a few betta questions??

[dancersmama79]

My veil tail male is a bit bloated probly due to stress from having fin rot and adjusting from going from a 1 gal to a 5 gal lighted tank. How can i adjust his feeding to where hes not constipated on a regular basis? Ive been giving him part of a pea a few times a week and since being in the new tank he wont eat the bloodworms like he used to just pellets. This tank has a light in it and im wondering how long should i leave it on during the day? Is 80-82 degrees ok for him to be in constantly? Should i be concerned that he hasnt made a bubble nest since being in this tank almost 2 weeks when he used to make them all the time? How long does it usually take for fin rot to completely heal? Should i be concerned that he sometimes sits at the bottom of his tank for awhile motionless? could it be just because of the fin rot and the melafix im using to treat him with? his treatment will be over 1/31/2012 Tues. then from what i understand i need to completely change his water again...

I have no water test kit at this time bc of finances until the end of this coming week and am currently manually cleaning his gravel and he is in a tank by himself....

i also still have the smaller tank if i need to put him in there while hes healing...

 

[absolutangel04]

Sorry to hear he isn't doing the best. Since you are doing a treatment, don't worry about the lack of a bubblenest right now.
Do you have a test kit to measure the water parameters? What are you doing to treat the fin rot? How is it working?
Yes, 80-82 is great.

 

[absolutangel04]

Oh yeah, also, what are you feeding him and how often?

 

[dancersmama79]

right now no water test kit until next week.... im treating his 5 gal tank with 1/2 teaspoon of melafix daily for 7 days his fins look much better his tail is almost one uniform fin again and his bottom fin is much longer the top one is still a little short but mending... he will be done with his 7 days on tuesday the 31st. Im feeding him aqueon betta food pellets 3-4 in the morning and since hes had the constipation problem ive not given him any of the tetra min tropical flakes......

 

[absolutangel04]

I am not familiar with those particular pellets, but some bettas I have had get bloated if I feed them every day. Does he have a fasting day every week? Does the curreent schedule of pellets every morning get him bloated? Or has he not been on that schedule long enough for you to know?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

If you are treating the tank with melifix and the is acting abnormal, remove the melifix.

 

[dancersmama79]

should i put him in the smaller tank until the fin rot heals completely? and keep his bigger tank going? only prob is i only have one heater

 

[Mumma.of.two]

should i put him in the smaller tank until the fin rot heals completely? and keep his bigger tank going? only prob is i only have one heater

No, just keep up the water changes. Best not to mess with him too much moving him from tank to tank. Let him get use to his new home and leave him be.

 

[dancersmama79]

consistency.... with the new surroundings and environment... makes sense really sorry to be a pain with all the questions i feel like such an idiot sometimes lol

 

[Mumma.of.two]

No new to be sorry that's what AA is for!

 

[absolutangel04]

No worries about questions. Yeah, the smaller tank will not do any good for the healing process at all honestly. You may as well leave him in the bigger one.
Sory for asking again, but how often does he get bloated? Has he still gotten bloated after you have cut back his feedings? Does he have a fasting day?

 

[dancersmama79]

this is the first time ive noticed him actually getting bloated... im wanting to prevent any future problems...i was feeding him 2-3 times a day and cut to once a day and bloodworms as a treat in the evenings... now he wont eat bloodworms at all when he used to love them and at first when i put him in the new tank he wouldnt eat and now he only eats the pellets......


as of 1230am here ive completely cleaned out his water and tank and put in new water with aquarium salt and stress coat water conditioner...

Hes calmer and inspecting evrything... i had put him in his cup to change the tank and he was so agitated in there cause he hates small spaces... he was attacking the inside of the cup and trying to jump out but there was a lid on it and he was breathing heavy.... now he seems to be fine except for the bloating in his abdomen ( the space behind his tiny fins) and the fin rot...

 

[siva]

Poor guy. If you look down at him from above, is the bloating sticking out more on one side than the other? Are his scales pineconing out at all?

I love Hikari and NLS brand betta pellets. I never have any bloating issues with my bettas that eat only those brands and frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp.

It does sound like you are really overfeeding. Their stomachs are only the size of their eye. They should get about 3 pellets a day OR frozen bloodworms or brineshrimp. Not both. No freeze dried foods, only frozen. Feed six days a week and on the seventh day feed a few pellet sized pieces of blanched shelled pea. Pea moves through them quick so it will help prevent constipation. It would be a good idea to offer him so pea now, but don't feed anything else for the next few days.

 

[VioletEmber]

Poor guy. If you look down at him from above, is the bloating sticking out more on one side than the other? Are his scales pineconing out at all?

I love Hikari and NLS brand betta pellets. I never have any bloating issues with my bettas that eat only those brands and frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp.

It does sound like you are really overfeeding. Their stomachs are only the size of their eye. They should get about 3 pellets a day OR frozen bloodworms or brineshrimp. Not both. No freeze dried foods, only frozen. Feed six days a week and on the seventh day feed a few pellet sized pieces of blanched shelled pea. Pea moves through them quick so it will help prevent constipation. It would be a good idea to offer him so pea now, but don't feed anything else for the next few days.

And don't fall for the "I'm starving to death" Betta wiggle. Mine always try to convince me that I already fasted them yesterday and today is the day I feed them. I only give in sometimes...

 

[dancersmama79]

ive fed him some pea the last 2 days... and 3 pellets in the morning... nothing else... it does look like one side is more bloated than the other but no pineconing...

 

[dancersmama79]

heres pictures of him i just took

 

[noobaquarists]

ive fed him some pea the last 2 days... and 3 pellets in the morning... nothing else... it does look like one side is more bloated than the other but no pineconing...

try one pellet in the morning one in the afternoon. Fast one day a week and a give quarter of a deshelled blanched pea the day after the fast thats the schedule mine is on and i havnt had any bloating probs currently treating my little guy for fin rot as well

 

[dancersmama79]

how do u treat fin rot?

 

[noobaquarists]

how do u treat fin rot?

i use the Maracyn-Two tablets for 7 days

 

[dancersmama79]

its hard for me to use the tablets cause i only have a 5 gal... and im a bit leery on using medicine right away for him... right now im using stress coat and aquarium salt...