Months of Betta Bloat - not from overfeeding

Hello! i am new here but have been keeping bettas for over a year. I recently had a betta pass away who has had a mass on her eye and she became quite bloated. im really dumb and thought she was just fat from overfeeding but she never lost her belly even after a week of not feeding her. 1 day before she died she had an ulcer under her fin and her scales were all flared up. i put her in a salt bath and she ended up passing away. i have another betta who looks healthy besides having a big belly. she doesnt swim funny or look like she has any symptoms. i dont want her to be sick as well and i dont want to just not treat her for anything like i did before till it was too late. is there anything i should do or can anyone help me figure out if my baby is sick or not and if i need to do anything to help her.

1 1/2 gallons
no filter
no heater
about 71 degrees F
has an airstone
a few ramshorns are her home mates

hikari
pellets
wont eat freeze dried or live
once a day she is fed one pellet

water change once every couple weeks
about 25% change
vacuum substrate
API stress coat +

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5

the whole time i have had her she has been pretty big.
she hasnt changed much just has gotten fatter. behavior hasnt changer either
she is eating
havent treated her for anything
no history
6-8 months. was skinnier when i got her.

 

Hello! i am new here but have been keeping bettas for over a year. I recently had a betta pass away who has had a mass on her eye and she became quite bloated. im really dumb and thought she was just fat from overfeeding but she never lost her belly even after a week of not feeding her. 1 day before she died she had an ulcer under her fin and her scales were all flared up. i put her in a salt bath and she ended up passing away. i have another betta who looks healthy besides having a big belly. she doesnt swim funny or look like she has any symptoms. i dont want her to be sick as well and i dont want to just not treat her for anything like i did before till it was too late. is there anything i should do or can anyone help me figure out if my baby is sick or not and if i need to do anything to help her.

1 1/2 gallons
no filter
no heater
about 71 degrees F
has an airstone
a few ramshorns are her home mates

hikari
pellets
wont eat freeze dried or live
once a day she is fed one pellet

water change once every couple weeks
about 25% change
vacuum substrate
API stress coat +

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5

the whole time i have had her she has been pretty big.
she hasnt changed much just has gotten fatter. behavior hasnt changer either
she is eating
havent treated her for anything
no history
6-8 months. was skinnier when i got her.

I'm sorry for your betta's passing. Did you happen to use the same tank for this betta or a new one? If it's the same tank, did you clean it before putting this little girl in it?

I see a problem here, I see here that she is in a tiny circular tank, bettas should be in a 2.5 minimum 5 gallons recommended (which you would need for her). I see that the tank is planted, live? If so, that is super good! But, she also does need a heater and a filter. If you can't afford that right now I highly recommend saving up some for it.

She seems to be bloated, which could be caused by not having a big enough tank. Also, 1 pellet is very very little for feeding, you should be feeding her as much as she can eat in 2 minutes, maybe give her a day of fasting.

If you get her a bigger tank, that isn't circular, with a filter and a heater she should get a better a lot faster. She may be constipated too, which can be cured by a bigger tank and if that doesn't work, 1/4 of a pea skinned and warmed up, not burning hot.

 

First of all this is a female crowntail. Females are always more plump due to egg production, plus being a CT makes it worse. Most CT bettas seem to have a more compact body so even the males look more plump in the belly than the average non-CT betta.

1.5gals is quite small, doable but small for any fish IMO. I see no lid, bettas can be jumpers and I’ve had a few jump out of even small holes. I don’t see a filter either, filters are always a good idea but in tiny tanks many HOB filters are too strong for a betta. Small sponge filters are great for bettas though.

71F is quite chilly for a betta too, I keep mine at 78F. When they are kept in cooler temps their metabolism slows, so they tend to move slower and bloat more easily due to a slowed digestive tract.

 

Welcome to Fishlore, stickyfish!

I love your avatar pic! So cute!!!

Sounds like your previous betta passed from complications due to dropsy. That's when the internal organs fail (usually the kidneys), and fluid begins to build up, which accounts for the scales sticking out (called pineconing). Dropsy is a condition that happens when there are other issues. The betta could have had some kind of internal bacterial infection that led to dropsy, or an injury, or any number of things that caused it to be under stress which eventually caused dropsy.

You are only feeding your betta one pellet a day? That doesn't sound like much. If she doesn't get enough nutrition, that will stress her and that causes all kinds of issues. And like the other posters said, 71 degrees is too cold for a betta.

I would suggest that you soak her pellets in tank water to soften it up before you feed her. That will help prevent bloat. And maybe think about feeding her a bit more. You can space out her feedings during the day, if that will help. You could feed her in the morning and then in the evening.

If you feed her more, then you will have to watch her water parameters more closely and maybe do more water changes. In such a small tank, I would be changing water every other day in order to keep it pristine. It wouldn't take a lot of time to change that amount of water. Pristine water will prevent all kinds of illnesses and issues.

Hope this helps!

 

Just to add that the water temp is critical for these guys as is space to move in. Both will help her digest food properly, reducing the chance of bloat & constipation which is pretty serious for fish. The right amount of food is important too. As others have said, 5 gal tank minimum, 78-80F temp & slow flowing filter would best keep your friend active & healthy enough to digest food & fight off ill health.

My rule of thumb for betta feeding is 6-8 small betta pellets a day, soaked as Rose of Sharon suggests & split into 2 or 3 feedings a day. For this girl, 5-6 pellets a day should be about right. Space it out a lot at first as she gets used to it - 1 pellet at a time, building up to five-six a day over about a week or even two, until she can comfortably eat 5-6 pellets in a day. You'll want to observe that she continues to swim well, remains social & is pooping regularly as you slowly increase feeding. Don't feed more than the 5-6 small pellets a day. If there are any problems as you increase feeding, slow it down & don't increase the amount for a day or two. Once her behaviour & pooping return to normal, resume increasing the food slowly.

If you can find it at a fish store, frozen daphnia is a good thing to introduce to her diet as she gets used to more food. It can help prevent constipation, especially as more food is introduced to her diet. One or two days a week, shave a bit of daphnia off the frozen block & feed that over the day instead of the pellets. If you can't find frozen daphnia, frozen brine shrimp can be substituted.

Hope it helps & your girl has a long, healthy life. Welcome to fishlore!