# Betta is not as active, big belly, belly starting to look white



## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

Hey Everyone,

I'm trying to figure out what's happening with my betta. Fantastic community here... I'm glad to have found you! 

*Housing *
What size is your tank? - 3 gallon.
What temperature is your tank? - 77 degrees
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? - None

*Food*
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? - Aqueon BettaFood ("Color enhancing betta food"
How often do you feed your betta fish? - Usually once in the morning, and 3-4 pellets (which was probably over feeding, from what I've read). Lately, I have not fed him for the last 2 days, then fed part of a blanched pea, (which I read was incorrect to do) yesterday.

*Maintenance *
How often do you perform a water change? - about once every 2 weeks.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? - 25 to 100% - From waht I'm reading 100% may not have to occur.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? - Top Fin Betta water conditioner 

*Water Parameters:*
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: .5 (safe)
Nitrite: 0 (safe)
Nitrate: 20-40 (safe)
pH: 6.8-7.2 (neutral) 
Hardness: 75 (Soft)
Alkalinity: 80 (Moderate)

*Symptoms and Treatment*
*How has your betta fish's appearance changed?* - He's still looking pretty good overall, but his stomach is bigger than it was, and it doesn't look like ti is shrinking. Today, I noticed his stomach is a bit white.
*How has your betta fish's behavior changed?* - It seems like he's not moving around as much. He'll stay near the top of the heater, near his leaf hammock, and in a rock, but this morning he's floating near the bottom. Now it looks like he's almost scrounging around on the bottom looking for something. Also, last week or so he was a little poop machine, and now he doesn't seem like he's having at all, or very infrequently. 
*When did you start noticing the symptoms?* - Approximately 5 days ago.
*Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? *- I tried feeding him a small part of a blanched pea yesterday, but now I've read on this forum that it is not suggested. (Whoops!)
*Does your fish have any history of being ill? *- Not that I am aware of.
How old is your fish (approximately)? - 3-4 months old.

Please let me know if I can answer any other questions. I have also attached a picture that will allow you to see his stomach, and the whiteness on it. I can't recall seeing that before. 

I really appreciate everyone's help here!


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

First you are not doing enough water changes. None of your levels are actually "safe". Ammonia should never go above .25ppm but it is better at 0 because any level of ammonia is not good. Nitrates should never go about 10ppm....

You should be doing two 50% water changes a week....

I would treat your fish with Epsom Salt (unscented, find it at pharmacies, grocery stores and hardware stores) at a dosage of 1 teaspoon per gallon. Dissolve it first in tank water. and then over the course of an hour add it to the tank.


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## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

I'll get on that today, and will make sure I do more frequent water changes. Two 50% water changes are required even on a filtered tank? (Just want to be sure here!)

Is there a way to bring my nitrate level down?

Do you think the swelling is due to constipation, or something else? (Best guess?)

Thank you VivianKJean!


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

... yes two 50% water changes on a filtered tank. thats why I said two 50% water changes a week.

water changes will bring the nitrates and ammonia down...

my first guess is constipation or bloating. it could be something else. Try the Epsom Salt first and after a week or so if nothing changes then move to meds.


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## Little Zoom and Lady Iris (Nov 22, 2014)

I agree with Vivian, more water changes wouldn't hurt, in most cases it solves the issue. I would also fast him for a day or two along with the Espom Salt.


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## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

Definitely will keep up the water changes, and monitor the parameters of the water a bit more frequently too.

Right now I'm in the process of using the Epsom salt mixed with tank water and administering it. Already 30 minutes in and keeping an eye on him.


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## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

Day 2: Still have him fasting. He seems lethargic, just chilling on the bottom. He was swimming around a bit.

He still seems a little bit on the bloated side, even after taking a weird poop. It almost looked like snot or something like that, and could have been from the pea that I fed him a day ago. Not sure. I'm happy that he did though!

I'm not used to _not _feeding him, and he's been without food for about 4 days (minus the partial pea).

I'm assuming at this point just wait another day and see what happens?

Thank you all once again!


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## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

Day 3: Looks like he had a white poop this morning. I'm reading around here on the forums and there were some threads stating that it could be a parasite or other infection.

Still haven't fed him, he does still seem a bit bloated, but he hasn't been in the position for me to really get a good look. 

Should I wait some additional time? I'm going to do a partial water change too, so hopefully that will help.


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## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

Day 4 continued: 
Did a partial water change today with treated water, and how it seems like he's becoming less active. 

*I'm concerned, he's REALLY inactive. He'll move when startled, but now he's not even acting like he was a few days ago. He's mostly lying slightly tilted over by his rock he loves, almost slumped by it. *

I'm going to get API General Cure first thing in the morning, unless someone else has a suggestion. I've been searching on the forum and some other sites for some answers, that that medicine seems like one of the more common answers.

I appreciate any help. Thanks, everyone.


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## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

If anyone can help give direction here please, as I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing.

Day 5: Today, he's still sitting on the rocks near the bottom of the tank. No water changes today, as I administered API General Cure.

After administering it, about an hour later he started getting active, but then when right back to his sick little self. Only one other time did I see him get active, and he went right up to the top of the tank, he looked like he went for air, then went back down to the bottom shortly after that. 

Can anyone tell me when I should start seeing improvement? Or when I should change course? The only thing I will be doing is another partial water change tomorrow, followed by more API General Cure the next day.


