# Bloated or Eggy?



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 5.5g (currently in 8 cup Gladware QT)
What temperature is your tank? 78-79
Does your tank have a filter? yes
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? divided, one male betta
(note, she also spends most of her time in a 10g sorority; was removed because she was stress-striping)

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 times a day, very small portions

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? 1-2 times a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50-100% with gravel vac
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Stress Coat


Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Bloated, grayed belly, clamped
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? stopped eating, lethargic
When did you start noticing the symptoms? two nights ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? QT with epsom salt
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? less than a year old

The first night I noticed the symptoms, her ovipositor was very noticeable. She had seemed depressed after being housed next to my male and refused food so I took her out and QTed her. Started her on epsom last night when she appeared to be bloating even more. Now she has finally passed waste, not sure what it could mean. She won't eat even garlic-soaked food. Is she passing eggs? Is it a parasite? I have Maracyn-II and General Cure. Help is much appreciated. 

Pics attached.


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## MikiMaki (Jun 23, 2011)

She looks eggy, the white fecal usually means she's absorbing eggs and using their nutrients. Is she usually housed next to the male or was this new?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

She's usually housed in the sorority but she got a little stressed so I removed her for a short time. She was next to the male for maybe 3 days? So that would cause her to lose her appetite, too, if she was eating/absorbing eggs?


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## MikiMaki (Jun 23, 2011)

A combination of stress from the tank and then moving next to the boy could have caused her not to want to eat for a few days. I wouldn't worry as long as she's still pooping. If she stays near the boy then she'll probably get used to it and not be so eggy all the time, or if she goes back to the girls she'll loose them. 

When my girl was first put near the boys she was super eggy for weeks so I had to fast her to get her to absorb some eggs. Just for a day or two extra that week and now she's used to him and not eggy at all.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Thanks for the advice MikiMaki, it helps a lot.  I now see quite a few eggs on the bottom of her QT container and it took her most of the day to pass a rather gross 1 1/2" string of eggy poo. You definitely helped set my mind at ease, thanks.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Update: she's still passing eggy poo every few hours but she also seems to have developed a bit of floaty butt. At some times, she is almost doing a headstand. She's in 1 tsp of epsom. Is this normal behavior for releasing eggs or did something go wrong?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Getting kinda really worried now. How long does it normally take for them to poo out all eaten/absorbed eggs? It's been 3 days. She passes at least 3 eggy poos a day but she hasn't gone down in size, is still pale and listless (but not yet lethargic) and is clamped and a little floaty butt. Is there anything else I can do besides epsom salt?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Seriously, she's still not eating and she's still just pooing eggy poo all day. She's stil clamped, still pale. I have no real experience with this kind of situation. Does she need treatment, more epsom salt? What's going on with her? Is she eggbound?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Pic. Sorry for the blurry quality but you can see her clamped tail and some of the poo she's passing. Also her color is usually much darker and more burgundy.


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## MikiMaki (Jun 23, 2011)

Sorry, it's finals week, not been around. 

This definately isn't normal with being eggbound. Have you tried giving her a pea to get the rest of the poop out of her and help with her sbd. You might up the epsom salts, but I don't know the exact dosage.


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## Meg8556 (Jul 6, 2011)

I'm so sorry your baby girl is sick! When Elmo was bloated I tried feeding him the pea but daphnia works better I guess. Maybe you can find some frozen at the pet store or dried in the critter section. It's supposed to really help. I think you're doing everything you can for the moment. I was advised to give Elmo either General Cure or the Macryn 2 because he could have a bacterial infection. It turns out it was dropsy even though his scales were fine until the last day when he passed. I don't know the repercussions of giving a fish antibiotics if they don't need them but if she has te daphnia tomorrow and isn't better by Thursday then I would give it a shot. Just my 2 cents. 

I hope she gets better.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

MikiMaki: That's okay, but finals week? Isn't it a little late for finals? What kind of school are you going to? Just curious, it seems so late in the year for any school to be in session.

I tried giving her brine shrimp to help her go but she refuses it. I'm really worried about her now. Thanks for the tip and thanks for replying.

Meg: Thanks for replying, your good wishes are most welcome. Brine shrimp helps with constipation but she won't eat. I do have some frozen daphnia, maybe she'll eat it because it is smaller than brine shrimp. Thank you for the tip. 

Thank you both.


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## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

Hi Sakura - I'll give you my two cents, since I thought my little Ruby was eggy when I first purchased her. I was told that when you move a female next to a male, especially if the heat is up to 80 and she's eating high protein, she'll color and egg-up. I was told it only takes a week or so. If she's swimmy or hanging out with her tail up, then that is more of an indication. However, 1fish2fish is a breeder (which you probably already know!) and I'd send a PM. You can get a definite answer on the egging issue and then be able to move on from there. Nothing is worse than just not knowing!


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## bettaloverforever16 (Jan 14, 2011)

Gia just started acting like this ): She usually eats both her pellets, but today she ate one slowly, and turned down the over one. She also ha a floaty butt, and is staying at the top of her tank. I sure hope someone can help soon.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Thanks flowerslegacy, that's a good idea, I'll do that. Bettalover, I hope Gia isn't too seriously ill.


