# My Betta has "The Betta Bump"



## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

My baby Red has a bump on his upper body. Over feeding? Burns? Help!

Pics:


Thanks so much! 

~~Red & Jennifer~~


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

It looks like bloat. Fill out the form on top of the "Betta Emergencies" folder. But it does look like bloat. Fill out the form and I'll give you a medication plan. *giggles to self* I feel like a doctor!


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

where's the form? And...is a bloat dangerous! Should I be worried?


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## Shimizoki (Jul 8, 2011)

*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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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

No bloat isn't usually dangerous, fasting is the easiest way of treating it, one of my guys, Max, got bloat and I fasted him for 36 hrs, and then he was fine.


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## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

Bloat can lead to serious problems but I believe its cause his tummy is huge. How much are you feeding him? To solve it stop feeding him for a while and make sure he is pooping lol and adding epsom salt 1tsp/ gal will help to... but I dont see the bump on his top that you said was there?


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Depending on how the bloat is, Epsom salt may be required, but try fasting him first.


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## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

Neil D said:


> Depending on how the bloat is, Epsom salt may be required, but try fasting him first.


^ +1


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## Shimizoki (Jul 8, 2011)

I think he meant on the front half... his sides are swollen at the fin.


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 2.5 gal
What temperature is your tank? About 75 F
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? Frozen bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice, once in morning once at night

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? 2 a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? bettasafe

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

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Bump on his tummy
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? he's acting REALLY lax
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Today (it started today too)
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No, just really lax
How old is your fish (approximately)? Half a year? I got him at PetCo so I don't know


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

^ You didnt fill it out...


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Uhhhh, it wasn't filled out...


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

How do I get Epsom salt? Is it regular salt? How do I treat him? I'm sorry...I'm so worried!


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

I'm on my IPad. Sorry it takes a while


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Lol so am I! iPad 2 to be exact;-)


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## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

Fast him for a while first to see of that doesnt help by its self just dont feed him for the next few days and see if his tummy goes down


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

LUCKY!!!!! I got mine waaaay before the 2er came out. *looks at you with envy*

So can you answer mybsalt questions?


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

So all I do is:

Don't feed him for 2 days and nothing else? what if his tummy dosent go down?


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Don't worry about treating him with Epsom for now, just fast him like Creat said. 

But here's the salt info anyways: 

Epsom salt can be bought at a Pharmacy, make sure it's plain, with no additives. 
Dosage: 1 tsp/gallon, treat for 14 days recommended. Send a personal message to 'oldfishlady' for any specific questions. 
It is most certainly NOT normal salt. 

But like Creat and I said, just fast him until maybe Wednesday or tuesday evening.


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## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

2-3 days is fine with no food. Then you can start him on epsom salt, if his tummy doesnt go down. The goal is to get it to go away on its own. Epsom salt you can by at most stores, its sold as a bath additive usually but me sure to get plain un-scented un-dyed.


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

Epsom salt treatment is to use 1 teaspoon of epsom salt per gallon. Using an empty gallon milk jug, fill it water, dechlorinate it, add the teaspoon of epsom salt, shake the jug really well, and pour it in a QT container of about a gallon, unless you have a small tank size, like under 3 gallons. Do 100% water changes every day with fresh pre-mixed water.

*The above treatment is if the bloat DOES NOT go down after you not feeding him for a couple days.*


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Okay until Wednesday. an you can put a tsp on espom salt in a 2.5 gallon tank right?


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Actually some people on the forum fast their bettas once a week, not to mention bettas can go a week without food, so...

Just fast him for 2-3 days. If it's just bloat he'll "deflate"

Yes, assuming you do 100% changes weekly.


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

So double checking what we reviewed:

Fast him for 3 days and if his tummy dosent go down I put 1 tsp of espom salt (undyed unscented) in his 2.5 gallon tank?


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

If after 2-3 days his bloat doesn't go away, use 2.5 tsps of Epsom salt in your 2.5G tank. Remember? 1 tsp/ 1 G


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## Shimizoki (Jul 8, 2011)

Neil D said:


> Actually some people on the forum fast their bettas once a week, not to mention bettas can go a week without food, so...


wait hold on... as in some people choose not to feed their fish every friday?

And yes BlueBetta, thats what I gathered aswell.


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Okay so:

Fast him for 3 days. If his bloat does not go away give him 2.5 tsp of espom salt (unscented undyed) in his 2.5 gallon tank?

Also, Shimi mentioned he had fin rot (Page 1) does he? Erm, he's "swollen to the sides of his fins"


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## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

Yeah I fast my fish on sunday lol no religious reason its just easy for me to remember unless I am conditioning them....
And yes TheBlueBettaFish thats correct, but I suggest premixing it in gallon jugs (makes it easier is all)
And I dont think he has fin rot


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Fin rot? Doesn't seem like it, except for a small patch on the top of his cadual fin. Please fill out that form, if you want help with this after his bloat goes away. The only reason we could help without that form was because of the pics.


