–28 °C

Goyder River rainbowfishMelanotaenia trifasciata

Easy12 cm22–28 °C

Lake Tebera rainbowfishMelanotaenia herbertaxelrodi

Easy10 cm22–26 °C

Dwarf rainbowfishMelanotaenia maccullochi

Easy7 cm22–28 °C

Lake Kurumoi rainbowfishMelanotaenia parva

Easy8 cm22–28 °C

Forktail blue-eyePseudomugil furcatus

Moderate5 cm22–26 °C

Spotted blue-eyePseudomugil gertrudae

Moderate4 cm22–28 °C

Pacific blue-eyePseudomugil signifer

Easy5 cm18–28 °C

Red neon blue-eyePseudomugil luminatus

Moderate5 cm22–28 °C

Celebes rainbowfishTelmatherina ladigesi

Easy8 cm22–28 °C

Madagascar rainbowfishBedotia geayi

Moderate15 cm18–26 °C

Ornate rainbowfishRhadinocentrus ornatus

Moderate8 cm16–26 °C

Orange-fin ricefishOryzias woworae

Easy3 cm22–28 °C