# My Elephant Ear Betta has a curved body..?



## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

I "recently" got 3 betta fish, a veil tail, a double tail, and a elephant ear. All males of course. I got them around mid June.. For the past few days (and most likely longer) I've noticed that my elephant ear male's body does this weird curve thing. It's always to the same side (As far as I've noticed anyways) sometimes it's a U and other times is an S curve. I've read other threads but none were helpful to me at all.. I'm starting to get a little worried.. After my double tail male had issues (Im pretty sure he was constapated) I stop feeding them so much, because I was infact over feeding, I've only been feeding each of them 2-3 pellets per day, only once a day.. I've been doing this for about a week.. My double tail male is fine and made his first bubble nest..but my elephant ear male hasn't yet.. there's bubbles but.. maybe his bowl isn't big enough. That's another thing. My mother refused to buy tanks and said to "use what we have at home" so my elephant ear male is in the smallest shallowest little bowl compared to my other two fish  I've still been trying to find another bowl for him at stores but I have been unsuccessful. None of my fish have heaters as I've heard is highly recommended. It's summer here and my house gets around 80-90 degrees in the afternoon (I'm not exaggerating) I've notice some of my elephant ear males water has evaporated .. I change their water once a week, the elephant ear males more often since his bowl is smaller.. He's pooping regularly, and he eats.. I can't really tell if he sits at the bottom of the bowl or not.. since it's not much of a "dive" ... I'm terribly sorry for the long post, I'm just trying to provide as much info as possible to help ..


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

When I first got him he was super excited looking, constantly moving. And I'm not sure what clamped fins are (I'm going to assume that means they're stuck at their sides) his fins don't do that.. since he's an elephant ear male they kind of do the jazz hands thing at a 90 degree angle to his body,...if that helps?


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

Oh and I'm very very new to this site, and if I can provide pictures some how I would be glad to! If someone could walk me through the process...


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

First, welcome to the forum!

To post photos, "Go Advance," "Manage Attachments" and "Browse" if photo is on your computer. "Upload." I do this for each photo. Preview post to see how it will look. Photos do not appear in the message as you write it. You must go to "Preview Post."

Hope this helps.


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

Oh, thank you  should I post the pics of my fishies bent body? Or..?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Yes. People can't help if they can't see the problem. Good luck!


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## Saphira101 (Nov 14, 2012)

Yes, post pictures of his bent body, and just photos of him in general. Photos of your other fishies would be good too. 

Here is a picture of what clamped fins look like:










In comparison to unclamped:


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

http://s1225.photobucket.com/user/Kittaliana/library/Random/Bettas?sort=2&page=1


I posted 37 pics of mostly my elephant ear betta, but the other 2 are shown as well.


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## Saphira101 (Nov 14, 2012)

Is his back always like that? Sometimes when bettas get excited they will swim around the tank really fast, curving their body as they turn. Like this:


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## Seki (Jul 10, 2012)

I think he's okay. I saw a couple of pictures in your album where his spine was straight. Since he's in a bowl, he is probably just bending his body as he swims frequently. Does he have a healthy appetite? Is he still active? If the answer to both of those is yes, he's probably just fine. He just needs more space, is all.


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

He's starting to float on his side.. I freaked out and went over to him to see if he was okay and he got up and started swimming again, he was at the top of the water near one of the corners in his bowl.. Now I'm starting to worry..pre-death symptoms?


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## Saphira101 (Nov 14, 2012)

Sounds like swim bladder disease. (SBD) I'm not an expert on it, but I'd suggest making a new thread about it, so more experienced people can easily find the thread and help you.


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

Hi.... It could be as simple as constipation. 

1) What do you feed him?
2) How often do you feed him?
3) How much do you feed each time?
4) When was the last time he pooped? What did it look like?
5) Does his stomach appear bloated?
6) I looked at the pictures, and it looks like sometimes he bends to the right, but other times he bends to the left. And sometimes, he doesn't look bent at all. Is this correct?