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## Milky (Jun 23, 2014)

Have you been checking to see what your Ammonia levels are? Because they should never be present if your tank is properly cycled. If you see any Ammonia you should do some partial water change; about 25%. Hopefully him being "active" before wasn't from erratic swimming which can be caused by the ammonia imbalance. Make sure to dechlorinate the new water. I'm assuming you already added 1/8 teaspoon of Epsom salt for every 5 gallons of water now you need to monitor him for about two weeks. Check for any signs of bacterial infection or parasites.


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## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

Milky said:


> Have you been checking to see what your Ammonia levels are? Because they should never be present if your tank is properly cycled. If you see any Ammonia you should do some partial water change; about 25%. Hopefully him being "active" before wasn't from erratic swimming which can be caused by the ammonia imbalance. Make sure to dechlorinate the new water. I'm assuming you already added 1/8 teaspoon of Epsom salt for every 5 gallons of water now you need to monitor him for about two weeks. Check for any signs of bacterial infection or parasites.


Hi Milky! Thank you very much for your response. I just checked the Ammonia again and it's coming out with an "ideal" (0.0) rating according to my Tetra easy strip. 

For all new water, I use Top Fin Betta water conditioner before adding. I hope that's an appropriate product.

I did add a dosage of Epsom Salt, but at 1 teaspoon per gallon per what VivianKJean mentioned. (Hopefully that wasn't too much.)

If a betta gets sick, is it normal for it to lay on its side for a week? And, should I at least feed him something little? I feel like the poor guy is starving.


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## Kisiel (Jul 30, 2014)

Have you been feeding him the past couple of days? If not, that could be why he's not too active - I've noticed that on fasting day, my betta isn't as active and generally just sits around most of the time. Your boy could just be hungry and not have the energy to swim around much. I would feed him some frozen daphnia, it could help with the bloating as it's a natural laxative and it's a light meal for your betta. 

The discolouration is nothing to worry about, in my opinion. It's normal for a bloated fish, as the skin needs to stretch out which makes it look thinner. It's normal for the belly to be slightly different in colour when your betta is bloated. Don't feed him peas though, it's generally not recommended as bettas are insectivores and are unable to digest plant matter. The pea passes as a whole piece trough their digestive tract which can cause it to tear. Some keepers have had luck when feeding their bettas peas, but there are other safer ways of helping to relieve bloating and constipation, such as the aforementioned frozen daphnia.

Keep an eye on his poop. If it comes out white again, it could indeed mean that he has parasites. In that case you'll need some medication that will take care of that. Parasites can severely drain the betta's energy, which could be another reason why he's lying around so much. 

I would lower the water level to make it easier for him to come up to the surface for air. 

Agreed with Vivian that you need to be doing water changes more often. I also suggest switching your water conditioner to Prime once whatever you have right now runs out. Test strips are really inaccurate, so you shouldn't really be using those. Most users recommend the API Master Test Kit, however, it can be quite pricey. If you have some money to spare, it would be great if you could invest in one! It lasts forever and on the long run, is far cheaper than test strips. not to mention, it's much more accurate. You'll probably find it cheaper on ebay than in store.


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## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

Hi Kisiel! Thank you very much for the response.

I just picked up some frozen daphnia (I was be surprised how many stores don't have it... it took a few calls to find some.) 

I took some of the daphnia and dissolved it in water, then put it in a turkey baster (don't worry, it's a baster I use for fish things only!). He picked up a few pieces and it looks like he may have spit some back out but I'll try again when he's calmed down a bit. 

At one point I got a bit too close and startled him, and he didn't want to eat much after that. He had a "fear stripe" down his side, so I felt I should leave him be for a bit. 

I've done one 1/4 gallon water change, and about to do another 1/4 gallon water change. He's still sort of slouched on one side, but has moved a few times today (but not much).

(This would be the day 6 update too.)

Thank you for the advice regarding the test kit and the water level too, very much appreciated.  

I'm hoping he starts to get better soon, I don't like seeing him like this!


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## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

Came back for an update. 

12/13/14
7:15am - 7:45am - used the baster to try to to feed him daphnia, got very close to his face and he didn't really move, didn't even react to the daphnia in his face. I shut off the filter to prevent a lot of water movement and tried again. I tried more daphnia and he did grab a few pieces. I felt like he spit a few out but did consume some. 

6:00pm - he was still laying on his side. I took a bunch of frozen daphnia, un-froze them using tap water in a beaker, and proceeded to feed him near his mouth for the next 45 minutes or so. During that time he was able to catch a few, probably about 5-10. Let him rest.

The next day, I came home to see he has passed on. Swim in peace little buddy.

If anyone can offer me any insights to what could have happened so I have additional knowledge in the future, I would really appreciate it.


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## Wallawoo (Oct 17, 2014)

I don't have much insight into why your fish passed. I am sorry for your loss. I just wanted to note that I use tank water to thaw the frozen food. Tap water has chemicals and metals in it that was probably soaked up into the food. Swim in peace little buddy.


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## DMurphy (Dec 8, 2014)

Hey Wallawoo, thank you for the tip.  I did make sure that I used the tank water so he wouldn't get contaminated with tap water, then mixed up the daphnia and the tank water in a little beaker. Any other tips will be greatly appreciated as well!


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## Kisiel (Jul 30, 2014)

Aww man, I'm so sorry to hear that  I hope you're okay. 

I don't really have any "tips" other than everything mentioned before. If you get another betta, more frequent water changes, get a test kit and what not.


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