Another (possibly) constipated Betta

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[center:78b413416b] :smilecolros: Welcome to AA, babybetta! :n00b: [/center:78b413416b]
Although you only have a thread title, I suggest not feeding your betta anything tonight and tomorrow feed it a pea. I like to use froze peas for my fish. Nuke the pea, peel and serve.
 
Pardon the last blank message.

Anyway, I read the discussion from last September about the poor betta that was apparently bloated and eventually died (my condolences, by the way). I think my betta is constipated because he is swollen about the belly and vent regions. He makes a little poop, but very little. The last time he did have a full bowel movement, it was BIG.
I am trying the feed-a-pea treatment before I resort to anything more drastic. My question is, how do I get him to eat peas? He's already picky about food (will spit out flakes if they're of the wrong type), so this might be a challenge. I bought some fresh peas, removed the actual peas from the husks, and cut them into little pieces. I put a few pieces in his tank today and he did make a gallant effort. He was suspicious at first, but really gave it a go. He worked on that piece for a while, chomping and chomping, but eventually spit it out. I think the fibrous skin was giving him a hard time. I know that if he doesn't eat for long enough and peas are all I offer him, he'll have to take them. But I'd rather not resort to that.

[Sorry if my forum etiquette is not very good. I'm new to this.]
 
oops

Thanks for the prompt reply. I was writing the intended message when you answered. Please see questions in that post.

thanks also for the warm welcome.
 
My question is, how do I get him to eat peas?
It really is up to the fish. I feed almost all my fish peas once a week. The first time I did it--they laughed at me (I heard them :D). There is one thing you should keep in mind-when fish were evolving, they evolved in the wild where they did not get food everyday. It may seem like your fish is starving, but trust me when I say a fish can easily go 3 days without food. The fish will be happy to see you when you do feed it :wink:
Did you cook the pea you fed to your betta?
 
Ahh, is that the trick? I have been feeding them raw because that's how I eat them. It didn't even occur to me. That will also get rid of the problem of fibrous skin that he can't seem to process in his mouth (and throat teeth?). I will definitely try that and let you know. Thanks!
 
As I mentioned earlier, I use the frozen peas (and up here in Calgary, there's not a lot of choices in fresh veggies). Even a fresh pea would work--boil it and PEEL it. I don't know any fish that will eat the skin!
 
I use frozen peas. They don't seem to turn to mush in the tank water like canned peas. The fresh peas also seem like they would hold together better in the tank. (I've never tried to give the bettas fresh peas -- I like my fresh peas too much to share! :lol: )

I microwave the frozen peas for a minute or two and peel them. One pea would probably suffice for 2 bettas, but I put a few extras in the microwave in case some of them explode!

The way I get the bettas to eat them is to chop them up almost as small as the flake food. It's a little tedious to chop up a pea that's already small, but I found that the bettas will accept it immediately if it's small like the food that they are used to eating. I put the pea piece on a plastic spoon, and when I get the betta's attention, I dip the spoon in the water and let the pea float out to the betta. Repeat until they have had 4 or 5 little pieces. Hope this helps!
 
still waiting...

Hi,
thanks for both of your responses. I am still engaged in battle of wills with my betta. He is not impressed by this vegetable matter. Since I've been "starving' him, he's actually become pickier about what he'll eat. He's become very suspicious of anything that quickly falls to the bottom. After having tried a few pieces of pea, and spit them back out, he has decided not to eat anything that doesn't resemble his floating pellets. Well, too bad for him because he's not going to be getting those anymore. I know he has the tendency to lunge at his food and is probably inhaling lots of air.
The good news is, he looks a bit less swollen. He's made a little poop, but only in tiny bits at a time. I don't know, maybe he never WAS constipated. It's hard to tell when he's usually in a tank with multi-colored gravel. The only time I saw his poop for sure, it was in that big pile I wrote about (happened maybe a couple weeks ago).
At least after this I'll be able to see what kind of feces is normal for him and whether constipation was his problem. I'm a big softie, I can't stand to deprive my animals of what they want. Must... be... strong... will not give in...
 
Gee, don't starve him.. just make sure he is hungry. If by the end of 5 days the battle of the wills rages...it is like potty training..there is a certain point where pressure is working against you.
Do try other type food when you return to feeding.
Also a large bowel movement means he was either constipated earlier..or was overeating. It should look like a string and be colored in keeping with his food (reddish brownish usually). And there should not be any extraordinary amount. the tanks should be dirty with his chemical toxins (ammonia , urea, etc) long before poop is the problem.. :wink:

Most of ours are hearty eaters and wil try anything that drops in.
 
Yeah, it's been about four days now and he ate ONE piece of pea. I'm not trying to starve him, I've just been offering him peas everyday and not his regular food. I even went as far as to fashion the cooked peas into little, dry pellets. He's still not buying.

His poop is not stringlike, just little bits here and there that don't look fully formed. Like I said, maybe constipation is not his problem.

So should I just give it up and give him something that he'll eat? If so, what would you all out there recommend? Since he likes his floating pellets so much, I suppose I could just soak those beforehand so they sink.

He's such a brat, just like all my other pets, because I spoil them rotten!
 
Hmmm. I'm not sure what to say. Give him some regular food.
What are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)? How often are you doing water changes? How long have you had this betta? Physically, how does the betta look?
 
My water parameters are (and I'm rounding up just to be safe) total ammonia-0.25 , toxic ammonia- 0.013, nitrate-40, nitrite-0.5, pH-8.0 He is in isolation, though, without the benefit of the biological filter. I used to have him in the main tank (he gets along beautifully with the other inhabitants, in case you were wondering), and ammonia levels in there are un-detectable.

I used to do water changes every few days because I was treating the tank for ich. The betta and some other fish were itching. Since I stopped the treatments, I've gone almost two weeks without a change. I figured that constantly fluctuating water was stressful for them, too. But everyone looks real good.

I've had the betta for 2 and a half months. His fins are a little scraggly at the edges, but other than that he looks perfect. Actually, the swelling on his stomach is almost gone, his vent area is only slightly swollen, so I'm guessing those are normal and I just never noticed them before.

In terms of behavior, he's acting absolutely normal and healthy. He doesn't seem to be suffering from any physical discomfort. He actually puts up with my recent use of spotlights to examine him closely without even swimming away. So he's not shy or afraid of me.

This morning I gave him a few flakes, soaked so they would sink. He was STILL picky, can you believe it?! He did his usual routine of examining it suspiciously, trying a piece and spitting it back out. After nearly a week he's still finicky. The only food he really goes for are his pellets (which do sink, as well, if presoaked) and worms. So that may be my only route. He has me trained.

Oh, wait! I remembered that he DOES eat food he normally rejects if the other fish are going after it. He was getting his special ration of pellets while he was also eating flakes meant for everyone else. That would explain the swollen belly. He was just overeating!

Well, I think this case is closed. I'll write another post if any other problems arise, of course. Thanks for your responses. Please do answer this one if you have any suggestions about water quality/water-chanting.
 
In general it's probably best to change at least 25% of the water once a week. (More often at increased percentages if their are any water quality problems/disease) Hope this helps! :)
 
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