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Thanks for your help...
Neil D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-D
Shimizoki
bettafish15
AND.....
CREAT!!!!!


Thanks a bunch. I will recommend you to people I chat with on the forums. :-D


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Neil, I did fill out the form...Page 2


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Awww, why does creat's name get to be in caps and with exclamation marks?!? I replied first! Hmph!


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Fixed lol.


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## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

Shimizoki said:


> wait hold on... as in some people choose not to feed their fish every friday?
> 
> And yes BlueBetta, thats what I gathered aswell.


yeah, bettas can be pretty prone to constipation which can lead to swimbladder issues, so fasting them for a day gives their system a chance to empty out. some people also make something like daphnia the first meal after the fast day to help clean out anything left


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Oh look at that it is filled out!


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

Ah I see the filled out form now, when you first posted it, it was blank. How many bloodworms a day do you feed him total?


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Are you sure??? It is for me...oh well! Tomorrow I'm gonna do the "Take your fish to the doctor" where I post ALL my aquatic life and the forum members say wether their sick or not.  everything is confusing on the iPad


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

bettafish15 said:


> Ah I see the filled out form now, when you first posted it, it was blank. How many bloodworms a day do you feed him total?


About 7 per feeding time. Though sometimes he only eats 3-4.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Okay:

1) needs heat
2) assuming your not cycling your 2.5G, you should do one 50% WC and one 100% WC weekly
3) frozen blood worms should be fed in conjunction with pellets or other live/frozen foods. Pellets are preferable.


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

1. Okay I will get a heater
2. No, the lady said you ALWAYS ONLY do 50% because bacteria builds up in the tank that your Betta needs or he will get stressed
3. Can I feed it with BettaMin?


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

TheBlueBettaFish said:


> About 7 per feeding time. Though sometimes he only eats 3-4.


Oh, wow, his bloat is due to overfeeding then. Bloodworms should be fed as a treat once a day, unless you are conditioning for breeding with is for the more experienced betta keeper. Pellets should be the staple food with bloodworms as treats only.

What I think you should do is this:

Fast him for a couple days as planned, then pick up a good betta pellet at the petstore such as Betta Bites or any other food that has high protein content. There are many kinds. Hikari isnt a good brand anymore as they recently decreased their foods nutrition by alot.

Once you have the pellets, feed just three a day. I feed my bettas three in the morning. Then, every couple days, feed one or two bloodworms in the evening. ^^


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Okay, I tried pellets with him, he refuses. Guppy fry? BettaMin?


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## MikiMaki (Jun 23, 2011)

The only thing is bettas gobble up the blood worms and suck in a lot of air when they do, which in turn is associated with bloat. The worms lack certain vits and mins and essential things that bettas out in the wild get naturally from a varied diet, hence the need to make up some other type of pellet or flake with some variation in them, All animals need carbs fats and proteins to function properly on a cellular level, and in the wild they get it from eating things that eat plants.


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## MikiMaki (Jun 23, 2011)

TheBlueBettaFish said:


> Okay, I tried pellets with him, he refuses. Guppy fry? BettaMin?


My big guy refused pellets to begin with, and I went with flakes which was ridiculously messy, but eventually I stuck with hand feeding pellets and he now gobbles them up like crazy, even jumps at my hand for them.


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

Bettamin was the first thing my boy would eat. However flake can pollute the water, not that my boy lets much of anything remain.


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

This is what I told my mom to do with Red while I'm gone:

Don't feed him for 3 days. If he still has the bump buy UNDYED UNSCENTED NATURAL Espom Salt. Give him 2.5 tsp of the salt. When his bloat goes away feed him and all the Bettas 2 bloodworms, and a pinch of BettaMin. And for Sarah (my female Betta) give her a pellet additionally because she LOVES THEM!

Question, do I give Red 2.5 tsp of the salt for ONLY one day? Or until the bloat is not there. and do I give it to him once a day or twice? thanks!


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## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

You give it to him once and each time you change the water you add more you just want the concentration to be kept at 2.5 tsp, and you keep up the concentration till the bloat goes away. Then you can take him off it. 
And best of luck!


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Yay! His bump has _really_ gone down! He has made a bubble nest so I assume he's happy! Do I still fast?


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

you could probably fast him until it goes away, or feed him just a tiny bit. i have a boy who wont eat pellets but will just go nuts when i give him his flakes. also what i do is i feed all of them once a week with the blood worms, and i just picked up frozen brine shrimp for another treat, once a week i give them blood worms 2 big ones for my males and one big one or two small ones for my females then i fast them the next day then go back to pellets or flakes and i feed maybe 3-5 depending on gender and size of the fish.


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## Arashi Takamine (Mar 3, 2011)

If his bloat has gone down but not completley try getting him to flare. It worked wonders when my boy's both got a little bloated. They got so puffed up and angry it just went right through them.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

LOL!

"IM SO MAD I COULD...*obnoxious fart noise* all better!"


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Um....lol? Teehee


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

you should add TeeHee to your sig.


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

lol, yea I should (Teehee)


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