mlinden84

My daughter just informed me that she dumped the entire bottle of blood worms into betta's tank. I fished as many out with a net as I could, but he still ate a TON. Now his belly is absolutely enormous. (like he swallowed a marble)
Anything I can/should do?

sirdarksol

Let him digest for awhile. Don't feed him for several days, except for maybe a little tiny piece of pea or some freeze-dried daphnia (both act as laxatives).
I would also do a water change and vacuum, to try to get the extra bits of food that were likely missed.

COBettaCouple

Yea, that's the way to go. Today & tomorrow is definitely a fasting time, then 3 small pellet sized pieces of pea twice a day on Friday and fasting on Saturday.

mlinden84

I did do a water change/vacuum (forgot to mention that)
I have some daphnia. How long should I wait to feed him?
I feel like he's breathing heavier than normal....

COBettaCouple

He's probably breathing heavy from being over-full. I'd fast him at least a day.

mlinden84

Ok thanks everyone for your help!
Poor little guy, he's laying on a leaf thinking "wow that was good, but now i feel soo sick"

COBettaCouple

Yea.. I've been there.. All-You-Can-Eat Buffets..

Allie

I was thinking being a kid at Christmas or Easter. Junk food overload.

I fed Jasper a piece of shrimp once. I had dropped the piece of shrimp in the tank before I realized it wasn't meant for him, the little piece still on the plate was his. I look to see Jasper looking so full that the shrimp end was sticking out his mouth. He digested it took awhile but he was fine. I even tried to pull it out...he wasn't giving it up.

mlinden84

exactly what i was thinking!

mlinden84

He's not looking so good... he's laying on his side on top of his house breathing heavy...

mlinden84

He's still hanging in there, though he doesn't look that great. I did another water change last night and added some java moss to the top of his "house" for him to sleep on.
His poor little belly is still so huge. I was looking at some pictures online and found a few of dropsy that have the same huge belly..... hopefully he doesn't have it. I think I've researched it too much and scared myself so I just need to stop looking! I'm off to class, hopefully he's doing better when I get home tonight.

sirdarksol

Hope things go well for him.

Tazmiche

how is he?

mlinden84

He's still hanging in there, though still severely bloated. The huge part of his belly does have the scales slightly raised... could this just be due to the fact that his stomach is so full? He's been very healthy before this happened. Can massive overfeeding cause dropsy? His belly is also a silvery color, hes always been really dark colored.
I did sprinkle a little bit of daphnia in there for him, but it didn't interest him. He is, however, a little more active than he was last night, or even this morning.
I've attached a few pictures. They aren't great, but they are all I could get.

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sirdarksol

I doubt it's anything more than being severely overfull (though be aware that stress can open the way for infection). The timing, and the fact that he was healthy before this, seems too coincidental for anything else.
He probably won't eat anything for at least another day (this is a good reaction, though it would be nice if he'd eat a laxative). Keep trying with the daphnia.

COBettaCouple

Overfeeding won't cause dropsy and like SDS pointed out.. what are the odds of such timing? He just has a LOT of food in there and the fasting/pea meals plan will help him get that food out safely.

mlinden84

Ok good thanks for the reassurance!
How long could it take for him to pass all of it? (just wondering...)

COBettaCouple

Depending on how much he ate, it could be a week or more. Although the peas should help.

chickadee

Just realize that he is not going to starve and don't give in and feed him until he is back to normal unless it is daphnia or peas. Preferably peas. I would not give him anything but peas for a week at least. Then still fast him for a couple days. He is always going to be prone to constipation after this little escapade I am afraid. It is unknown why but once they get this way they seem to be prone to the problem. He may have to be a Daphnia boy for a few months until he gets his digestive system back in shape. Then slow introduction back to regular betta foods that have been soaked in garlic juice.

Rose

mlinden84

Still no change in the size of his belly. He's swimming around and acting normal though (which I'm assuming is a good sign).
I tried feeding him a piece of pea today, and he refused it. He also refuses the daphnia. Is it safe to assume he'll eat when he's hungry?
Thanks to everyone who has helped and given me advice!

chickadee

Just don't offer him anything at all for a few more days like 3 or 4 as he has plenty in his tummy to keep him going. Then about Wednesday offer him a couple peices of pea and see if he is hungry enough to eat them. You may want to raise his temperature to 82 degrees to see if it is going to help him start to go and get some of the extra food worked through.

He needs to be seriously fasted and given a chance to clean out. Then after Wednesday if he eats the peas, give him NOTHING but peas for at least a week. He may not want to eat them but he will if he is hungry and it is necessary to get him totally free of all the stuff he is stuffed with.

