Constipated bettas?

[Kimaera]

I'm glad others don't think it looks bloated. I don't think it's extremely distended, only very slightly.
I see just a minI pudge compared to older pictures I have of him.

Thanks for the daphnia info! Definitely grabbing some at the LFS.

 

[Peacefantasy]

Do you soak the pellets in tank water for a minute or so? That is good prevention

 

[Kimaera]

Do you soak the pellets in tank water for a minute or so? That is good prevention

That is so true.
I used to when I first got him... Then I got lazy and stopped doing it. I'm pretty sure that is the culprit. Guess I won't be slacking on pre-soaking his food in the future.

 

[Peacefantasy]

You may also want to try fasting him a day or two then offer him a deshelled cooked pea. Itll give his system a nice clean.
Try noticing his poop, make sure it looks normal and as always.. clean clean water

 

[Kimaera]

I pre-soaked his pellets last night and fed him- breaking his fast. This morning I turned on his light and his stomach is definitely distended, and worse than that, he's starting to have trouble swimming.
Heading off to the LFS for some daphnia and hopefully someone there will have more ideas on what to do.

 

[Peacefantasy]

I pre-soaked his pellets last night and fed him- breaking his fast. This morning I turned on his light and his stomach is definitely distended, and worse than that, he's starting to have trouble swimming.
Heading off to the LFS for some daphnia and hopefully someone there will have more ideas on what to do.

They will almost definitely suggest you buy medicine.
Please come back here and ask others before dumping a bunch of medication into the tank. It can be extremely stressful (and fatal) treating the unknown

 

[Kimaera]

They will almost definitely suggest you buy medicine.
Please come back here and ask others before dumping a bunch of medication into the tank. It can be extremely stressful (and fatal) treating the unknown

Thank you, that's no problem. I'm definitely going to buy some daphnia, but I know one of the employees is going to ask me how my tank is doing.
Right now he's on the bottom of the tank looking miserable. I should not have broken his fast last night.

update-
My fish guy wants me to give the Betta a dose of MetroPlex by SeaChem by soaking a frozen blood worm in the medicine. He said it will make him poop.
He's still hanging out on the bottom of the tank. He swims around in short spurts before drifting back to the bottom.
I'm a little skeptical about the medicine and blood worm advice bc I read blood worms can constipate fish as well. I'm back to fasting him and the only other trick I've not tried is the Epsom salt bath.
Other than that I'm out of ideas.

 

[Kris1149]

I know a lot of people on this site swear by the pea trick....maybe after your guy has fasted you could try it again? When my betta was bloated, he refused absolutely everything at first.
I don't have any experience with the Metroplex, wish I could help there. I've had great experience with Seachem products though - unlike some brands, at least I feel like their stuff will actually do something. The Seachem site says that med is for internal parasites and bacterial diseases...are you thinking something like that is going on? It's always hard for me to know when a medicine is actually needed and when to just let things like clean water/time do their magic...Hopefully someone with more betta experience will jump in with more advice. Hope he feels better!

 

[Kimaera]

I know a lot of people on this site swear by the pea trick....maybe after your guy has fasted you could try it again? When my betta was bloated, he refused absolutely everything at first.
I don't have any experience with the Metroplex, wish I could help there. I've had great experience with Seachem products though - unlike some brands, at least I feel like their stuff will actually do something. The Seachem site says that med is for internal parasites and bacterial diseases...are you thinking something like that is going on? It's always hard for me to know when a medicine is actually needed and when to just let things like clean water/time do their magic...Hopefully someone with more betta experience will jump in with more advice. Hope he feels better!

I wasn't sure why the fish store wanted me to buy something for parasites either. I definitely explained to them the fish had constipation.
The poor thing just looks worse everyday. I'm thinking he's not going to make it. All I can do is continue to fast him and maybe try the Epsom salt bath.
Thank you yeah, I'm still open to suggestions

 

[Kris1149]

I'm so sorry your betta is looking worse.
I've never done the salt bath before, but I think it's a great idea. I read old posts r.e. the use of epsom salt for constipation (was researching when my betta got sick) - it really seems to be a mild but effective treatment. I can't think of anything else to suggest, I'm afraid...but hope he looks better tomorrow. We get so attached to these little guys.