In addition to the above questions, could you fill out the form below? This will give us more information, and help people determine what's going on, and how to treat it. Answer what you can. Leave anything else blank or put NA.

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Housing 
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

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

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

1) What do you feed him? - Freeze dried blood worms and pellets, mostly pellets. They're small and brown
2) How often do you feed him? -After I realized I was overfeeding my fish I cut down to 2 pellets a day.
3) How much do you feed each time? - 2 Pellets, or 2 blood worms
4) When was the last time he pooped? What did it look like? -Yesterday
a long string with a round thing at the end. Usually they're huge balls.
5) Does his stomach appear bloated? - No
6) I looked at the pictures, and it looks like sometimes he bends to the right, but other times he bends to the left. And sometimes, he doesn't look bent at all. Is this correct? - Yes. Although he's changed since the photos. Not in a good way.


------------------------------------------
Housing 
What size is your tank? - It's a bowl, square, and it angles outward making it kinda shallow.
What temperature is your tank? -No clue, I don't test
Does your tank have a filter? - No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? - No
Is your tank heated? -No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? - None.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellets, and Freeze dried blood worms.
How often do you feed your betta fish? Two of the pellets/blood worms, once in the morning (in fear of overfeeding)

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? -Every 3-4 days since his bowl is small, and when I notice he acts weird I just assume it's the water
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? -95%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? It's called betta safe, says it works in seconds, yellow bottle. 7 drops per liter.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
I do not own any kits, my parents wont take the time to take me to a pet store.
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Curved back shown in the link.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He spazzes on occasion, then he completely stops and starts floating sideways, when I first noticed was yesterday. I thought he was dead. But when I got closer he spazzed out again.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Yesterday
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No, I only did a water change.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No.
How old is your fish (approximately)? No clue. Got him at Petco June 16th.


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

I'm not so sure he could be constipated. A few weeks ago, my double tail betta was constipated. I stopped feeding him for 2 days, didn't bother with the pea thing, and he was fine. And after I had that scare, I started feeding my fish only 2 pellets/bloodworms a day. And then after a week or two his symptoms started showing. So I don't think he'd be acting weird if he was "hungry" right? At least not in the way he's acting.


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

And he does poop, I've seen him poop at least two times that I can remember since I've noticed his weird symptoms.


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

I uploaded a video to show you how he's acting now. http://s1225.photobucket.com/user/Kittaliana/media/DSCN3386_zps50c65467.mp4.html


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## lillyandquigly (Nov 24, 2011)

Your bowl sounds too small, with a bowl you should be water changing every day, and 100% changes. Also bettas need heat, they're tropical fish. Blood worms cause bloating if they're fed too often, they should only be given as a treat. If your tank is smaller then one gallon, you should get a new one that is one gallon. I don't know what's wrong with him but it could have to do with ammonia, someone with more knowledge on things like that can help you. Good luck with your fish!
P.S. Things like this should go into the emergency thread, for future reference.


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

Petstore employees often tell people that Bettas don't have any "special requirements." However, it's important to remember that they do have certain needs. Specifically, they require:

*1) Adequate room to swim*

There is a lot of debate as to how much room bettas require. Some people will tell you they require at least a 5 gallon tank. Others will tell you they can survive in a 1 gallon tank if at least 3 water changes are done per week. 

However, looking at your video, it's pretty clear that the tank he's in is tiny. It's maybe 2 liters (0.5 gallons). That's not large enough to keep a betta in.

Also, the larger the tank, the easier it is to maintain good water quality, which leads us to the next item on the list.....

*2) Clean, warm water*

All fish require clean water. Without frequent water changes, toxins and wastes build up. If frequent water changes aren't done, these toxins will eventually poison and kill the fish. (You can lessen the number of water changes required by getting a larger tank, or by adding a filter and "cycling" the tank.) You can read more about water change requirements on OFL's water change recomendation sticky.

Also, Bettas are tropical fish. They thrive at temperatures between 76-84F. For most of us, that means adding a heater to maintain the proper water temp.

