# Bloated betta - help!



## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

I have a male betta and I keep him in a 2 1/2 gallon bowl with a heater.
- I change his water weekly
-I feed him betta pellets (3 pellets, 3 times a day)(bloodworms usually once a week (if that) to replace a meal of pellets. I now realize I may have been feeding him too many pellets.

He has a lump on his side toward the back- his scales are not sticking out like a pinecone.

I started fasting him Saturday (today is Thursday). When he sees me at the bowl he usually swims up to see if I have something for him. I feel very guilty not feeding him.

All the rocks have been removed from the bottom except one larger one so I can keep track if he goes to the bathroom.

I tried feeding him little bits of pea on several occasions every day since all this began - he won't eat them, he won't even try them. He did have 1 poop Monday (it seemed thicker than normal). Nothing has changed since then - he is still very bloated and he hasn't pooped again since then.

I have tried to find daphnia - no one sells it in our area. I Did find frozen mysis shrimp but he wouldn't eat it.

Wednesday I gave him an epsom salt bath as I was really starting to worry. Today is Thursday and I gave him another epsom salt bath this a.m. I am planning on giving him another tonight.

He looks like his other side is starting to look a little bloated as well.

I don't know what else to do for him. I wish I knew if it was constipation or something else.

Lately he has been spending most of his time at the bottom of his bowl. When he does swim he swims normal. 

If anyone has any advice or any ideas I would really appreciate your help. I have called all the pet stores in the area as well as another city and no one has any idea what I am talking about.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Hello and welcome to FishForum. It DOES sound like he's constipated if he's not pooping I would just feed him 2-3 pellets twice a day. If you can't find daphnia then you may have to order it online. All I could find was frozen at my Petsmart. Don't feel guilty for not feeding him. They can go several days without eating. The daphnia is more natural for them than peas. If you could post a picture of him then maybe that might help us to figure out for sure what is wrong with your betta.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

hmjm said:


> He has a lump on his side toward the back- his scales are not sticking out like a pinecone.
> 
> I started fasting him Saturday (today is Thursday). When he sees me at the bowl he usually swims up to see if I have something for him. I feel very guilty not feeding him.


There are 2 things that stick out to me here.

1) The lump is toward the back? A betta's stomach is located around the area right above their ventral fins, so any bloating due to constipation would appear in this area.

2) You have not fed him since Sat. right. Well, even if he is not constipated he will not have enough food through his system to poop, so that observation may mean nothing.

A picture would be really helpful at this point. What I am thinking is that maybe you are seeing an oval shaped raised area near his tail. A lot of people have come on here worried about that, but in fact it is just normal betta conformation. In some bettas it is definitely more prominent than others though, so that is the reason people get concerned. Of course, without a picture I could be totally off base so that is really the best thing you can do right now.

Like has been said, 2-3 pellets twice a day should be a better feeding program. I hope to hear from you soon, and wish you the best of luck with your betta!

Kim


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

Hi,

Thank you for your answers so far. I really appreciate your insights. I have included some pictures to hopefully better indicate where these lumps are (these were taken in his bowl and then the last two in his epsom salt bath to give a better contrast for the photo and the lump against a white background). The largest lump is actually behind his pectoral fin on his left side.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Are his scales starting to open up like a pinecone? If thats the case, then its dropsy.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

On the side that has the largest lump (his left side) they don't appear to be opening up like a pinecone, but they do look stretched overtop of the lumps. The right side is the same. It does not appear to be opening up like a pinecone. Everything just looks stretched. 

I am basing my comparison of the pinecone look to several photos I found via google that showed what I thought were good examples. i.e. this page about a little over half-way down (dropsy): betta diseases


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## Jovi (Jan 28, 2009)

I'm sorry, but your fish looks like mine did in the beginning. Please see the post I made- Picture of my sick betta please look. I still really don't know exactly what is wrong with mine. I thought it was dropsy, constipation, full of eggs that can't get expelled, some kind of infection, but mostly I feel it is a tumor. If you find a treatment that works on yours please let me know.

Good luck with your fishy,
Jenny


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Try feeding him and see if he does poop at all. However, the lumps being different in size and location makes it not look like constipation to me. The scales do not have the pinecone look, so it doesn't appear to be dropsy either.

Maybe tumors? In that case the only thing you could really do is just take care of him until he passes.

I'm truly sorry, and I hope it does turn out to be something cure-able.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

I fed him yesterday and then he wouldn't eat this morning. He did finally eat tonight. So far no poop. However, now he is spitting out white floaty stuff. Any idea what that stuff may be (perhaps food or something from his stomach)?. Very strange.

I did find an old post (at first I didn't realize it was an old post) from Julie's julie. She posted some pics of her male betta. He has the same lump as ours. I sent her a message but haven't heard back yet.

Thanks again for all your help and advise.

Heather


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

I've never heard of a betta spitting out white stuff :/ Doesn't sound good. If he's not pooping than it may be constipation. It could even be constipation coupled with another problem..it's really hard to tell with fish so all we can really do is try our best.

I'd try feeding him a bit of a pea. This usually works wonders for clearing up constipation and I usually use this method (or daphnia for less severe cases) on all my new bettas as they are all usually constipated from the store. All you need to do is thaw a pea, take off the shell, mash up the inside, and feed off a toothpick to your fish. Most of mine eat it right up. Only feed a small portion (no more than a small dot slightly larger than the head of the toothpick) to the fish as you don't want to compound any constipation by overfeeding and putting pressure on the swimbladder.