 

[Kimaera]

Thank you, it's true we get so attached to these little guys and feel like we've failed them when something goes wrong.

I gave him an Epsom salt bath for 10 minutes. I'm going to continue to not feed him. I think I've done all I can do at this point.

It's crazy how when I started this thread he was only slightly bloated and swimming around fine.. and now he's on deaths door at the bottom of the tank, very bloated. My first mistake was breaking his first 3 day fast by giving him pre-soaked Betta pellets. That really messed him up. At the time I wasn't aware bettas can go up to 30 days with no food.

In the future I will not be relying on Betta pellets as #1 food source and will make sure to always pre-soak the food. I'll never make that mistake again. It will be mostly frozen foods and once a week fasting from here on out with my bettas in hope to prevent this from happening again.

 

[Peacefantasy]

I actually feed my bettas the betta flakes from Omega One (I believe) and they love it. I also usually do frozen bloodworms but I'm currently out.
I'm hesitant on pellets period, but do periodically give them to my sharks snails and blue ram (and veggies 1-2x a week, as they are the only fish who will touch them)
All of my fish have two days of fasting per week along with 50% water changes per tank per week

 

[Kris1149]

So it sounds like the pellets were the culprits, eh? I never realized they could cause so many problems. Hope the Epsom salt bath helped. And keep us posted on his recovery.^-^

 

[Kimaera]

He's just at the bottom of the tank and looks very bloated. No pine conning, just bloated and he's lost a lot of color. He makes random trips to the surface for air, but they're few and far between.
I don't know if should euthanize or not. I feel like there has to be internal damage at this point. I don't even want to give him another Epsom salt bath because I feel like it's just going to add to his stress.

 

[Peacefantasy]

Can you post a picture and/or video of him today?

 

[Kris1149]

Oh, that's awful Kimaera Did the Epsom salt bath really freak him out last time? I would worry about adding to his stress, as well...it's hard to know what will help sometimes, and what's worth the risk. I will say this, though: Our betta looked like he was on death's door a few days ago, and I seriously doubted he'd live through the night. But he's slowly - oh so slowly - starting to look better. Water changes, salt, lots of talking to him...you never know.
Keep us posted and, like Peacefantasy said, add a picture or video if anything changes.

 

[Kimaera]

I came home from work (clove oil in hand), but he had already died.
Poor guy. Lesson learned

 

[Nightshadethebetta]

I noticed my Betta’s tummy has been looking a little bigger. Not a lot, but just a little bit. I feed him only twice a day, but he looks a little off. I’ve attached some pictures..it’s hard to get good ones while he’s swimming around Does it look like he’s constipated? I know I post so many questions on here, but I want to be a good mommy!

 

[Harvster10]

From the pictures he looks quite healthy maybe skip a day of feeding then give him some defrosted frozen peas, make sure to take the skins off my fish love peas

 

[TexasGuppy]

Daphnia food is supposed to help clear out their gut as well... I couldn't find it at the local fish store, so I ordered it on Amazon. I lost a molly to SBD, tried feeding peas, but it didn't really like them. I'll periodically feed all my fish daphnia as a preventative now.

 

[Nightshadethebetta]

Daphnia food is supposed to help clear out their gut as well... I couldn't find it at the local fish store, so I ordered it on Amazon. I lost a molly to SBD, tried feeding peas, but it didn't really like them. I'll periodically feed all my fish daphnia as a preventative now.

I just purchased some freeze dried Daphnia on Amazon! How much are you supposed to feed them?

 

[TexasGuppy]

I've read that it's 'light' food and goes through them easy so somebody said they don't worry about overfeeding it.. I'd say a 'heafty' amount compared to regular feeding.

 

[Nightshadethebetta]

I've read that it's 'light' food and goes through them easy so somebody said they don't worry about overfeeding it.. I'd say a 'heafty' amount compared to regular feeding.

Great! Thank you!