Then after he is over the week of peas, start to lower the temperature to 80 by one degree a day and give Daphnia for one full week and peas three times during that week.

Then the next week leave the temperature at 80 (where it should stay from now on) and start to alternate one meal of no more than 2 pellets OR 4 bloodworms and the other meal of daphnia every day. (this is the way he is going to have to eat now that he has been so sick with this type of constipation so this is the new diet for him)

Rose

I know this sounds very stringent but he has been a very sick little guy and is going to have to have a pretty strict schedule or he will go back to being sick again.

COBettaCouple

Perhaps some daily drops of garlic guard would help?

mlinden84

I'm afraid Betta isn't doing well... he's still very swollen and now he is having problems swimming. He'll hide by stuff as if they are helping him to hold still, otherwise he seems to have lost control of his body. He floats and thrashes around in all directions. His colors are very dull and it appears that there are vertical bars on his body.
I've been doing daily water changes of about 10-15%. He still refuses to eat anything.
Is there anything I can do for him?

mlinden84

Here's a picture I just took of him. I'm so worried

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COBettaCouple

How is Betta doing today? Is he showing any pineconing to his scales?

We thought for sure, we'd lost Mickey and prayed for a miracle - these little Bettas can surprise us. He may be feeling tired from the bloated feeling and resting more as a result. The pressure is probably affecting his swim bladder, affecting his control.

I would add garlic guard and vita-chem daily (drop the drops right over him even) to help him get in some nutrients.

mlinden84

He's about the same as he was last night, just laying on the bottom of the tank. I'm not sure if his scales are pineconing or if they are just like that because his belly is so big from the food...
I have been putting vitachem in the tank daily, and have been soaking different foods in garlic guard to see if he will eat them, but he won't. (even if i put them right in front of his mouth)
Would it help him if I put him in a breeder box so he can be closer to the surface? Or would that just stress him out?

Tazmiche

Oh Michelle, i feel so sad for you sounds like how i lost Kiz. I too thought about the breeder box idea but i had that thought too late. I HAVE NO idea if anyone has tried that with success but IF he is drained of energy from trying to get up for air etc it may be worth placing a light plant that he is used to in it for home comforts and giving it a shot!!

Kiz went quickly sadly but it is something i would certainly try ( God forbid i have to!!!) in the future. I could have done it for Honey too. She pineconed and you can't mistake it to look at, heart breaking to see.

Good luck with him ...... love and best wishes from me and my mob...Miche

mlinden84

Of course the only time I really need the breeders box I cannot find it ANYWHERE! (which is weird because i only keep fish stuff in 2 places) So I'll have to pick another one up after class tomorrow. I'm thinking of maybe getting a breeders net.... maybe this would be a little softer to him? Or would a box be better?

I've heard people have done salt baths... do i use sea salt or epsom salt? (ive got sea salt but not epsom, but I can pick it up tomorrow as well if needed).

As much as I hate to admit it, I see his scales sticking up along his back He is my first betta, this is heartbreaking to see him like this. He's just laying on the bottom breathing heavy (looks like he's in pain but i'm not sure I can tell for sure). Poor little guy....

COBettaCouple

A breeder net would be softer for him and being closer to the surface would make things easier on him. It would really be incredible timing for him to develop dropsy now, so I'd be reluctant to think he's going that way. He did get severely constipated though and when it's that bad, I don't think it's uncommon for a Betta to act like that or take more than a week to start clearing out.

I've seen Bettas recover when they looked worse, really Mickey was so bad a few weeks ago that I kept expecting to find that we'd lost him when I got up in the mornings.. now he's 100% his usual stinker self. We both thought it could be time to put him down, but he's happy and healthy now. I wouldn't be surprised to see that in Mr. Betta.

He can easily go 3 weeks without food, especially given that meal. Don't worry about him not eating for now. The thing to focus on is getting his body nutrients and finding the way to get his digestive system going right. I'd keep his water clean with partial water changes every day or 2 and add the garlic drops, fish protector and vitachem where he is everyday. Give him extra attention - I know that helped with Mickey.

mlinden84

Thanks for your reassuring words! It's so stressful when these little buggers get sick!

He was due for a water change tonight (I've been doing small changes daily) and I ended up not filling his tank all the way (enough for the filter to still run, but low enough that he doesnt have to struggle as much to get to the surface). I have been adding vitachem and fish protector daily. Do I add the garlic drops directly to the water? (I've been soaking the pea pieces or daphnia in the garlic guard). Should I continue to try to get him to eat? Or should I just wait it out?