Is my fish bored and bloated?

[Esmerelda]

I was going to feed my betta last night, and she gave me quite a fright. She was squeezed between the filter and the wall. She was vertically upside down. I thought she got stuck and died, so I gentle moved the filter. She swam out and acted fine.
Her fins are never really completely spread out anymore. And I wonder if she's bloated. I feed her 6 pellet PER DAY, three per feeding. The guy at the store said that was an outrageous amount, but people here would always say it's okay.
I lost a piece in my ammonia test kit (the vial for the water).
She swims around just fine, but she also hangs out on the gravel a lot. I got her around last August. She's a female koi betta, pretty small. Just a little bigger than an inch. She's in a 5.5 gallon with a few plants and a rock structure to hide in. The water is heated and filtered. I feed her Fluval bug bites and some frozen daphnia.

 

[CWL7211]

I don't think she's bloated, I cant really see any bloat in her belly but I'm not sure what could be making her act this way. the only thing I could think of is if she got hurt when she got stuck, or if it's the ammonia. When viewing her from above does she look bloated? it could be early dropsy

 

[Noroomforshoe]

You can try adding almond or catalpa leaves,
You can try to add variety to her diet. Live or frozen daphnia would be awesome!

 

[Esmerelda]

I don't think she's bloated, I cant really see any bloat in her belly but I'm not sure what could be making her act this way. the only thing I could think of is if she got hurt when she got stuck, or if it's the ammonia. When viewing her from above does she look bloated? it could be early dropsy

This has been going on since before she got stuck. She's just not spreading her fins completely anymore. She doesn't look bloated from the top. Sometimes she swims with her spine are looking arched.
She's my first betta and I've been known to be a paranoid first-time keeper. I figured it's better to ask than be in trouble and not know what to do.

 

[CWL7211]

This has been going on since before she got stuck. She's just not spreading her fins completely anymore. She doesn't look bloated from the top. Sometimes she swims with her spine are looking arched.
She's my first betta and I've been known to be a paranoid first-time keeper. I figured it's better to ask than be in trouble and not know what to do.

Hmm maybe it’s your water parameters or something else. I’ll think about it and come back if I think of anything

 

[Esmerelda]

This is a bit of a before and after. When I got her in August vs. now. And I think she changed because of the marble gene.



Looking back on the videos I took, this fish always had her fins spread. Now they're usually tight. I'm not sure if it's tense, but they're not spread. She just looks sad. Not active, resting on the travel. I feel horrible for missing the signs. I'm going to test the water thoroughly tonight.

 

[bgarthe]

1. You said your water is heated….to what temp?
2. Can you tell us your KH and GH?
3. What is your pH and please describe your WC process/frequency/percentage.
Your fish does not look bloated to me, but her lethargy and clamped fins suggest (my gut feeling) an environmental issue of some sort. I don’t know the size of pellets you’re feeding, but you might scale it back a bit to perhaps 2 and 2.

Lastly, realize that most of these fish have been kept in terrible conditions that they may not be able to fully recover from. Your caring to try to find a solution and your nice 5.5g tank for her says a lot about you as a good fish keeper.

 

[Esmerelda]

1. The water is between 76-79. I'm on my third heater. This one isn't perfect either.
2. How do I measure KH and GH?
3. I change the water once a week. The pH is currently around 7.2
15-20% changes. I siphon out the water and add a mix of distilled and tap water, and add water conditioner and the biological startup.
I will take your advice about feeding her. When I got her brine shrimp a while ago, she was entertained for hours. She absolutely loved hunting them. Her fins were so spread and she was happy. I might go pick up some live brine shrimp to see if she cheers up.
Thank you. I'm doing my best to keep her well. I hope I'm not screwing this up like one of those petco betta keepers with their 1 gallon fish bowls. I did a lot of research when I got her, and I've done what I can to avoid health issues.