Is this Swimbladder disease?

[depan89]

I rescued this boy two days before and he swims ok. It while turning around he seems to struggle. He was kept in a 1 gallon portable container. Does he have swim.bladder? He is currently in a divided 10 gallon tank. How to cure if he does have swim bladder disease? Thanks!

 

[Blueberrybetta]

That doesn't sound like SBD from what you are stating. He wouldn't be able to swim at all or stay afloat if he has SBD.

Did you cycle his tank before adding him? If not, its going to make things worse. What are your current water parameters? Including ammonia as well.

 

[depan89]

That doesn't sound like SBD from what you are stating. He wouldn't be able to swim at all or stay afloat if he has SBD.

Did you cycle his tank before adding him? If not, its going to make things worse. What are your current water parameters? Including ammonia as well.

Yes this tank was already cycled before adding him. He had this already while I picked him from his previous home.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite between 0 and .25 it has a tiny of blue
Nitrate between 0 and 5

 

[depan89]

Yes this tank was already cycled before adding him. He had this already while I picked him from his previous home.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite between 0 and .25 it has a tiny of blue
Nitrate between 0 and 5

I did 20% water change in the 6 hours before.

 

[Blueberrybetta]

Yes this tank was already cycled before adding him. He had this already while I picked him from his previous home.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite between 0 and .25 it has a tiny of blue
Nitrate between 0 and 5

If your nitrite is at .25ppm, then your not cycled. Does the color come put light blue or a light purple? Its very crucial to get the correct readings because any level of nitrite is very dangerous to fish/inverts. Retest your nitrites, if it comes out .25ppm for sure, then that could be the issue because it doesn't sound like SBD

Can he swim at all or just have issues with turning? When he swims and stops, does he instantly sink or stay in the spot. Does he have any trouble with actual swimming or just the turning. What is his diet? Make sure you are feeding him a healthy variety of live bug, live larvae, daphinia, bloodworms, brime shrimp, etc. Put him on the right diet to prevent any constipation at this point. Also , fast for 2 days of the week.

 

[depan89]

If your nitrite is at .25ppm, then your not cycled. Does the color come put light blue or a light purple? Its very crucial to get the correct readings because any level of nitrite is very dangerous to fish/inverts. Retest your nitrites, if it comes out .25ppm for sure, then that could be the issue because it doesn't sound like SBD

Can he swim at all or just have issues with turning? When he swims and stops, does he instantly sink or stay in the spot. Does he have any trouble with actual swimming or just the turning. What is his diet? Make sure you are feeding him a healthy variety of live bug, live larvae, daphinia, bloodworms, brime shrimp, etc. Put him on the right diet to prevent any constipation at this point. Also , fast for 2 days of the week.

More like light blue. He can stay on the spot while turning. He is a fast swimmer. He has been given betta pellets and I give the same.

 

[depan89]

More like light blue. He can stay on the spot while turning. He is a fast swimmer. He has been given betta pellets and I give the same.

Clear picture

 

[Blueberrybetta]

Clear picture
View attachment 716455

Thats not the correct color blue for 0ppm nitrites. Did you test correctly? Im seeing a small hint of purple. If you place it next to the API chart, you can see that its not the required nitrite reading. I would do a small water change and dose some prime to help neutralize any level of ammonia/nitrites.

 

[depan89]

Thats not the correct color blue for 0ppm nitrites. Did you test correctly? Im seeing a small hint of purple. If you place it next to the API chart, you can see that its not the required nitrite reading. I would do a small water change and dose some prime to help neutralize any level of ammonia/nitrites.

I did water change today 6 hours before. My tank does take couple days for the nitrite to 0. I also posted a query about it. Should I change again today?

 

[Blueberrybetta]

I did water change today 6 hours before. My tank does take couple days for the nitrite to 0. I also posted a query about it. Should I change again today?

Your tank isnt fully cycled if it takes days to convert nitrites. It should only take 24hrs . Its very dangerous to have nitrites for days regardless.

 

[depan89]

Your tank isnt fully cycled if it takes days to convert nitrites. It should only take 24hrs . Its very dangerous to have nitrites for days regardless.

So I did do around 2 gallon change today. I added prime to it for just 2 gallons of new water. So now I should do another 50% wc?

 

[CichlidCody]

So I did do around 2 gallon change today. I added prime to it for just 2 gallons of new water. So now I should do another 50% wc?

Did you re test your nitrites? Perform small water changes throughout the day to remove any level of nitrites.

 

[PNWBettas]

Ok yall I get the cycling thing and its important but not super relevant to SBD. Betta don't just develop swim bladder from a trace amount of ammonia or nitrite. Swim bladder is most often a result of overfeeding. Make sure to limit the amount you feed, only a few pellets are needed per day. Soaking them can also help.

To help him get rid of it heres some general things to do:

Fast for a few days, feed frozen daphina, and try using aquarium salt in the tank for a little while.

 

[Blueberrybetta]

Ok yall I get the cycling thing and its important but not super relevant to SBD. Betta don't just develop swim bladder from a trace amount of ammonia or nitrite. Swim bladder is most often a result of overfeeding. Make sure to limit the amount you feed, only a few pellets are needed per day. Soaking them can also help.

