# Bloated and Grey Belly?



## PaulO (Aug 13, 2012)

What size is your tank? - 1.5 Gallon
What temperature is your tank? - 77-80 * Fahrenheit
Does your tank have a filter? Yes Tetra Whisper 3i
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? not currently "summer"
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? 1 ghost shrimp

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon Betta Food
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3 times daily 2 pellets and 1 at night

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? once a week
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?
About 50-100%
Ammonia:0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate:0 ppm
pH: 6.6
Hardness: N/A
Alkalinity: N/A

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Its belly is grey and bloated
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? its a lot more sluggish and lazy

When did you start noticing the symptoms? I checked on the fish this afternoon, It almost happened overnight

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No but I do have epsom and aquarium salt

Does your fish have any history of being ill? N/A Got it from Petco about 1 1/2 weeks ago.

How old is your fish (approximately)? Not sure

Additional Info: I have had this fish for about 2 weeks and It has been fine the whole time except constantly swimming against the sides of the tank. I did recently add some horn wort to the tank as well as a ghost shrimp before that. I have one of the stick on thermometers and it displays a the following Temp. Range in the Tank the lowest I have seen was about 75 and highest was 82*F. I will post some pics soon as well.


----------



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Treat him with Epsom Salt PRONTO!!! These are the early signs of Dropsy (AKA Internal Breakdown) and needs to be treated quickly! Stop your filter, get some Epsom Salt (Unscented!) Do a 70% water change. Add dissolve 1-1 1/2 teaspoons of it in with the new water. Pour it in slowly. Make sure the temperature is the same as the tank water! And do 90% changes everyday for 14 days max. I hope he gets better. I'm so sorry!


----------



## PaulO (Aug 13, 2012)

are you sure? I mean before this happened I did drop a algae wafer into the tank for my ghost shrimp but I did notice the betta poking at it, and spitting out some suspiciously green stuff resembling soggy wafer pieces.


----------



## PaulO (Aug 13, 2012)

Here are some pictures of the fish.

<a href="http://imgur.com/ewy2E"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ewy2E.jpg" alt="" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/40VMQ"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/40VMQ.jpg" title="Hosted by imgur.com" alt="" /></a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/fL3Sf"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/fL3Sf.jpg" title="Hosted by imgur.com" alt="" /></a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/OdFSs"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/OdFSs.jpg" title="Hosted by imgur.com" alt="" /></a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/aw20g"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/aw20g.jpg" title="Hosted by imgur.com" alt="" /></a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/ksCje"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ksCje.jpg" title="Hosted by imgur.com" alt="" /></a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/vUHpJ"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/vUHpJ.jpg" title="Hosted by imgur.com" alt="" /></a>


----------



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Well, the gray belly is an early sign of Dropsy. So is a bloated belly. Other symptoms are scales are sticking out, swollen face, eyes are popping out, etc. You should try the salt treatment either way. Dropsy or no Dropsy. The Epsom Salt will cure his bloat and if it IS Dropsy, (Hope Not!) you're already treating it.


----------



## PaulO (Aug 13, 2012)

dang let me try again


----------



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Oh, she looks fine! She's probably full of eggs. I didn't know your Betta was a girl. ^^" The belly doesn't look gray either in my view. Looks yellow whitish. She's just plump with eggs.


----------



## PaulO (Aug 13, 2012)

Well my question is how the heck she starting producing eggs considering she has not seen any male bettas for beyond two weeks and I just notice this this morning. *scratches head* I usually bum out on a couch for a few hours observing my little ones.


----------



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Females can have a lot of eggs even without a male. It's their ways.  She may start dropping them so don't worry.


----------



## Bettabotta (Aug 14, 2012)

My betta has the same problem too!!
She has been pooping white stuff, not stringy though. And she wouldn't eat too!!


----------