I hope this helps! Best case scenario is that your fish is only constipated and this helps him. If not, we'll have to consider other possibilities.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

Thanks. I have been trying to get Goldie (you can tell my 5 year old named him  ) to eat a pea for a week now and he is not willing. I did exactly as you had mentioned to prepare it and he just wasn't interested. I have also looked (and phoned) everywhere trying to find daphnia but no one seems to carry it around here or in a couple other cities that I have tried. I am at a loss and not sure what direction to go next.

I think his belly is now starting to distend downward as well.

I have really appreciated all you help.

Thanks.

I guess we will see what tomorrow brings.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

I'm sorry to hear that. Well, maybe he'll eat it if he gets hungry enough. If not, I don't really think there's much else that you can do


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

You can always purchase daphnia on-line. Here's a few:

AquariumGarden.com Aquarium Supplies: Filters, Fish Food, Plant Care, and more - HIKARI USA INC. - FREEZE DRIED DAPHNIA .42OZ

Freeze Dried Daphnia - 0.42 oz. | Freeze Dried Food | Fish Food | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com__


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

Thanks for the info on the daphnia. I am going to order it online as I can't find it any where.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

He actually pooped this morning. First time in a week. I guess I will wait and see what happens next.

Thanks again.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

That's good news. I'd still go ahead and get the daphnia. I feed it to mine 2x a week. They love it and it's a great preventative as far as constipation. I prefer daphnia to the peas as peas are not a natural part of a betta's diet, even though peas will work. I've heard more cases of bettas refusing to eat peas and I don't recall ever hearing of a betta refusing to eat daphnia.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Mine love daphnia and I feed it to them once a week, after their fast day.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

Yes we are still getting the daphnia - I hope it will help and if he recovers from whatever this is I will make sure it is in his diet every few days.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for the little man that he will get better soon.

Will keep you posted.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Wow, I didn't know there was freeze-dried daphnia. That's GREAT that he has pooped though, hopefully he continues to improve! Be careful not to overfeed, and when you get the daphnia feed it often (maybe every or every other night for a while) because he's probably not out of the woods yet. 

BTW, my first betta absolutely refused to eat daphnia and he never did till the day he died! Peas are not supposed to be as good for the betta, but I will still use them in severe cases because I've found that they actually work better. I use daphnia once a week after fast day.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I use freeze dried daphnia but I rehydrate it before feeding.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

Our betta is really losing his colour - I don't think things are looking very good for him.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Oh, that's not good. Has he continued to poop? What color was the poop when he had one?

Some distant possibilities that could cause extreme bloating are internal parasites and an internal bacterial infection.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

He hasn't pooped again. It was quite light - more like a yellowy colour.

I guess I better do some digging for info on internal parasites and bacterial infections. Thanks for that info. I will look into that.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

The daphnia should be here by tomorrow (Wed). We had to order it in from Vancouver! Needless to say that we got hammered on the delivery charges since we are just outside of Toronto but we will try just about anything for this little guy.

The more I look at him the more I think that it could be a combination of constipation and some kind of internal parasite (or tumor). In the case of the constipation we have the daphnia. I also realize that if it is a tumour we are pretty much out of luck. But in the event that it is a parasite, can anybody recommend any kind of medicine? So far we are looking at getting the Jungle Anti-Parasite Medicated Fish Food (at Petsmart) because it is about all that we can find around here. Since he has a lot of white stuff floating around the bowl which appears to be coming out of him (almost like he is smoking), we are thinking parasite. Here is a link to the food:

Anti-Parasite Medicated Fish Food - Medications - Fish - PetSmart

Is there anything else we should consider in terms of medicated foods or whatever?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Poor thing! I hope the medicated food and daphnia will help.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Actually, that medicated food is the only thing I've had any luck with so far. I rescued some guppies that had internal parasites and almost the entire tank got wiped out before I even figured out what was killing them. I tried EVERYTHING and finally ran into that food. So far it does seem to be working  So, I'd say it's worth a try.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

Ok I just don't know what else to do with this little guy.

The daphnia arrived today. He won't touch it.

I also bought the Jungle anti-parasite medicated food today. I thought I would try that since he wouldn't eat the daphnia. At least he tried this food, however, he spit it right back out. Not sure what we will try next.

I am not positve if what he has is parasites or not. The white cottony stuff that ends up in his bowl could be something he is pooping and not something coming from his mouth.

This little guys is a complete puzzler.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

Another comment on the white cotton like stuff is it isn't stringy. It is little fluffy like stuff.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I think there is something called Garlic Guard that is supposed to make food more tasty for sick fish and fish that won't eat.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

Thanks for the info - I will see if I can find that in hopes he will eat it otherwise I don't know if there is anything else I can do to try to help him. You have been very helpful.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm so sorry about your fish. I hope that he'll be able to eat something, even if its one pellet.


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## hmjm (Feb 26, 2009)

OK Goldie actually pooped today - it has been a few days since his last. It was very thick and brown. It was shaped more like a mouse dropping but much thicker. He is sooooo bloated at this point. I am still holding my breath and hoping although I am really losing hope.


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