# Fat female betta



## limegreen092 (Jul 23, 2010)

Hey everyone,
I have a female betta in a 5 gal tank by herself. In a 2.5 gal I have a male betta and his tank is higher up and maybe more than 10 feet away (I haven't measured the distance). My female was fat when I got her from a family member. I've had her for months and she's gotten huge. She wasn't like this the whole time I've had her but I don't know what's wrong so could someone please help me? Thanks a lot!


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## Sweeda88 (Dec 6, 2010)

How much have you been feeding her? You shouldn't feed more than 4 pellets per day. You may need to fast her (withhold food) for a few days. Either that, or she's full of eggs. When did she last poop?


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## limegreen092 (Jul 23, 2010)

I'm not sure when she pooped last. It looked like there was a thin clear thing coming out of her with a colored small ball on it. And I give her 3 pellets a day and I recently was out of town so I missed a couple of days then.


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## naturegirl243 (Aug 1, 2010)

WOW! She is huge lol.She might be bloated there is noway thats all just eggsif you haven't been conditioning her.


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## limegreen092 (Jul 23, 2010)

What can I do if she's bloated? And do you know how long being bloated lasts?


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## Betta Slave (Dec 8, 2009)

A thin clear thing? Sounds like internal parasites to me...


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## limegreen092 (Jul 23, 2010)

I looked into worms online but I thought worms made fish get thinner?


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## Betta Slave (Dec 8, 2009)

No, or they can be bloated. Wasting or bloating are the main symptoms (obviously as well as the white/translucent strings.) 

To get rid of the parasites, do 100% daily water changes with around 3 tsps of aq salt. After 10 days, stop with the salt and keep going with the water changes. Crush up some garlic, soak her pellets in them, put them in the microwave for 30 seconds and feed them to her as you normally would... And get some Prazi-Pro- it really does help with getting rid of the parasites. Keep up the treatment until she starts looking better and there are no white/translucent strings.

Edit- And there are anti-parasitic foods as Malvolti mentioned... but I've tried all there are to be had, and my bettas do not like them at all. Garlic-soaked pellets would be the best option, IME/O.


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## Malvolti (Nov 15, 2010)

Usually if bloating doesn't go away after a fast there is a good chance it is parasites. The exception of course if an egg bearing female.

Since it has gotten worse over months AND you've seen a thin clear string I would say it is almost definitely parasites. Soaking food in Garlic might help. You can also buy anti-parasitic food from most pet stores.


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## limegreen092 (Jul 23, 2010)

If she didn't have parasites then would this procedure hurt her? And is there any way to avoid the 100% daily water changes?


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## Betta Slave (Dec 8, 2009)

No, it wouldn't. But judging by her symptoms I'm 95% sure she has them... And you must do 100% water changes to get rid of her parasites; clean water and medication is the key.


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## limegreen092 (Jul 23, 2010)

Okay thanks how long should it take to get rid of them? And also how did parasites get into her tank?


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## Betta Slave (Dec 8, 2009)

No problem... judging by the severity of her bloat, they should go away in 2 to 2 and a half months... and I'm not sure. Were there any other fish nearby, or did any fish-water get sloshed into the tank by mistake? Sometimes parasites just seem to pop out of nowhere.


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## limegreen092 (Jul 23, 2010)

The closest fish is over 10 feet away and he isn't bloated.


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## Betta Slave (Dec 8, 2009)

That's really wierd. I know there have been one or two cases of sudden parasites on this forum, where no one knows where they came from. 

Good luck with her!


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## limegreen092 (Jul 23, 2010)

Thanks!


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

if she's eggy at all(and she looks more bloated than eggy), she'll get rid of the eggs herself. my female, Caroline, likes to let them out and eat them. >.>; fast her(speaking of, Caroline's letting her eggs out. again. x-X), and treat her for parasites, as suggested. i think, often, it looks worse than it is, but i could be wrong. >.>;


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## limegreen092 (Jul 23, 2010)

Hopefully it looks worse than it is. She likes to hide under a short fake plant or under the filter. Is that normal?


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

hiding could mean she's ill. my VT, Cup, and my PK, Lulu, both hid, and that let me know something was up, cause they're pretty enthusiastic bettas and always greet me when i walk by. when i lured them out of hiding, i saw they had ick. so, it could mean she's not feeling too good.


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## limegreen092 (Jul 23, 2010)

Ok thanks!


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## Pekemom (Jan 27, 2011)

Betta-newbie here - how do they contract parasites?? Unclean water?


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## Betta Slave (Dec 8, 2009)

Unclean water is a very big one, yes- which, now that you mention it, could be a cause of her parasites. 

Unclean water, and exposure to fish/fish water with parasites.


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## Malvolti (Nov 15, 2010)

Dirty water is either the main cause or a leading contibutor to most fish illnesses. Unfortunately parasites can even be carried in your tap water but a healthy betta would have a better chance on not contracting them.


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## Slipstitch (Feb 19, 2011)

Didn't you say she was a little fat when you first got her and has only gotten worse since? She could have contracted parasites when with her previous owners.


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## Thunderloon (Feb 6, 2011)

I've had fine luck with Jungle Parasite Clear.

Crowntails are a little tricky to care for, they eat and eat and eat.

Crush the pellets if they're larger than salt grains and only give her one half or so a day and run the parasite treatment.


Do you have a flashlight? If you do shine it through her and see if she's got a large clear space below her guts inside her body. I'd have expected a betta with THAT big of an intestine to have already kicked. If you don't see guts down there it may be deeper issues, be careful with water quality.


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## Bettas143 (Dec 20, 2010)

OMG poor baby awww I hope shes going to be okay


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