*3) Good nutrition*

Can humans survive on junk food? Yes... sort of. But we'd be better off eating some good nutrition. The same is true of our fish. Feeding them quality foods is better than feeding them junk food.

You didn't give the name of your pellet food. However, look at the list of ingredients. Bettas, in their natural habitat, eat insects (mainly mosquito larvae). They need a high protein diet. The ingredients in your pellet food should also be proteins. (Not grains or fillers.)


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Try feeding your Betta two pellets twice a day. Only give the freeze-dried bloodworms once a week as a treat.

I have a Betta in a temporary 1/2 gallon tank. I do 100% water changes every other day.

You might ask your parents if you can get a medium or large Kritter Keeper. If they ever buy anything from eBay, I got mine from this guy and was very happy.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lee-s-Aquar...ltDomain_0&hash=item20d51c8fa4#ht_1543wt_1271


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

I know that I need a an actual tank for each of my fish, a heater, and a probably a few other testing kits. My parents pretty much got the fish so they could shut me up on my birthday. They're not willing to pay or expend any effort on their part to help my fish. And I don't feed them blood worms as often as I feed the pellets, which are called 'New Life Spectrum Betta Formula' I kind of figured the blood worms were kind of like a treat, well I mean compared to the pellets. And for now the heater isn't a problem, so I'm not too worried about that because as I stated in my first post, it gets to 90 degrees in my house, and I'm not exaggerating. And I'm afraid to start feeding him again .. especially if he might be constipated.. that would just make it worse right?

And I understand completely that I need a bigger 'tank' I've been trying to make that happen, but right now I'm just trying to keep my fish alive until then. And you're right the pet store employees don't tell you anything about the fish, I thought that was really odd, so I asked, luckily the fish person was obsessed with bettas..


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

All the products I have for my fish were recommended by the .. erm fish lady I don't know how to phrase that in a nicer way lol..


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

And I apologize for not putting this on an emeregency .. thread..er board idk. I just signed up to this site so I could get diagnostics on my fish, not to be told how to care generally for them. I did my research online, most of it on this site, so I know about the tanks, and the cycling, and the pH etc. etc. I don't care about that stuff right now, I just want my fish back to normal so I can then continue to worry about their living environments (The tanks and the water changes and pH) but I think my fish is dying (Watch the video you'll understand) and I just want to fix it before I move onto anything else.


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## lillyandquigly (Nov 24, 2011)

just make sure you do 100% water changes everyday on each of their tanks until you get a bigger tanks with filters for each of them


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

I'm going to create a post..board..thread whatever in the emergency section (Assuming I can find it) if any of you want to join the board..thread..thing you can ask via message or.. I'm sure it shows somewhere on my profile of the threads I've made..

Man, I really need to work on posting just one message..


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

I heard the filters are stressful? Does it depend on how big the tank is? For example if the tank is bigger the less current, the less stress on the fish..


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## lillyandquigly (Nov 24, 2011)

Sponge filters would be good for kritter keepers, or one gallon. You'd only want to use an HOB (hang on back) filter for a really large tank. Bettas like minimal water flow.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

There's really no reason to start another thread. People have told you what they think:

Do 100% water changes at least every other day or every day if you can.

Stop the freeze dried bloodworms and only feed pellets except maybe once a week. The food the fish lady suggested is a good one.

He's most likely curving his body because of his small environment and it's not as easy to swim straight.

A video of him from the side would give people a better idea of how he's swimming. One from the top doesn't tell very much.

If you can't get a bigger tank that's no big deal if you do the water changes. And if your room is as hot as you say you can do without the heater for a bit. The reason you need a heater is to keep the temperatures steady whether 72 or 86. Fluctuating temperatures cause stress and illness.

Good luck and keep us posted.

BTW, I watched your video two or three times. Is that a bubble next he's attempting to build in the right corner?


