I think Grim is Sick! :(

[Timesdragonfly]

I think something is wrong with grim, he looks swollen right past his gills... i've circled the spot on the picture. The picture is old, and dose not show the swelling, but i don't have the camera with me, and I wanted to show you where he is swollen. Could it be constipation with swelling there? He wouldn't eat his food this morning. He's been getting betta pellets and freeze dried blood worms. He was eating well yesterday and looked fine. I think he was also eating my otto's alege wafer, could that have caused this? Please help!

 

[AlfaBetta]

He might just be full and bloated from eating the algae wafer. How many pellets do you feed him a day?

 

[poefox]

Is he acting funny? Swimming strangely or anything? If he's not then it's probably just the wafer that he ate. Rusty now and then has gobbled down an entire shrimp pellet and after that has a kind of paunchy look that goes away in a couple of days.

 

[Timesdragonfly]

I was feeding 3-4 pellets twice a day and then a blood worm or two.
Too much??

He's swimming okay, he isn't quite as active as he's been. Should i fast him for a day??
thanks,
~J~

 

[LZ Floyd]

Timesdragonfly, I'm too new to give advice.  So, I'll tell you what I'd do until someone more knowledgeable jumped in to give theirs.  I wouldn't feed him, but would make sure he has heat and would check the water parameters to assure they're okay, and adjust accordingly.  Later, I'd give a couple of small bits of frozen pea to him and let that do it's magic.  It worked for us when overfeeding was an issue.  Whether or not it's a problem in your case is hard to tell, but, if there is a problem, it sounds as if Grim is in the early stage of constipation.

I don't know that this helped, but from what I've learned here at fishlore, fasting the fish is better than feeding him more.

Mike

 

[nmwierman1977]

It sounds like constipation to me. He also could just be full from eating too much, but just to be on the safe side I would fast him for a day or 2 and then give him a frozen pea. Put the pea in a dish and nuke it in the mic for like 30 seconds long enough to thaw. then peel the skin off and cut in half. Then take one of the halves and cut in 3 very small pieces about the size of his eye and give them to him one at a time. If he has never had a pea which I'm sure he hasn't if you just bought him you need to make sure you fast him for a day or 2 otherwise he won't eat it. I highly doubt that the pet store gave them peas. I did this with Mr. Red and it worked like a charm and now I don't even have to fast him anymore. I justhad to do it once and trust me it's disheartening to watch them go through the fast because they beg you for food, but it's for their own good especially if you want them to get over being constipated. Good luck and I hope it works. if you motice that it doesn't work then wait for a reply from somebody that has a lot more experience with Betta's like Rose. If it does work, give him a pea once or twice a week thereafter , so that it doesn't happen anymore. He will love them after this and will think of them as a treat. And that is what they should be not a meal after this one time. Again, Good luck. Natalie

 

[Phloxface]

I agree about the pea. I give my fish 3 pellets twice a day. I would not give him 4 pellets and bloodworms. It may be too much. You could vary his diet occasionly and give him bloodworms instead of the pellets but not both. None of my fish will touch bloodworms...
Keep an eye on his gills. If they look red, swollen and bleeding it could be a bacterial infection. That's what Karma had and it was so painful for her that she wouldn't eat.  I used Maracyn (an antibiotic you can get at most fish stores) and within 12 hours she was MUCH better.
Try the fasting or pea first though since it's probably just mild constipation.

 

[poefox]

What size tank is he in? And how big is he? Because I feed Rusty about 4 but then I don't feed him bloodworms since he won't eat them.

 

[Timesdragonfly]

He's in a five gallon tank with a heater, filter, light, hiding log, and a few plants..
He's a medium sized betta, so I was prolly overfeeding a bit, and then he ate the alege wafer to top things off... UGH! I'll fast him fr a day or two and give him a little bit of pea! And hopefully he'll get better fast.
Thanks folks!
~J~

 

[nmwierman1977]

one more thing about the pea. You should give him the peas to him twice that first day as his regular meal and no other food and then after that he should be fine and you could go about your regular feeding with him. Just make sure you give one once or twice a week as a preventative, but like I said not as a meal anymore just as a treat. OK, I'm done. Natalie

 

[Timesdragonfly]

Grim looks MUCH better today. I haven't tried him with a pea yet, I'm going to try it today just to make sure that he gets his system cleared out. He's showing me that he is hungry, but i'm not going to feed him just yet... I left the frozen peas at home, so I have to go get them on my lunch break. Anyway, at least the swelling has gone down and he seems much more active than yesterday! He gave me a little bit of a scare!
~J~

 

[chickadee]

Yes you have to be very careful not to overfeed as constipation is a major cause of death in Bettas. They become sick very fast and die horribly painful deaths. The last stage is a loss of color and clamped fins and staying at the bottom and not swimming.

The best way to prevent this is to stop feeding more than 3 pellets per meal or 5 worms per meal and only giving 2 meals a day. Twice a week they need their Pea Treat.

Take a frozen pea and place it on a saucer with NO water. Nuke it in the microwave for 30 seconds or long enough to defrost but not cook it.

Peel the outside peeling off and take half of the inside green part and cut off a part that is about the size of HALF of his eye. (his stomach is the size of his eye and you do not want to overfeed with the pea either)

Take that small piece and cut in two or three pieces and take one on a clean fingertip or plastic spoon and slide it into the water. (when you have his attention) He should catch it when it falls and eat it. Once they try them, I have not heard of any bettas who do not like them. (You usually have to fast them for a day or so ahead of time for them to decide to try them though as they take a little convincing that they want to try them.)

This is not considered a meal AFTER the first two times they are given. Then they are treats and a good time to do a little bonding and spending some quality time together because they think they are special. (not an everyday thing and YUMMY)

Rose

 

[Timesdragonfly]

Thank you Rose, I'm going to give it a try tomorrow. He didn't seem interested in it at all today. At least the bloating has gone almost all the way down and he seems more active today.
~J~