# Betta: CHRONIC Constipation!!!



## KewtyPatootie (Aug 20, 2010)

Hi Everyone,

I have a male betta who suffers from chronic constipation.
After months of repeated pea-treatments, I figured it might have been a bacterial infection. Thus I used Jungle Fungus Eliminator for about a week with no changes at all. With observation over the past several months, I do in fact know that he is suffering from constipation.

After fasting him for a few days followed by a pea treatment, he will have a large bowel movement and be mobile enough to sink/swim properly.
However, this normalcy only lasts until his next feeding.
I have tried to bloat the food in water prior to feeding/ mixing it with peas, etc with no avail.

He looks so sad on his side, and I can't seem to find anything about this online.
Somebody help?!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Instead of pea try using mysis shrimp or daphnia. Pea is ok if used very sparingly but it should not be used regularly since bettas are insectivores and are not set up to process plant matter.

How much are you feeding him? It is possible he has a swim bladder disorder and may need to be fed sparingly.

It is also possible he has parasites. I would look into treating him with a broad parasitic and possibly feeding him anti-parasitic foods. Mixing his food with fresh garlic is a great natural preventative for parasites.


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## KewtyPatootie (Aug 20, 2010)

He does have the swim bladder disorder.. just very chronic, and seemingly impossible to get rid of!

I will try to find daphnia in my backyard pond if I can, and since I did medicate him with Jungle Fungus Eliminator that says it can also treat swim bladder issues, shouldn't he be fine say he did have an internal parasite?

Or are parasitic issues at a different level from bacterial infections?

Oh, and I will definintely try the garlic method, thank you.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

The swim bladder is an organ.. so if he has SBD most of the time he's going to have it always. 

Parasites are going to be different from a fungal infection and will require a different medication if that is what's causing his symptoms. Try the garlic method, it will take about 6 weeks for it to get into his system (as I understand it) so it's not a quick fix but it will be less harsh on him than medication.


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## KewtyPatootie (Aug 20, 2010)

"Impossible to get rid of" as in, the disorder itself that is caused by the constipation, sorry! Ahahaha I know it is an organ, getting rid of that would be tragic!

For the garlic, can I just feed him a tiny piece of garlic instead of mushing it with food, since his stomach is the size of his eye? Should it be cooked or raw?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

The disorder itself LOL. If the actual swim bladder is deformed no amount of medication will fix that. Its not a death sentence by any means, he just may have special needs 

What I do is cut up about half a clove of fresh raw garlic. I mush it up and I pour some pellets in it and mix it together. Then I microwave it for 30 seconds so the garlic can release its juice and the pellet can absorb it. Keep it in the fridge and take out however much you feed.


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## KewtyPatootie (Aug 20, 2010)

Okay thank you.


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

Some fish are more prone to it than others due to body shape. I had a narrow bodied CT that would float if he even saw thawed brine shrimp. Make sure that the temperature of the tank is withing 78-83 degrees--heat can help keep bettas regular. The CT I mentioned was fine if I stayed away from fibrous foods, oddly enough, and fed smaller portions at a time. 

Also, is the fish actually bloated? It's possible that there's simply a deformity that either makes him prone to it, (i.e. it happens when the fish is stressed, not related to food). Typically when fish have intestinal worms, they lose their appetite. Have you noted any changes in appetite or abnormalities in the feces (white, stringy, etc)? If not, I would not bother treating him with any more medications.


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## KewtyPatootie (Aug 20, 2010)

The fish is bloated when he has food in him and can't swim properly. 
I don't think he has intestinal worms because his appetite is always strong. 
His poop is just a HUGE piece of normal betta poop, the kind that has been sitting in him for several days due to constipation.

When he does have bowel movement, he returns to normal- can swim perfectly fine.


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

I think you should try to keep the temperature at the high end, 80-82 degrees and feed him small quantities of food throughout the day instead of all at once. One pellet in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening, for instance. Make sure the food doesn't have a lot of wheat or junk in it, and don't ever feed him freeze-dried stuff. I recommend OmegaOne betta buffet pellets, Atison's betta pellets, Ken's betta crumbles, and New life spectrum--supplemented with frozen blood worms every once in awhile.


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