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## bettaloverforever16 (Jan 14, 2011)

Thanks, I hope not too. First female, and I got her like two days ago. ): Hope yours gets better too


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

I really REALLY really dont like this thread  It sounds exactly like Coraline word for word. Lethargic, then clampy, butt float, "Is it eggyness, is it bloat?" all of it. By day 2 she was in 1tsp of epsom, day three 2tsp of epsom but then she started...seizuring? I have the video somewhere i posted during her battle. I truely hope and pray its not that for you two, its painful to see.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I hope so too, Punki. Ugh, now she's passing another eggy thread. It never stops. I am never housing another female next to a male again, not even temporarily.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

Electra is fine when housed next to oldman, she gets eggy but she also drops the eggs, Coraline didnt know oldman existed =/ But it does control the eggyness to be away. In the end though just feeding proper meals and having clean water can make a girl eggy so its hard to escape it. >.<


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Update pics. This latest one is odd, it's very thick and sticks out like a, well, stick, from her side.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

Ugh i still have a pic of Coralines poop on my computer, it was similar to that. I am not positive what happened with coraline, we were kindof guessing till she suddenly started having seizures but people did comment to say she looked eggy, though seeing electra eggy is WAY more obvious then Coraline. Maybe some girls can just make/drop/absorb eggs like its nothing at all while others struggle to some extent. Shes not clampy in the pics, is she acting better?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I've had my girls egg up, drop them and then eat them before. I'm not sure what happened with Zenny/Anju (Zenny and Anju are identical, I can't tell which is which so I have no idea who is sick!). I'm not sure if she is eggbound and is trying to pass the eggs, or she dropped the eggs and ate them and now can't pass them out of her system or if it's parasites even. I'm thawing some daphnia to see if she'll eat that in the morning. She refuses brine shrimp but she did nibble a few bloodworms for her evening meal. 

Edit: Yes, she's not as clampy right now, she seems a little more active so that's a good sign. But she just keeps pooing!


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

Pooing is a good thing, i hope she manages to clear it all out, i guess shes one to keep the boys away from in the future


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Yeah, I guess so. She got her hopes up too high, I think.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

lol Coraline was STUBBORN and impatient at that, she attached herself to my finger countless times being to impatient for the food between my fingers to drop. They just dont know whats good for them 
" I want to be a mom!"
"no youll get hurt and i dont have the space"
"well you better get it cause these eggs aint goin nowhere!"
silly girls


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

:lol: Oh how I wish I could give in to their "I wanna be a mom" demands. I have a spare 10g but the only place to put it is in the garage. Even though it's used as storage so there aren't any cars in there and the garage door is never open, I'm just not sure that would be the best environment for delicate fry. 

I think I remember you saying you'd show off Coraline's little dangling trick to people.  I remember I laughed pretty hard picturing it, too.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

Yes, it was adorable  Electra got impatient with me today, id gotten my fingers wet in her water then tried to feed her so pellets were stuck to my finger, so she jumped, but she doesnt have the skills xD
If you really want to breed them id say to research ofl method, but in the garage so you can remove the male if needed. I found it to be cheap and fun to set up. Especially if you gather your own plants and QT them then decorate, ah that was the best part xD
Anyways, i hope your girl is finishing up her poop-a-thon and tomorrow shes 100% better. Ill be looking for an update


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Thanks, Punki. If I ever do breed my bettas, you're the first person I'll ask for advice.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

lol Im a big OFL fan, when i have anything wrong im pming her and listening for a reply ) So much experience to back her up. But if you ever breed ill be the first one subscribing and i can TRY to help with my newbie 1 spawn paranoid skills!


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Yeah, OFL is pretty amazing. Well deserving of her super moderator title. And you've done so well with your first spawn, Punki. The nymphs was just a cruel trick of nature. *glares at picture of evil dragonfly nymph* But you have the biggest and strongest fry left so that's good.


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## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

Sakura, I'm rootin' for your girl! I have nothing to add to help you out, but it sure seems like an eggy issue. It's big and yellowish vs. thin and slimy like a parasite. But again, who am I to give YOU advice! Ha! I have two girls so I'm sure to experience all of these things you ladies are discussing. It's sure to help me in the future. Keep posting the progress!


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## MikiMaki (Jun 23, 2011)

Yeah, I go to vet school year round. We get two weeks off a year in exchange for graduating a year early and change classes every 3 months, so this week is finals and then I pick up 4 more classes Monday.

So your girl may have something more going on. In the most recent pic she doesn't look so eggbound.Here's a pic of my girl when she was at her worst. Her belly is so round and looks just full, but she never had any swelling or swim issues.










She's probably expelled or absorbed most of them. Her poops don't look parasitic either. I keep thinking it's perhaps a bacterial problem. You might try just a very cautious introduction of bettafix and see if she shows any signs of change. At least if I were in your shoes that is what I would do.


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## bettaloverforever16 (Jan 14, 2011)

My betta died this morning, she has the same thing gonig on. I hope your's pulls through!!


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

:shock: Bettalover, I'm so sorry to hear Gia died! *hugs*

MikiMaki, yay another vet student! What an interesting schedule your vet school keeps, sounds like the quarter system the University of California schools run on. Thank you for your help. Well, everyone, I am pleased to report that the poop-a-thon finally seems to have slowed down. It's no longer one continuous thread after another. She is unclamping and eagerly ate some bloodworms (turned up her nose at the healthier brine shrimp). I am keeping a very cautious eye on her, monitoring the poos she is passing. While there appears to be some eggy or parasitic matter, they're turning darker. I'm not 100% convinced she doesn't have parasites though so she has to stay in her little kritter keeper for at least a day or two more. Any more advice is welcomed.


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## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

bettaloverforever16 - I'm so sorry to hear about your betta. I haven't lost a betta, but I've lost other fish. It's never a happy day.


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## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

Sakura, How's your girl??


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hi flowerslegacy,

Well, it took an epic five days of almost non-stop pooing but she finally got rid of all the eggy matter and is back to normal. I've never seen such pooing in my life. :shock:  She's even gone back into the sorority, yay! I really appreciate you thinking of her, thanks.


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## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

You're welcome! I'm sooo glad she's okay now. I was worried because we didn't hear back from you. It sure looked eggy from your pic, so I guess we can just go with that conclusion since she's all better now. Whew! Good news!


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