Does My Female Betta Look Bloated?

Just wanted to get a second opinion on my female bettas - before I realized I had to separate my two dominant ones at feeding time those two little girls pigged out and got really bloated. One developed a bit of SBD and the other one just got a bloated tummy so I started fasting them on 9/30, feeding them the deshelled pea every other day and that was it. After feeding the pea the one with SBD would get better and she’d be swimming around fine only for the next day to be floating at the top. She finally seems like she is getting better every day, her tummy is not bloated looking, but I worry about the second one. Do you guys think she looks bloated too? Attaching some pics .. do you think it’s been long enough to try feeding them a small amount of their normal pellets? The omega minI ones) or should I continue fasting / feeding the peas?

Thanks!!
Steph

 

They look a tad bloated, I would try some epsome salts

 

Honestly, they don't look too bad. I personally don't think Epsom salt would be necessary in this situation; it should only be used in severe cases, as it tends to be stressful on the fish. I would temporarily remove them from the tank for maybe three days with slightly higher temperatures than what is in the tank for increased metabolism. Fast them for those entire three days and feed them peas before adding them back to the main display. If you don't want to go to that extent, then just wait a few days before feeding them normally.

 

Thank you , I will continue fasting for a few more days then and pick up an adjustable thermometer. Would it be harmful if I increased the temp in the main tank? (It’s only occupants are the 6 betta girls)

 

Honestly, they don't look too bad. I personally don't think Epsom salt would be necessary in this situation; it should only be used in severe cases, as it tends to be stressful on the fish. I would temporarily remove them from the tank for maybe three days with slightly higher temperatures than what is in the tank for increased metabolism. Fast them for those entire three days and feed them peas before adding them back to the main display. If you don't want to go to that extent, then just wait a few days before feeding them normally.

Well she did say it had been a week. I think if you used a teaspoon to a gallon instead of a tablespoon to a gallon it would be better

 

Well she did say it had been a week. I think if you used a teaspoon to a gallon instead of a tablespoon to a gallon it would be better

But throughout the week, this fish has been healing well. If there hasn’t been any improvement, then I would suggest Epsom salt. However, that’s not the case.

Thank you , I will continue fasting for a few more days then and pick up an adjustable thermometer. Would it be harmful if I increased the temp in the main tank? (It’s only occupants are the 6 betta girls)

This would increase the metabolism of every single fish rather than just the two, which may cause the females to become underweight if they’re already well-fed. I would only suggest this step if you were to quarantine the bloated fish. Otherwise. You can just skip feeding those two and feed the others normally. Maybe separate them during feeding in a breeder’s box.

 

Got it, thanks so much! I’m going to fast those two a few more days and if still bloated will try the weaker ratio epsom salt bath. Also going to continue to separate those two for individual feeding to prevent this from happening again!

Along the same topic , do you guys feed your juveniles more or more often then the adults since they are growing? I’ve been doing once a day, same as I do for my adult boys, but they act like they are RAVENOUS! Jumping and going crazy like a little shark frenzy!

 

Got it, thanks so much! I’m going to fast those two a few more days and if still bloated will try the weaker ratio epsom salt bath. Also going to continue to separate those two for individual feeding to prevent this from happening again!

Along the same topic , do you guys feed your juveniles more or more often then the adults since they are growing? I’ve been doing once a day, same as I do for my adult boys, but they act like they are RAVENOUS! Jumping and going crazy like a little shark frenzy!

With my single female betta, I feed her differently throughout the week,
one day is bloodworm day,
Two days are every fish fast day,
one large feeding sometime in the week, a mix of pellets and other worms and flakes
Then the other 3 days are smaller feedings of just a few pellets for eveyone

It's sort of more natural than every day, and lets their body have a bit of time to cope with a large feeding and with some other feedings that may clog them.

I also feed my fish way more than just pellets, and the pellets I do feed are high quality, they're bug bites, they contain vegetables and fly larvae, something a fish would naturally eat.

I try to stray away from anything low quality that contains meal or any flour product.

If I could, bloodworm day would be live food day.

Only one of my fish have ever had swimming problems, and that was a molly fry who had ate too much, I tried to keep it away while I fed the others, but eventually it got to the bug bite too and after eating it, it didn't have floating issues anymore.
Funny enough, sometimes floating food causes floating fish, and so does a single food diet.
Variety is natural in a fishes life, and so is having to wait for food.

Perhaps if you give them a variety, they will be more calm during feeding time.

 

Thank you Crazycoryfishlady that makes a lot of sense. I’m going to pick up the bug bites and some other frozen bloodworm/daphnia today and give that a try!