# Bloated and yellow-ish belly!



## IDontWantMyBettaToDie (Apr 14, 2013)

I need help, Shitsuko’s(betta’s) stomach is bloated and kinda yellow-ish.
It’s not noticeable in the shinier pictures, but it is a bit yellow.
Her stomach was yellower before, though. Not as much anymore. 
Is it because I stopped feeding her bloodworms since, like, Friday? I fed her a small one today, and the thought came to mind that it might be the bloodworms. I feed her bloodworms about 3-4 four times a week.
Or is it that I’ve been overfeeding her? She’s a crown tail betta, so what I should feed her and the amount could be different. In the flakes container it says to feed her what she can eat in two minutes. And that’s what I started to do this Friday (shame on me).
She’s been swimming around normally, and actually, she’s been more active this month.
I hope it’s not because she has worms or something like that. o_o
This is her on Thursday:









And this is her on Friday: (I had the brightness on a higher level)



















Is she sick, constipated or just fat? :-(


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## Lostiethatlikesherbetta (Apr 2, 2013)

she may be constipated or possibly egg bound. can she see any males from her tank?


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

U should be feeding her something high in protein try getting her either new life spectrum pellets or omega one pellets. All my bettas love the new life spectrum pellets. Has she been going poop? What's her tank temp at?


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## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

Are they the frozen type of blood worm or the freezed dried ? I ask because the freeze dried can cause bloat but since she is swimming okay I am guessing she doesnt have any bloat. I agree with the above post if you could get some New Life Spectrum of Omega One pellets they would be better for her and you can control how much she eats by dropping one at a time in her tank.


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

I have another question... What is her tank temp at?


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## IDontWantMyBettaToDie (Apr 14, 2013)

No, there aren’t any other bettas other than her. So she can’t be egg bound.
Okay, I’ll try that. Though her flakes are already ‘Omega One’, but it’s good to vary.
Yes, the bloodworms are freeze dried, but she is swimming around. She was less active before and earlier this month, though. I think I fed her more bloodworms then. I wish I’d kept track of it.
I don’t use the heater, because the own heater’s thermometer said it was at 80 degrees. Should I check it again, though?


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## HeroicPoison (Feb 27, 2013)

Just keep an eye on the temp ensuring that its stable and is at 80F
Freeze dried bloodworms have the tendency of puffing up in their tiny tummies causing constipation issues which lead to bloating. Keep an eye on her to make sure she is going poop. To be on the safe side id fast her for 2 - 3 days, bloating can be caused from over feeding as well.


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## IDontWantMyBettaToDie (Apr 14, 2013)

What do you mean fast her?
Not feed her?
I don't think I can do that... 
But I'll feed her very little in the next 2-3 days. 

Also, after I stopped feeding her freeze dried bloodworms she has been less bloated.
I haven't fed her a second time today, and I think she's kind of mad at me...
She wouldn't let me take a picture of her, she hid from me.
I hope she knows I do love her. :-(

But anyway, thanks for all your help, guys!
This community is great.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Glad you are finding everything helpful! It is better however to fully fast her at least for 1 day out of the week so she doesn't become bloated. Here's what my schedule looks like:

Wednesday-Friday is New Life Spectrum Betta Pellets, about 5 per day. Sometimes I split that with 2 in the morning and 3 at night.
Saturday: I feed 2 NLS pellets and 2 Bloodworms for a treat.
Sunday-Monday: They all get some ground up NLS flakes.
Tuesday: They all fast.

If you really want to keep her healthy you should at least fast her one day this week completely and watch if she poops after that day and she should be set to go.


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## IDontWantMyBettaToDie (Apr 14, 2013)

I fasted her before yesterday. Not sure if she has pooped or not, I don't think so.
Her stomach looks the same, if not, a bit worse.
I fed her some small flakes yesterday. And today I fed her more, about big 5 flakes.
She's a crowntail betta, so, I don't really know the right proportion to feed her. 
Is the betta you feed that schedule to a crowntail too? 
I don't have pellets yet, though. Only flakes and bloodworms.
I'll buy the same ones you have when I can.

The site's not letting me post the picture directly, so I'll post a link.
This is her today after I fed her:
http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r507/QuackbishQUACK/259cd51c-5767-409b-b21b-c003b6258e59.jpg?t=1366554317

How can I make her poop more? Does she look constipated? She's not so active anymore. I noticed she's only very active when I'm near her.

Right now she swims from side to side a bit, then rests, she swims up, but only one time. And she keeps pausing when she swims and keeps perfectly still, then swims slowly and very little, then swims at normal speed again, not very fast though.

Is this normal? She swims mostly at the bottom of the tank.


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## NeptunesMom (May 4, 2012)

I had a female that always looked really bloated to me, but she never had trouble swimming and was always super active. I decided to fast her for two days, and then feed her some daphnia. Her stomach shrunk to "better" size (more in line with the other females I see on here). She is a crowntail if you are interested. 

My guess is it is the flakes and the freeze dried bloodworms. It is my understanding that both cause digestive issues. I feed freeze dried bloodworms, but only one and only about once a week (if not once every two weeks).


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## IDontWantMyBettaToDie (Apr 14, 2013)

Oh my god, really? Then I'll try to buy her those pellets as soon as possible.
And the frozen bloodworms, not the freeze dried.
Every time I look at Shitsuko she is either staying still or swimming slowly. 
Is this normal behavior for a fish who has been constipated for a long time?
I think it's been months since she's been like that.
Is that even possible?


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## NeptunesMom (May 4, 2012)

IDontWantMyBettaToDie said:


> Oh my god, really? Then I'll try to buy her those pellets as soon as possible.
> And the frozen bloodworms, not the freeze dried.
> Every time I look at Shitsuko she is either staying still or swimming slowly.
> Is this normal behavior for a fish who has been constipated for a long time?
> ...


I would go with Omega One or New Life Spectrum if possible. Both are high quality pellets. You may also want to pick up some frozen daphnia (it helps keep everything moving through the digestive tract). I had never fed frozen food until I got the frozen daphnia. Not sure if you have used frozen food, but I'll tell you how to use it. You just take a tiny piece of the block (like 1/8th) and thaw it in a bowl/cup in a couple drops of tank water. Use an eye dropper (you can get them cheap at drug stores) to feed the fish. I now use frozen daphnia once a week, and brine shrimp (which I've heard is high in fiber) twice a week. I sub daphnia or brine shrimp for pellets during their evening meal when I do this. 

My girl was bloated looking for about 6 months. She never left much waste in the tank either. I tried fasting her, and it did not work. Nothing worked until I fasted, and then used the daphnia.


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