# fish not pooping!



## iLikeBetta808 (Dec 10, 2011)

i've been feeding my betta regularly, but he doesn't poop it out. now he's bloated >.<
he's having a little trouble swimming, he's still glass surfing like usual. but it looks like he's not able to sink. whenever he tries to go down, he floats back up.
i've been trying epsom salt for about a week now, but i've only seen one or two poops.

i know i should fast him, should i put more salt?


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## earthworm88 (Jul 8, 2011)

Hello there, 

It's both sad and hilarious that our bettas pooping and not pooping is making us worried.  All my bettas pooped differently and I always cheer when the eldest make a nice cinnamon bun for me in the morning! lol 

There is no straight way to answer your question as it would depend on how much you are feeding your betta, what kind of food, and what size tank he is in, so we would know if you have done the correct dosage for his treatment. Why don't you fill out the questionnaire form in the sticky or give us some ideas of exactly how you have been treating your betta (ie dosage, water change schedule etc) to make sure we haven't missed anything?

But no matter what, the first thing you should do is definitely to fast him for 2 to 3 days depending on the severity of the bloat. Photos always help to confirm the diagnosis, so if you have any, please post them. 

Good luck!


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## ArcticRain (Aug 11, 2011)

You know, y'all make me never want to eat a cinnamon roll ever again. 

I agree. The first thing you should do is fast him for 2-3 days. I always fast my bettas once a week. Pictures would help. It may be Swim Bladder. But I'm not very good at everything espom salt would solve. I'm more of an AQ salt person. 

Hopefully your guy gets better!


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## iLikeBetta808 (Dec 10, 2011)

What size is your tank? 2gal
What temperature is your tank? 78-80
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon betta pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3 pellets, 2x/day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? every 2 days
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100% because of epsom salt
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? approx. 1tsp epsom salt and API stress coat as water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
no
Ammonia:-
Nitrite:-
Nitrate:-
pH:-
Hardness:-
Alkalinity: -

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? he's bloated >.< he has a bump, and there's a little bit of silver/white color showing
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? n/a
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 2 weeks ago? he had a small bump, i fasted him. i thought it would go away. now it's bigger.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? epsom salt.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? almost 1 year?


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## iLikeBetta808 (Dec 10, 2011)

here you go~
sorry if it's hard to see =.=


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## ArcticRain (Aug 11, 2011)

Hmm.... Well, first I notice that in the first picture there is some black on the edge of his fin. Does he have fin rot?
I'm sorry but, I really can not help with the bloating. If you tried fasting him. I really don't know. I am sorry. I hope a more experienced member comes to help.


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## iLikeBetta808 (Dec 10, 2011)

ArcticRain said:


> Hmm.... Well, first I notice that in the first picture there is some black on the edge of his fin. Does he have fin rot?
> I'm sorry but, I really can not help with the bloating. If you tried fasting him. I really don't know. I am sorry. I hope a more experienced member comes to help.


i don't think it's fin rot anymore. i did stress coat ever since i got him, all it did was make his fins grow. so i think it's part of his natural coloring.


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## earthworm88 (Jul 8, 2011)

Ok. Thanks for the photos. 

He does not appear to be bloated on the pictures, which means that he may just have SBD problem if he is having difficulty swimming downward. For a 2 gal tank, you need to put 2 teaspoon of Epsom salt and change the water DAILY. So you may want to consider just fill the tank with 1 gal of conditioned water with 1 tsp of ES before adding your betta. Continue with this treatment for another 10 days (since you already had 1 week of half dosage treatment). Observe for any worsening or improvement during this time as the treatment may have to change accordingly. 

As ArcticRain pointed out, is that black edging normally there on his caudal fin? How often and how much did you change his water (prior to treatment)?


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## iLikeBetta808 (Dec 10, 2011)

earthworm88 said:


> Ok. Thanks for the photos.
> 
> He does not appear to be bloated on the pictures, which means that he may just have SBD problem if he is having difficulty swimming downward. For a 2 gal tank, you need to put 2 teaspoon of Epsom salt and change the water DAILY. So you may want to consider just fill the tank with 1 gal of conditioned water with 1 tsp of ES before adding your betta. Continue with this treatment for another 10 days (since you already had 1 week of half dosage treatment). Observe for any worsening or improvement during this time as the treatment may have to change accordingly.
> 
> As ArcticRain pointed out, is that black edging normally there on his caudal fin? How often and how much did you change his water (prior to treatment)?


daily water changes, okay. i'll try to manage since school started >.<

about the black edging, i treated it with aq. salt and stress coat w/ 100% daily water changes for 10 days. then just stress coat (still ongoing) after the 10 days w/ aq. salt. the black edge didn't go away, the fins just grew longer.


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## earthworm88 (Jul 8, 2011)

iLikeBetta808 said:


> about the black edging, i treated it with aq. salt and stress coat w/ 100% daily water changes for 10 days. then just stress coat (still ongoing) after the 10 days w/ aq. salt. the black edge didn't go away, the fins just grew longer.


That's what I thought...as I could see the translucent new growth between the red and the black, but just wanted to get your confirmation on that. That's great then, that means you only have SBD to battle for the time being. 

Good luck with the treatment. Let us know how he is doing in a day or two. 

Cheers!


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