 

[Kaprica]

Hi! I have a female betta fish, aged approximately 1.5-2 years old, and as of about a month ago I noticed her stomach becoming bloated and silvery white. I'm pretty sure these are signs of constipation, and I've tried feeding her the insides of a cooked pea, fasting, freeze dried daphnia (I heard that won't work as well however, it could also cause constipation? I don't have many other opportunities to get live daphnia though :/). I'm really getting worried now, as she seems to just keep growing and seems to be about ready to pop. Advice would be greatly appreciated! I don't think this is dropsy, but I'll post a few pictures to see if you guys see something I don't. Thanks again!

 

[stella1979]

Have you tried fasting her for a day or two?

Edit: Oops, read to fast and I see that you've tried that. Perhaps fasting then a pea?

 

[Kaprica]

Here's the photos!

Have you tried fasting her for a day or two?

Edit: Oops, read to fast and I see that you've tried that. Perhaps fasting then a pea?

Thanks for the quick reply! I did try the pea trick but to be honest she didn't seem too interested in it. She's been pretty picky about her food for the most part lately, but I could try it again

 

[stella1979]

Not that I like starving fish, but I've gone up to 6 days when we've been away from home. I'd suggest fasting her for 2 or 3, then offering the pea.

Are you keeping the tank extra clean and offering her quality food otherwise?

Wish I could be more help... grasping at straws here. Wishing you luck!

 

[Kaprica]

Not that I like starving fish, but I've gone up to 6 days when we've been away from home. I'd suggest fasting her for 2 or 3, then offering the pea.

Are you keeping the tank extra clean and offering her quality food otherwise?

Wish I could be more help... grasping at straws here. Wishing you luck!

Thanks so much for the advice, I'll try that. I've just been doing the usual 25% water changes since I didn't want to agitate her too much when she's already not feeling her best, and when she'll go for it I try feeding her the daphnia. I'll try a 3 day fast and then a pea then. Fingers crossed!

 

[stella1979]

I hope it helps! If water changes don't agitate her too much, pristine water can only help. Perhaps you could do 25% twice a week? I just feel that water changes are always our first line of defense when something's wrong. It may be that nitrates aren't very high, but it doesn't hurt to keep them very low while she's feeling bad.

Does she have somewhere near the surface where she can rest?

 

[emmysjj]

Dropsy?

 

[stella1979]

Dropsy?

I fear that as well but don't know how to be sure. Hoping some tlc will help.

Edit: Well we know that dropsy is a symptom of something else, but without further information, I've been reluctant to call this dropsy. Since the OP didn't mention symptoms of an infection or anything viral, I was hoping we could count dropsy out for now. However, I just learned that dropsy may present in aging bettas because of liver failure, so perhaps there were no other symptoms to notice if this is the case. Dropsy is often fatal, but the best chance is to treat early with kanamycin. I would get Seachem's Kanaplex to have on hand and use it at the first sign of pineconing.

 

[emmysjj]

Do you know if she's pineconing? What size is the tank? Parameters? Any tankmates?

 

[almrds]

This seems to be a common topic on here, but I wanted to ask what to do AFTER you’ve fed a pea and it doesn’t work?

My betta has become extremely bloated. So I fasted him for 2 days (hope that was long enough). And just fed him a couple bites of pea. I’m worried it’s not going to help. If it doesn’t, what’s the next step? More fasting? More peas?

Here’s a pic of his poor belly

 

[Fanatic]

How did you feed the pea? It must be boiled, de-shelled, and mashed very well.
If that doesn't work, then fast him, and do daily Epsom salt baths twice a day, that'll release the bloat.

It's worked for every single bloated fish I have had.

 

[almrds]

How did you feed the pea? It must be boiled, de-shelled, and mashed very well.
If that doesn't work, then fast him, and do daily Epsom salt baths twice a day, that'll release the bloat.

It's worked for every single bloated fish I have had.

Thank you for the quick response! I defrosted a frozen pea, soaked it in hot water, de-shelled, mashed it up, and dropped a few bite sized pieces in there that he ate right up. Does the pea HAVE to be boiled? That part I didn’t do

For the Epsom salt baths - could you tell me how you do those please?

 

[Fanatic]

Thank you for the quick response! I defrosted a frozen pea, soaked it in hot water, de-shelled, mashed it up, and dropped a few bite sized pieces in there that he ate right up. Does the pea HAVE to be boiled? That part I didn’t do

For the Epsom salt baths - could you tell me how you do those please?

