Odd Behavior, Possible Swim Bladder Issues?

[FlutterFish]

KimberlyG

My female betta, who I’ve had for a little less than a year, has been resting at the bottom a lot lately; and it is definitely not resting, since she constantly lays down. Sometimes it seems like she’s laying down on an angle, and sometimes she just sits there at a normal angle, like when she’s sleeping. She also tends to swim vertically instead of horizontally, facing the surface even when she’s going down. She also seems to have a bent spine. She is able to come up and get air and also shows a usual interest in food, but seems exhausted after it, going back to the bottom. No sign of scratching or glass surfing whatsoever. No white spots/ich, and when I shined the flashlight on her, no velvet. Temperature is steady at 78, and parameters are 0/0/0. Did a water change on Saturday, plan to do one tomorrow as well.

I have a hunch it might be something with the swim bladder, but to be cautious, I fed her a portion of a shelled, defrosted pea yesterday. No big signs of improvement, but she did start swimming facing downwards instead of the surface when she goes down.

Any thoughts? Any ideas on medication? I’ve got methylene blue on hand but that’s about it.

 

[Kels723]

We have a male betta doing the same thing! He's been like that since we got him a few months ago, and I have a feeling it's swim bladder. Nothing's worked so far. I'm curious to see what others respond with.

 

[KimberlyG]

KimberlyG

My female betta, who I’ve had for a little less than a year, has been resting at the bottom a lot lately; and it is definitely not resting, since she constantly lays down. Sometimes it seems like she’s laying down on an angle, and sometimes she just sits there at a normal angle, like when she’s sleeping. She also tends to swim vertically instead of horizontally, facing the surface even when she’s going down. She also seems to have a bent spine. She is able to come up and get air and also shows a usual interest in food, but seems exhausted after it, going back to the bottom. No sign of scratching or glass surfing whatsoever. No white spots/ich, and when I shined the flashlight on her, no velvet. Temperature is steady at 78, and parameters are 0/0/0. Did a water change on Saturday, plan to do one tomorrow as well.

I have a hunch it might be something with the swim bladder, but to be cautious, I fed her a portion of a shelled, defrosted pea yesterday. No big signs of improvement, but she did start swimming facing downwards instead of the surface when she goes down.

Any thoughts? Any ideas on medication? I’ve got methylene blue on hand but that’s about it.

Sorry to hear about your girl. Can you get any pictures of your her?Also, What do you feed her and how often?

 

[FlutterFish]

Usually 0.5 mm pellets, 3 in the morning and 2 in the night. However, since I was gone for about 4 weeks or so, I had someone feed her for me, and apparently they fed her 5 pellets in one go. So not good

On weekends I give her frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp, and a fasting day after that... but I think the feeder disregarded that as well. I thought she was fine, however... her behavior was normal when I came back, and she’s only been starting to show symptoms around a week ago.

Also for pictures, no... my phone camera is unfortunately not working, but I’ll try to get something soon.

Couldn’t get anything perfect, but the best I could do :

View media item 241477View media item 241476View media item 241475View media item 241474View media item 241473

 

[KimberlyG]

The pictures are pretty good. Nothing about them that is obvious. I will open them on my large screen tonight when I get home. Have you seen any other behavior such as flashing? He obviously doesn't feel good and his color seems off. (But I'm on a small phone)

I see that you mentioned no flashing. In my opinion, she is being over fed. Mine get 3 pellets once a day. Tuesdays and Fridays they get 2 bloodworms instead of the pellets. They get fasted on Sundays which is water change day. Over feeding causes a lot of health problems over time. You are doing nothing that is terrible, you are not throwing a treat in every time to pass the tank.

 

[FlutterFish]

Yeah, I thought of that as well. I had a hunch and now plan on feeding her far less.

But since the pea hasn’t worked, what should I do? It’s been increasingly difficult for her to get to the surface and does nothing but stay at the bottom...

 

[KimberlyG]

Could try an epsom salt bath but I would like to look at the pictures a little closer tonight .

 

[KimberlyG]

An epsom salt bath wouldn't hurt. You could see if it helped at all. The swim bladder area looks a little large in one of the pictures.

 

[FlutterFish]

So how long should I do the bath?

Also when should I start feeding her? She seems extremely exhausted and I was wondering if he lack of food also contributes to it.