Help! Bloated Betta!

Kissyboots

Kissyboots

Superstar Fish
#1
Dec 17, 2007
1,889
1
36
Arizona
cid-461aece5d238e494.spaces.live.com
#1
My female betta is REALLY fat. I was gone for a week and she now looks like she has three loads of eggs. She’s way bigger than my male. She keeps swimming up to him as if she wants him to get rid of her eggs. He usually responds to this but he’s not this time. What do I do? What does she do with the eggs if she can’t lay them?
 

Brinny-chan

Brinny-chan

Large Fish
#4
Sep 6, 2006
261
0
0
34
NS, Canada
#4
You microwave a pea and take off the skin and feed the guts to them. It usually gets their stomachs unblocked if they're constipated.

Also, I'm sure you've heard it before but you shouldn't keep a male and female betta in the same tank unless they're breeding.
 

MadridKid

MadridKid

Large Fish
#5
Dec 25, 2007
576
0
0
California
#5
If your betta has white markings, or lighter coloration under her chin and gills that means she's most likely stressed. It may be because of the other betta in there or the constipation....I dought it's eggs though...Try the pea thing.
 

B

BettaNovice

New Fish
#8
May 24, 2008
1
0
0
#8
I am no Betta Fish expert, but...

I have one that has been with me about a year. He developed a case of bloating that was remarkably bad. It was so bad, I was about to go out and get that clove oil and vodka to euthanize him. The only reason I didn't, is because he did not appear to be in pain. He was energetic (still flaring, swimming, and had an appetite). He had none of the other symptoms of dropsy other than a swollen abdomen. He looked like he was going to pop. I could easily see through his abdomen when the light was behind him. It looked like his belly was full of air.

I read post after post and found all kinds of advice for dropsy (which it seems he did not have), and found posts where folks recommended boiled peas for constipation. I also read about some people using Maracyn II.

I tried the Marycyn II, and it did not help at all. In fact, it may have dragged him down a little. I tried a few boiled peas over a couple of days, and saw no change. After several weeks of a light diet and a boiled pea here and there), I came home to find him worse than ever. He looked HUGE.

Having no other options (that I was aware of) I decided to take a more drastic approach to the boiled pea intervention. I gave him a boiled pea in the am and pm, and no pellet, for the 1st two days. (He did not eat the whole pea, but the leftovers sat in the tank and he may have eaten them during the day. He ate the peas when he was hungry enough to. He doesn't love the peas.)

I then began giving him one tiny pellet a day along with the pea in the am and pm. I crushed the peas up to make them easier to eat. After about ten days of this, his bloating lessened and then just DISAPPEARED. It has been a week since he has shown any signs of bloating and he seems to be doing fine.

I can't speak for his long-term prognosis, but an aggressive regmimen of peas seemed to work. He looks completely normal at this point.

Again, I am not a Betta expert. Anyone should feel free to disagree with this posting or to qualify my remarks. I just experienced success (looks like) and thought I should throw my 2 cents out there.

Lisa
 

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