# Constipated betta? Should I use epsom salt or wait?



## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

Housing 
What size is your tank?1 gallon (QT. tank, He was getting treated with aquarium salt for ripped fins)
What temperature is your tank?79
Does your tank have a filter?no
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?New life spectrum betta pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish?2 in the morning 2 at night

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?daily
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Stress coat water conditioner 

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?He looks a little rounded...
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He is swimming around ok, He has made a bubble nest.
When did you start noticing the symptoms?about a week ago 
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I have fasted him today and the last couple of days I have been giving him a little mirror to look at and flare hoping it would help him...:lol:...I haven't done anything else yet.
Does your fish have any history of being ill?no
How old is your fish (approximately)?not sure


My fish Robin I put him into QT. with aquarium salt and IAL after my divided tank failed and my fish jumped sections. While hes been in QT. I decided to take the divider out of the 10 gallon tank and just get another tank for Robin once his fins are healed...So now he is temporarily in the 1 gallon until I can find him a nice big home. Qt tank doesnt have a substrate..with 100% water changes daily it has been pretty obvious to me he hasn't been pooping! It has almost been 8 days and he is starting to look quite round...Despite that he is acting ok...He just made a nice big bubble nest...I am not sure if I should try to treat his constipation somehow or just keep fasting him and see if he ever poops?:-?


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

If he hasn't pooped in 8 days I would use epsom. You already have him in a QT and it won't do him any harm. You can also try feeding him frozen daphnia. 

You don't need to use A.salt unless you are really worried about his fins getting infected. Usually they will heal from tearing on their own. I just switch to stress coat as the conditioner when they have fin tearing and that pretty much takes care of it.


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## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

DarkMoon17 said:


> If he hasn't pooped in 8 days I would use epsom. You already have him in a QT and it won't do him any harm. You can also try feeding him frozen daphnia.
> 
> You don't need to use A.salt unless you are really worried about his fins getting infected. Usually they will heal from tearing on their own. I just switch to stress coat as the conditioner when they have fin tearing and that pretty much takes care of it.


Thankyou, Do you know the dosing of epsom salt for constipation..I tried to google it but i kept getting different dosing amounts...Would 1/2 tsp be ok? Some said to give epsom bath some said to addit to tank..do I leave it in his tank? Or do I just give him a 15-20 min bath in epsom salt water?


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

I believe the dosage is 1 tsp/gal and you would want to dissolve it in dechlorinated water and add it to her QT. Leave it in there with her for 24hours and do a 100% water change every day. Replace the 1tsp of epsom with each water change.


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## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

^ +1 thats what I use however sometimes I will add just a bit at a time into the water up to the dosage


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## xswornxoffxjello (Mar 18, 2010)

I would also recommend feeding him a pea, if that doesn't work. My girl Melody has problems sometimes and it fixes her right away. Just microwave a pea for about thirty seconds, remove the leathery shell, cut up the inside and feed him a bit of that.


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

I believe feeding bettas peas can cause long lasting digestion problems/injuries. Don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure people don't suggest feeding peas to bettas. Daphnia is a better option.


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## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

Still nothing...:dunno:
I am kinda scared to feed the lil guy....I don't want him to get anymore bloated....
His bloating went down a tiny little bit since yesterdays epsom salt/water change...but still no poop.


I don't have any frozen daphnia...Where can I get that? Would Petco sell it?

Here he is btw:









(never mind the water spots)
My phone doesn't take the best photos unfortunately..


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## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

_He finallly poooooped!_:lol::thankyou:


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