Help!! Bloated And Pale Betta:(

Hey guys, I recently switched my betta food, but he didn't like the new food so we got the old food again. However he's bloated and getting kinda pale. I heard I can cook him a pea. Does he have to fast for a certain time first or do I just replace his food with a deshell ed pea for a day or two? Any tips would sure help. He was kinda sinking last night, but today he doesn't look as bloated, and swims better than yesterday. But he's still pretty bloated and pretty pale ( the pictures don't really capture the bloat but he's not wanting to be photogenic today.

 

Peas are high in starch, so I would try fasting him for a few days before resorting to that.

 

Yes, fast for a few days and if he doesn't get any better you can boil a pea for about 3 minutes, deshell it, and feed it to him. If constipation is the issue, that should help. How much do you regularly feed him, and do you ever fast him? Could you also provide us with your water parameters and water temp?

 

Water temp 78. 20 gallon tank. All water levels good. Mario moss ball. And I feed him a pinch, he can clear it in about 2 mins. And OK so I for sure fast him. And no I've never fasted him before. He gets a pinch at noon, and a pinch at midnight.

He's not sinking or floating out of control, and he's not acting letargic.

 

A pinch is still kind of vague - his stomach is only the size of his eye and he should only get that much food. In terms of pellets, that's around 2-3 pellets at once, you can soak the pellets first and see how big they get when they absorb water and expand. Some bettas require even less if they're very prone to bloating. I'm not sure about flakes, it's always harder to determine portion sizes with flakes. I wouldn't imagine it's more than one or two, and he definitely doesn't need to be getting so much food that it takes up to 2 minutes for him to finish it. If he's eating for that entire 2 minutes, I'd say overfeeding is the problem here. I fast my boy once a week as well.

 

A pinch is still kind of vague - his stomach is only the size of his eye and he should only get that much food. In terms of pellets, that's around 2-3 pellets at once, you can soak the pellets first and see how big they get when they absorb water and expand. Some bettas require even less if they're very prone to bloating. I'm not sure about flakes, it's always harder to determine portion sizes with flakes. I wouldn't imagine it's more than one or two, and he definitely doesn't need to be getting so much food that it takes up to 2 minutes for him to finish it. If he's eating for that entire 2 minutes, I'd say overfeeding is the problem here. I fast my boy once a week as well.

I don't know how to express it other than a small pinch but reading that I bet it is a little too much. But would this be making him lose color also?

 

Probably not, if the food is made specifically for bettas it should have enough nutrients in those small amounts to promote bright colors. Some brands are better than others, of course, but it shouldn't be responsible for him becoming pale. That might be more related to him not feeling well.

 

Well we did have am accident with aquarium salt. I put half as much as it called for and he reacted poorly with it so over a week I did two 50% changes. Who k ows what would have happened had I put the full amount of salt the package called for. Otherwise Idk why he's pale
So fast for 48 hours and if little to no improvement do the pea thing?

Probably not, if the food is made specifically for bettas it should have enough nutrients in those small amounts to promote bright colors. Some brands are better than others, of course, but it shouldn't be responsible for him becoming pale. That might be more related to him not feeling well.

Heres a little bit better pic. Still doesn't capture his bloat very well. But it's a closer so maybe you guys see something I dont?

He's a younger elephant ear betta. The petCo lady said he was only about 7 or 8 months if she recalled correctly. But no telling with them. He's very goofy and active usually. I wouldn't say he's lethargic yet, but more of just not feeling well enough to play in his bubbles and stuff. He still swims up for air , comes to greet whoever goes up to the tank. Just hasn't been playing in the current or his bubble bar. So as I said lethargic isn't the word I'd use just yet for him. His bloat has gone down slightly since last night. But I haven't actually witnessed him defecate. :/

 

Well we did have am accident with aquarium salt. I put half as much as it called for and he reacted poorly with it so over a week I did two 50% changes. Who k ows what would have happened had I put the full amount of salt the package called for. Otherwise Idk why he's pale
So fast for 48 hours and if little to no improvement do the pea thing?

Aquarium salt shouldn't have adverse effects if added properly, and often the problems come from adding too much, not too little. It's not advised to use it unless absolutely necessary though, so it's a good thing you did water changes to get it out. Did you add it because of the bloating?