Boiling just makes it softer to eat, I usually put mine in some water and microwave it, works faster.

You'll want to do 1TBSP per gallon, and leave the fish in the container for at least 10 minutes, just keep a good eye on it.

 

[almrds]

Ok so I don’t put the salt in the tank he lives in? It’s a 5.5 gallon w/heater and filter. I have a 2 gallon fish bowl. Should I use that instead and put him in there for 10 minutes then put him back in his tank?

 

[almrds]

So the pea doesn’t appear to have worked. Today is day 3 without food. Should I give him another bite of pea?

Also, could someone please explain how they do the Epsom salt baths? I’m assuming it’s done in a separate container. How long should I try peas before doing the salt? Should I feed him at all? I hate starving him!!

 

[Cinabar]

Don’t feed him at all, bettas can go weeks without food so a few days won’t hurt him. To do epsom salt baths, take some aquarium water out into a separate container and measure in the correct amount of salt (you can google it, there’s lots of sources. It’ll have all the instructions you need)

 

[almrds]

Don’t feed him at all, bettas can go weeks without food so a few days won’t hurt him. To do epsom salt baths, take some aquarium water out into a separate container and measure in the correct amount of salt (you can google it, there’s lots of sources. It’ll have all the instructions you need)

Thank you! He hasn’t had his normal pellets in a week now. He’s had 2 days of peas that didn’t work, and I tried daphnia and he wouldn’t eat it. I’ve also done 2 Epsom salt baths. Those haven’t worked either. I really don’t know what to do at this point

 

[Cinabar]

Thank you! He hasn’t had his normal pellets in a week now. He’s had 2 days of peas that didn’t work, and I tried daphnia and he wouldn’t eat it. I’ve also done 2 Epsom salt baths. Those haven’t worked either. I really don’t know what to do at this point

Ok, does he look any better? If not, it’s time to start looking at other possibilities. (This is a bit gross) How are is poops? Is he pooping at all? Do they look normal?

 

[almrds]

Ok, does he look any better? If not, it’s time to start looking at other possibilities. (This is a bit gross) How are is poops? Is he pooping at all? Do they look normal?

He looks exactly the same maybe a little worse. I can’t tell. But the bloating definitely hasn’t gone down any. And I haven’t seen any poops at all. I rarely saw him go before all this, but sometimes I would see one every now and then

 

[jojo_47]

I’ve noticed my betta fish is constipated. I’m currently going to fast him for maybe a day or two. And I’ve recently noticed he has this spot on side that sticks out and looks like he kinda bulging out from his side. Can anyone help me and try to figure out what this is? Thank you.

 

[jojo_47]

It’s the part where is shows a bit of a lighter color than his scales.

 

[Gypsy13]

Hello. Have you any frozen peas? You can run one under water then take the hull off. You may need to cut the pea depending on its size. Peas will help with constipation. Daphnia will as well. But we need some eyes on your finbaby. Skye_marilyn could you look at this little betta for us? Please?

 

[Skye_marilyn]

It’s the part where is shows a bit of a lighter color than his scales.

I’m not seeing much of a bulge or constipation, what are you currently feeding and if it is dry do you soak it first? Btw the bump you are speaking of is called a penduncle bump and is completely normal. It is the protrusion of the swim bladder organ with commonly shows as a bump on long finned bettas, most pet grade bettas have this.

 

[jojo_47]

I’ll definitely check if I have peas! Thank you!

 

[jojo_47]

It’s not so much that he’s looks constipated it just that he hasn’t pooped in some time. I’ve tried feeding him the betta pellets but he doesn’t seem to like them. So I’ve been giving him the flakes. And every so often I give him a freeze fired blood worm.

 

[Skye_marilyn]

It’s not so much that he’s looks constipated it just that he hasn’t pooped in some time. I’ve tried feeding him the betta pellets but he doesn’t seem to like them. So I’ve been giving him the flakes. And every so often I give him a freeze fired blood worm.

Do you feed the pellets and freeze dried food dry? Or do you soak it first?

 

[jojo_47]

I just give him the food. I’ve never tried soaking the pellets.