# My poor baby has.....a bump?



## EverythingItouchDIES (May 5, 2009)

right behind his gills, on his....chest area? right by his short fins, he has this odd pale bump that none of my betta loving RL friends have seen before.
also, he went from being a really gorgeous blue/red/green color combo to this sad bronz-y color, and only goes green or blue when I change his water, or add something to his tank.
I just moved him into a 5-gall tank about 2 days ago, with a filter, temp about 75-80 degrees, with a light that I turn off at night.
the only thing I have had time/money to get him besides is some lovely gravel and a little statue with a tiny living plant.
everything is new, the water was from my fridge filter and warmed, I have a stress coat that was supposed to stave off illness, it has aloe in it.
only fishy I have is a betta, but Im thinking about getting him a few neons/tetras. he lives off of pellets, but I have started giving him blood worms on the weekends. it doesnt seem to do much.
um....in the day I open my curtains and he does get some natural sun.
I bought him at wallmart.....actually quite a while ago. at least a few months, and he's always been a bit lethargic, but he seems happy enough. he really likes his new filter. he swims slowley against the pull and yawns. its really cute.
should I just stop buying fish? cuz I just cause them stress.


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

Welcome to Fish Forum.

Couple things standing out in the post to me.
First, I see no mention of a heater. The temperature fluctuations throughout the day are not good for him, bettas are tropical fish, and they need to be maintained in constantly warm water. Pick up a heater for him if you can.

Neon tetras are going to become snacks for your betta fish. So unless you like feeding him live prey, I wouldn't try sticking those in a tank with him. If he catches them, he will eat them.

Feeding. How many pellets are you feeding him a day? How many feedings a day does he get? Does he get a fast day? How many bloodworms and how often are you feeding them. My thoughts on this 'lump' is that it is probably bloat developing due to overfeeding. Pictures of your betta with this lump, if you have them, would be very helpful in diagnosing more precisely. However, from your description it sounds like bloat.

Wouldn't look anything at all similar to this by any chance would it?


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## Campbell (Apr 12, 2009)

As soon as I saw the title of this post I thought bloat. Same questions as above. How much food? How often? What kind? Even if it isn't as extreme as the case in the picture it could still be bloat.

Edit: 75-80 is a big temperature fluctuation, but I doubt it caused the bump. Just saying.


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

Actually the temperature fluctuation could be a contributing factor. When the fish gets cold their digestive process is slowed, and the food is left to sit and build up in the intestines and stomach. Meanwhile, if the diet is not changed to compensate, he is still getting fed even more food - which many bettas will take, regardless of being 'full' or not... they are little swimming pigs afterall.


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## EverythingItouchDIES (May 5, 2009)

thank you for replying so fast!

sorry, I knew I was leaving something out.
I give him about 4-5 pellets daily, and I heard that fasting them every once and a while was helpful, so I do that on wednesdays.
no, I dont have a heater, they didnt carry them at the store I bought his tank, but I do measure water temp, it stays more or less the same through the day, unless the heat gets turned up in my house and it gets a bit warmer, but not much. 
and it does look like that, but not as terrible. I tried to take some pictures, but he wouldnt hold still for my phone, and the digi.cam is broken. 
thanks for the warning about tetras, my friend thought they'd work. maybe some kind of shrimp then?


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## Campbell (Apr 12, 2009)

Ghost shrimp usually work well, plus they are really cheap.



Nataku said:


> Actually the temperature fluctuation could be a contributing factor. When the fish gets cold their digestive process is slowed, and the food is left to sit and build up in the intestines and stomach. Meanwhile, if the diet is not changed to compensate, he is still getting fed even more food - which many bettas will take, regardless of being 'full' or not... they are little swimming pigs afterall.


Wow, I hadn't heard that before.


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