To help him get rid of it heres some general things to do:

Fast for a few days, feed frozen daphina, and try using aquarium salt in the tank for a little while.

We already established OPs betta doesnt have SBD. Thats why we are helping him cycle his tank because any level of nitrite will be doing more damage at this point.

 

[depan89]

Did you re test your nitrites? Perform small water changes throughout the day to remove any level of nitrites.

We already established OPs betta doesnt have SBD. Thats why we are helping him cycle his tank because any level of nitrite will be doing more damage at this point.

I just did test the water now. I changed close to 2 gallons yesterday at 1 pm yesterday. The one I already mentioned above. I did not change water again as I'm pretty sure my tank is cycled. Now I tested today at 2 pm and ammonia and nitrites are both 0.

 

[depan89]

We already established OPs betta doesnt have SBD. Thats why we are helping him cycle his tank because any level of nitrite will be doing more damage at this point.

Nitrites is down to 0. So if my boy doesn't have SBD, any idea why there is a bulge near his tail fin??

 

[jkkgron2]

Nitrites is down to 0. So if my boy doesn't have SBD, any idea why there is a bulge near his tail fin??

Could you post another picture? In your original post you didn’t mention any bulge.

 

[depan89]

Could you post another picture? In your original post you didn’t mention any bulge.

 

[jkkgron2]

View attachment 716695

Sorry I meant I picture from a different angle. Right now it’s hard to tell what you’re talking about from that picture. It might just be the normal betta bulge shown in the pic or it could be something else so could you get a pic of it from a different angle?

 

[depan89]

Sorry I meant I picture from a different angle. Right now it’s hard to tell what you’re talking about from that picture. It might just be the normal betta bulge shown in the pic or it could be something else so could you get a pic of it from a different angle?

 

[jkkgron2]

View attachment 716696View attachment 716697

From what I can tell that’s the normal betta fat bulge. However, (someone correct me if I’m wrong) it looks like it’s bigger than normal? How often and how much are you feeding? You may want to reduce feeding.

 

[Blueberrybetta]

I just did test the water now. I changed close to 2 gallons yesterday at 1 pm yesterday. The one I already mentioned above. I did not change water again as I'm pretty sure my tank is cycled. Now I tested today at 2 pm and ammonia and nitrites are both 0.


View attachment 716681View attachment 716682

Nitrites look perfect! I would keep checking water changes for any future spikes.
For your betta, the bulge youre talking about is normal on bettas. The "bulge" is their swim bladder organ. Its normal for bettas to have a small bulge on both sides, however it does seem bigger than normal. Doesn't exactly mean he has SBD just yet considering he is able to swim still.

Are you providing him the right nutritious diet bettas need? They need a huge variety of live bugs/larva, brine shrimp, daphinia, bloodworms, dried bugs etc. If you solely feed him pellets or flakes, then he will for sure end up constipated, then leading to SBD. Are you also pre soaking his food before feeding? If not, the food will swell up in his stomach and cause constipation. Its also crucial you fast him 2x a week to make sure he fully digest everything and prevents any buildup.

I would fast him for the next 3 days, keep up with small WCs, and add in some concentrated Tannin Tea extract to help with stress, fin rot, and provide antibacterial properties.

 

[depan89]

Nitrites look perfect! I would keep checking water changes for any future spikes.
For your betta, the bulge youre talking about is normal on bettas. The "bulge" is their swim bladder organ. Its normal for bettas to have a small bulge on both sides, however it does seem bigger than normal. Doesn't exactly mean he has SBD just yet considering he is able to swim still.

Are you providing him the right nutritious diet bettas need? They need a huge variety of live bugs/larva, brine shrimp, daphinia, bloodworms, dried bugs etc. If you solely feed him pellets or flakes, then he will for sure end up constipated, then leading to SBD. Are you also pre soaking his food before feeding? If not, the food will swell up in his stomach and cause constipation. Its also crucial you fast him 2x a week to make sure he fully digest everything and prevents any buildup.

I would fast him for the next 3 days, keep up with small WCs, and add in some concentrated Tannin Tea extract to help with stress, fin rot, and provide antibacterial properties.

From what I can tell that’s the normal betta fat bulge. However, (someone correct me if I’m wrong) it looks like it’s bigger than normal? How often and how much are you feeding? You may want to reduce feeding.

I feed freeze dried blood worms every three days (soaked). Some time live mosquito larvae (those wigglers) depending on availability. I will try to fast this boy for next few days and see if it is reducing. I have also added Magnolia leaves to the tank.

 

[Blueberrybetta]

I feed freeze dried blood worms every three days (soaked). Some time live mosquito larvae (those wigglers) depending on availability. I will try to fast this boy for next few days and see if it is reducing. I have also added Magnolia leaves to the tank.

Freeze-dried and frozen foods are very high in fat so they are used as treats, not a daily diet or it will lead to constipation. I would switch to "Fluval Bug Bites" for a type of dry food, keep feeding live larva and feed freeze-dried/frozen food 1x a week. Make sure you still fast him though! Daphinia is also a natural bug laxative, so if he does become bloated or constipated, fast for 3 days then feed Daphinia, never peas.