Yes, fast for 48 hours and then try the pea. Make sure it's de-shelled though.

 

No like I said he likes to play in the curents, and one of the decor rocks, it's no longer in the tank, ripped his tail fin a little bit and they said it would help him heal better. But the night I added it, all my first started flicking off the rest of the decor, signs of their skin being irritated. The did it less with the first water change, and hardly at all now after the second. Here in a few days I wanna do a 25% just to be safe. He's with a small school of tetras, and 2 gold mickey mouse platies, and two sunset platys. Every one of them started acting like it was burning them or something. Flicking, staying at the bottom. Just seemed miserable. Almost where I think maybe that package of sale went bad or something.

 

He's a younger elephant ear betta. The petCo lady said he was only about 7 or 8 months if she recalled correctly. But no telling with them. He's very goofy and active usually. I wouldn't say he's lethargic yet, but more of just not feeling well enough to play in his bubbles and stuff. He still swims up for air , comes to greet whoever goes up to the tank. Just hasn't been playing in the current or his bubble bar. So as I said lethargic isn't the word I'd use just yet for him. His bloat has gone down slightly since last night. But I haven't actually witnessed him defecate. :/

For some strange reason this message didn't show up when I last replied. If he's not yet lethargic and his bloat has gone down that's a good sign.

No like I said he likes to play in the curents, and one of the decor rocks, it's no longer in the tank, ripped his tail fin a little bit and they said it would help him heal better. But the night I added it, all my first started flicking off the rest of the decor, signs of their skin being irritated. The did it less with the first water change, and hardly at all now after the second. Here in a few days I wanna do a 25% just to be safe. He's with a small school of tetras, and 2 gold mickey mouse platies, and two sunset platys. Every one of them started acting like it was burning them or something. Flicking, staying at the bottom. Just seemed miserable. Almost where I think maybe that package of sale went bad or something.

Aquarium salt stimulates the production of a fish's natural slime coat by irritating them, so it makes sense that your fish were behaving that way. It's not necessary for a fish to heal a torn fin, though; clean water is the best remedy in those cases. If you do ever need to use it again, I would treat the affected fish separately in a quarantine tank.

 

For some strange reason this message didn't show up when I last replied. If he's not yet lethargic and his bloat has gone down that's a good sign.



Aquarium salt stimulates the production of a fish's natural slime coat by irritating them, so it makes sense that your fish were behaving that way. It's not necessary for a fish to heal a torn fin, though; clean water is the best remedy in those cases. If you do ever need to use it again, I would treat the affected fish separately in a quarantine tank.

OK maybe that's what I did wrong. I just freaked out cause I thought it was gonna kill them. Hopefully this fasting works. I'm thinking of getting a breeder mesh basket to feed him in so I can feed the rest and make sure he's not over eating. Thanks for all your help. I'll keep posting updates to how he's doing. Hopefully he improves cause he's a great fish. Great playful personality

My boyfriend just checked him for me, I'm at work. He says he's still pale, but the bloat has gone down a little more to him, but he says he has been resting on his hammock a lot more often between going up for air and stuff. So maybe it's passing itself through, but his tummy is still upset.

 

OK maybe that's what I did wrong. I just freaked out cause I thought it was gonna kill them. Hopefully this fasting works. I'm thinking of getting a breeder mesh basket to feed him in so I can feed the rest and make sure he's not over eating. Thanks for all your help. I'll keep posting updates to how he's doing. Hopefully he improves cause he's a great fish. Great playful personality

He sounds like a wonderful fish, and yes please keep us updated as to his condition/if you have any more questions!

 

He sounds like a wonderful fish, and yes please keep us updated as to his condition/if you have any more questions!

I will update as soon as I get home. It's 830 now, I get home at 230am. I'm hoping since he's now skipped a full day of food maybe he will be a little smaller.

 

He sounds like a wonderful fish, and yes please keep us updated as to his condition/if you have any more questions!

Hey he's doing great!! Still pretty pale but he's about half as bloated as he was. He seems kinda tiredish but otherwise he seems to be getting better

Look at how little that bloat is.

 

He's all better!!