# Is my betta too fat?? Take a look!



## sewerlee (Apr 15, 2012)

It is still growing, I got it when it was just a baby, according to pictures, it seemed to be 8 weeks when I got him, now it's almost 10 weeks old. I wanted to feed him just enough so that he's full, because he is just a baby afterall. I feed him two pellets two times a day. I crush up the pellets because they are too big for him to eat. Let me know what you think.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I'm no expert, but that looks like some serious bloat. Fast him for a few days to see if it goes down. Please inform of any changes in behaviour and appetite.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Young bettas, under 4 months, should be fed more to hopefully boost growth. Your little guy is not fat. He just has a full stomach....... not as full as my fry though.

Don't worry, he looks great.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Good food isn't the only thing needed for good growth. Make sure his water stays warm with a good heater.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

Either its very fat, or constipated. It looks more liek the second, stop feeding for a day or 2 or till its belly goess down, cures both


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

I was thinking this was a young one who had just had a nice meal!


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## sewerlee (Apr 15, 2012)

Silverfang said:


> I was thinking this was a young one who had just had a nice meal!


You're right. I took these right after I fed him, as I look at him now, 7 hrs after I fed him, bloating has gone down a bit. I have recently changed diet to 2 pellets/2x a day. Before it was 3x a day/ 1 pellet. 

In my next post I'll upload pics when he's not bloated. It's almost his feeding time, so I'll take his pics right before his dinner.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

fish need alot less than we think, he will be fine on 1 or 2 pellets a day tbh. they dont use calories for making heat which is where most f our calories go, so 1 or 2 a day is totally fine for them


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

no such thing as a fat betta :lol: there is constipated (sometimes with bloat, or leading to SBD), or stuffed :3 my females are pigs, and some of the faster ones get the bellies because they stole the ration from the others :roll: looks like a well fed adolescent betta.


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## sewerlee (Apr 15, 2012)

Here he is 7 hrs after I fed him. I decided to take pictures of him again because this is what he looks like when he's not bloated. Fed him 2 pellets this morning. Crushed them up and fed it to him. He is pretty happy when I give him that much. When I don't give him that much he tends to scour the gravel in search for fallen food -.- and I don't like it when he does that. Also, took it as a sign that he isn't full. He is a baby so that is partly why I feed him til he doesn't want anymore. Babies should get their bellies full and have whatever they need :-D There are people saying that I should only feed him 1 or 2 pellets a day, I don't feel comfortable with that because I feel like I'm neglecting him. Well, anyways, over next couple of days I'll update you on his diet and his weight. Thanks for viewing!


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

that's a good belly  you use adult fish food? I have baby fry food, which is easier for them to eat, plus has lots of good stuff.

what you can do, is feed him over the course of the day (which after a certain age you wean them to 1-2 times a day feeding) spreading it out.... this will help a lot.

remember you are not neglecting! their bellies are the size of their eye.... and they will eat and eat and eat basically until their little tummies explode


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

From all the spawn logs I've read- that belly is fine for him.
Young betta are different from adults- they should have nice big tummies.


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## sewerlee (Apr 15, 2012)

**PICTURE EDIT. 
I DECIDED TO UPLOAD THESE AND TAKE DOWN THE LAST ONES B/C OF HORRIBLE LIGHTING. I thought that less light would show more realistic view of my fish. (I'm perfectionist, I'm sorry)

For those of you who are not wondering where those set of pics went, here you go. This is what he looks like when he's not bloated =) Your opinions are welcome.


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## xjenuhfur (Jan 30, 2012)

Aww what a cutie. Babies should have big bellies. I think babies of all species should be a little chunky! It makes them cute!


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## sewerlee (Apr 15, 2012)

Update on my fish...While I was changing the water in the fish bowl, my betta took a shadoobie in the cup. I admit, the water in the fish bowl was really dirty. So does this mean that my fish didn't take a shadoobie in fish bowl because it was so dirty? 

When I put him back in the bowl, I realized that his belly got tremendously smaller. It was all because he needed to release! He looks so happy now. I just wonder how long he needed to but couldn't :-? Is it because I needed to clean his bowl more often? It is hard to clean out the leftover food parts, they usually end up at the bottom, so this time I took out the gravel. Also I have been feeding him brine shrimp. THere was no baby food to choose from. I crush it up, but the pieces are still too big and he spits it out til small enough to swallow. 

Anyways! Happy that he is happy. I was thinking about fasting him because looked like his belly was about to explode!


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

well since he is a baby I recommend water changes more often which will help in their growth and immune system. Not sure about the pooping haha. Sometimes stuff like stress (along with flaring, moving, etc) can make 'em poop


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Ok people who were saying to stop feeding him, let people with knowledge of young bettas answer.

He looks fine. Young bettas need a lot of food to grow correctly. I feed my fry with worms several times a day and I also feed BBS throughout the day.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I had mine fed on quite a few meals a day... my biggest fry were the fattest xD and the greediest! :lol: Fasting is better for adults... Like Mr Vampire said, the babies need food


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Yes, they need lot's of food. They have a lot of growing to do in a short time frame.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

yup =D For my bettas.... younger get more, older get less. So my older boys (like Shiloh) get less than the younger males, who get less than the babies... according to their size too of course (I wouldn't give 10 pieces of adult size food for the babies for instance xD)


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## bettanova2 (Mar 18, 2012)

He is so cute! Maybe he should be fed with powdered food for easier digestion..adult betta food doesn't seemed appropriate for that young betta..


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

there's baby food granules. I think the powdered food for fry should only be for when they are very small


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

He's getting to the size and age where small adult pellets are fine. Powdered fry food is a death wish. It pollutes very quickly.


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## sewerlee (Apr 15, 2012)

yeah i got her freeze dried brine shrimp, much too big for her to eat yet. I have pellets but I want to feed her baby brine shrimp. I am looking into getting all the supplies for that. Do I really need to hatch brine shrimp in my home in order to feed her(i think it's a female now)? I want to feed her excellent fry food.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

can they eat som much ther stomachs burst?


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

you do not "have" to but be reminded live foods are the best, frozen foods are okay, and the rest is acceptable 

bettas can eat so much their bellies will expand, and thus SBD happens... it can happen in fry, but I haven't seen it often.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

ok  

and you can get flakes and crush them between your fingers, i do this with tetra fin tropical crisps and it works for my small fish


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