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## Snaptrap (Jul 11, 2013)

If I ever get fish, I make sure I can provide a proper tank and food, otherwise I simply don't get them. I haven't had fish since '79 and I just bought a Betta and an 8Gal tank for him which I may upgrade to a 14Gal.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Many forum members are kids without disposable income. What they can and cannot get depends on their parents. An inability to have a large tank or a filter or a heater should not preclude them from owning and learning about these wonderful fish.

Just my 2 cents.

BTW, why don't you swap him out with the Betta in the largest container? If the other one starts acting the same way, you'll know your problem.


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

[Bubble nest] I think so maybe.. the bubbles appear to be the same as the other ones my other bettas have near their bubble nests. He is the only one who hasn't actually made a declarable bubble nest, I just assume it's the bowl.

And yes people have told me what they think. The water changes is the only thing that I should change. I don't feed them the blood worms very often, and I do this because the amount I have compared to the pellets is small. Now I have another reason not to feed them blood worms as often as the pellets. The fish lady at the pet store fed the the worms majority of the time. She said they were rich.

I'm just a little stressed, I apologize if I come off irritated or rude..or any sort of offensive. All I want is to know what's wrong with my fish and how I can fix it. All I know right now is that he could be constipated, but no one is sure, it could be the water that's the problem, but I can't determine that until I keep up the water changes.


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

"If I ever get fish, I make sure I can provide a proper tank and food, otherwise I simply don't get them. I haven't had fish since '79 and I just bought a Betta and an 8Gal tank for him which I may upgrade to a 14Gal."

I completely understand this. When I was younger I had a betta fish named Dorthy (from Elmo) and we kept "her" in a bowl and she lived for a while until my grandmother started feeding her bread -.- my mother is from the Philippines.. So I'm sure you can understand that feeding the fish bread was "normal" in her culture. My fish died because of how cloudy the bowl was due to the insane amounts of bread my grandmother stuff in her poor bowl. Because of this I for my entire life have assumed that bettas could fare well in bowls. I had no reason to believe it was bowl size that could possibly effect my betta. I dragged my mother into the pet store not expecting to leave with 3 fish. Let alone anything at all. My mother hates pets...hair poop.. you know. Fish are "easy" to take care of. I didn't realize how much care was put into fish until I came home and read about how to care for my fish. If I had known before hand about the care and maintenance of bettas, I probably wouldn't have gotten them knowing my circumstances with my parents.


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## Snaptrap (Jul 11, 2013)

A person can learn about them in books. It's usually what they should do before owning them. They are wonderful fish and deserving of a good environment. I live on a fixed income but with saving and time, I managed to get a good setup.


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

I'm just happy that I do have my fish, and knowing there's a chance I can care for them and actually befriend them (I didn't know you could do that with fish) really makes strive to give them better lives. You don't treat your friends crappy, so why your fish? Fish are friends  I'm just glad I have this opportunity with these little creatures, and I want to take full advantage of it.


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

Yea, I admit, I should have looked into it before hand. Then again though, I didn't know I'd end up in Petco. I learned about caring for my bettas online, I started reading as soon as I came home with them. I wanted to make sure they'd be happy. They were actually stuck in their plastic containers for a few days after I got them because I forgot to grab the Betta Safe condition stuff... I didn't want to risk tap water..


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Boy, do I understand the oriental grandmother thing. Yours stuffed your fish with bread; mine stuffed *me* with bacon grease-laden vegetables, real butter and mashed potatoes and gravy at every meal!

I got my first Betta in 1969. We didn't have the Internet back then; just little booklets. Poor fish live in a one gallon bowl, ate flake food (only thing available) and I only changed the water when it looked dirty. Never used conditioner; just let the water sit for 24-48 hours before I changed it out.

BUT...I did the best I could with what I had and what I knew and that's all any of us can do.

Most likely your Betta's problem is environmental. Try the swap and see if that helps him. And try to get us a side view video. Good luck!


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## Kittaliana (Jul 6, 2013)

Okay, I can try the swap tonight. My double tail Betta, Vanity, the one in the large wine glass is much bigger than Crimson though. And I can try the side video tonight as well.


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