Help- bloated Betta

[SilverDragon]

Ive had this male betta for about a year now, and hes never been sick... My daughter and I are very attached to him, his name is Poppy. He lives in a 3 gallon tank with just an air stone, and I do a 100% water change every week.

Lately hes been looking bloated in his abdomen and is acting a little sluggish. He is still eating and swimming around, just not as much as normal. I think hes continuing to build bubblenests and flare at his reflection.

Could it be hes just getting old? Does anyone know how old Walmart bettas are? He was much smaller when I bought him so I assume hes not much older than a year.

Ive medicated him today after his full water change with Maracyn-Two, just in case its dropsy or an internal infection.

Poppy is our favourite fish, so any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Puriti]

Is it just under his head where his anal fins are or is like the whole upper body? If you want to check and make sure it's dropsy you can look over the top of him and see if his scales are just starting to raise.

Males are usually sold about 1 year of age because that's when their fins are pretty much grown out. Since he's probably almost or around 2 years old he is getting old lol

 

[SilverDragon]

the bloating is kindof right below his gills... he looks like he has a beer belly... and its not just a lump or whatever, his whole front behind his face area is bloated.

So when bettas are a year old, are they still growing? because I know he was much smaller when I bought him.

I did try looking down on him from the top... but I cant really tell about his scales... hes very dark blue.. I know what dropsy looks like, Ive had a gourami die of it.. its so sad.

PS, there are pics of a healthy Poppy in my gallery. One was when he was first brought home, and the other was taken recently before his bloating.

 

[Puriti]

After about a year they're full grown usually. He might have been a little under a year because mine have gotten bigger too sometimes. You could tell if you were seeing his scales starting to raise x.x lol

I think it's a part of aging, because some of my older ones have that same problem, especially the males, but I've also heard that i could possibly be a tumor according to my betta booky thing. He may just be getting old and doesn't feel like doing much anymore.

How much are you feeding him every day?

 

[SilverDragon]

I feed him only once a day.. and hes a picky eater.. he only eats a few Tetramin tropical granules each day... and he never picks up leftover food from the ornaments or gravel.

I figured that a tumour would be more irregular looking.. I could be wrong... he just looks swollen up. I did see him flaring at his reflection today, and building bubblenest as well.... So whatever he has , maybe it doesnt bother him that much. Either way, hes medicated so hopefully that helps too.

It seems strange getting so attached to a fish, but I just love bettas and hes got so much personality. After a year, Ive gotten to know him and love him.

 

[An t-iasg]

It's not strange at all to get attached to a fish! They do have their own personalities and their way of responding to you!

I would keep using the Maracyn 2, following the directions on the box. You can use a repeat course of treatment if necessary - when the first 5 days are up, you can medicate for another 5 days. That may help if an infection is causing the bloating.

You can also feed a pea - peas can eliminate the bloat that some bettas seem to be prone to. It is usually better to include peas as a once-a-week feeding, and not just when they are sick. This is how I feed peas: I put some frozen peas in a cup of water in the microwave and cook on high for about 4 minutes. Pour the hot water off carefully and pour cool water into the cup to let the peas cool off. When they are cool to the touch, peel the skin off and throw it away. Use your fingernails or a small paring knife (yes, it's tedious!) to cut the pea into little pieces. If the pea pieces are as small as his regular food, he should eat them. I use a plastic spoon to float some pieces to the betta - hold the spoon in front of his face and try to "release" them when he is looking.

Hopefully the combination of meds and the peas will work to ease the bloat.

 

[Puriti]

Heck I name every one of my bettas and I remember each and every one...I <3 them

 

[joannde]

Regarding the peas - I never really believed a betta (a carnivore) would eat a pea - but BOY do they love them ! Even Mr Fussy gobbled them down the first time I tried it. Everyone (all 5 bettas and the community tank) gets peas as treat for dinner on Sundays now.

 

[SilverDragon]

LOL... I was just going to say, I wouldnt think a betta would like peas.. but I will definately try it. I have used peas before for goldfish and a gourami, and the corycats ended up eating them all.

I will continue the maracyn two, and Poppy has been building bubblenests, so thats a good sign. Funny thing is, he loves to stare and flare up at the picture of the cichlid on the maraycn box beside his tank.. lol. Bettas are so cool.

 

[Puriti]

My bettas LOVE peas and will eat every last bit of it ._. lol

Glad to know he's doing okay!

 

[An t-iasg]

That's good to hear about Poppy - that he is still active. Hopefully he'll continue to improve!

When I got a new betta, my husband went over to the tank and said, "Sorry, dude...she's going to make you eat peas!" LOL

About bettas' ages when you get them...it's so hard to tell, unless you know the breeder. I think the average (yes, there are exceptions!) lifespan is 2 years. I got a betta once from a pet store that said they have their own fish farm in Florida and they sell over a hundred a week or something like that. They said the one I bought was 2-3 months old. I had this betta for a year and 10 months, so he lived for 2 years. Then another time I got a few bettas from someone who got them from an Asian importer. These bettas were estimated to be anywhere from 6 months to a year old already. These bettas lived with me for a year and a month. So they also most likely reached their 2-year mark.

If I get a betta from whatever source, and I can keep them with me for a year, then I guess I did ok. Of course, you do get so attached to them. I still miss all my bettas that have gone to fishy heaven.

 

[SilverDragon]

Well I continued the Maracyn Two and he seemed to improve. But now after a week hes even more bloated than before, and his scales are raised unfortunately. But he does still eat like a pig, and flare at his reflection... so maybe hes not too uncomfortable.

Its so sad, hes our favourite fish. I started the maracyn treatment again tonight, but I have a feeling its too late... hes pretty bloated.

Is dropsy a sign of age? Ive had him over a year and hes never been sick once... so it makes me wonder.

 

[joannde]

Did he eat any of the peas ?

It's so sad when our finbabies/furbabies get older ..... it always reminds me of that Frank Sinatra song "It Was a Very Good Year" .... "But now the days are short, I'm in the autumn of my years .........".

I'll keep hoping that the meds help him.

 

[SilverDragon]

I never did get around to giving him peas.... Im sure its too late for that... Im going to clean his tank tonight and continue with meds.. but hes pretty sluggish and his head is so swollen that his eyes dont even stick out anymore

 

[joannde]

Oh thats so sad - I know you're trying very hard to help him and make him as comfortable as you can; sometimes that's all we can do. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

[dozer]

I just recently lost my betta...He got bloated like that too....He was like that for about 2 months...He slowly started losing his colour too. The last 2 days of his life, he started just hanging around behind the heater....I knew his time was almost up. I don't know what caused that. I have a new betta now...Hopefully, the same doesn't happen to him...If I see it starting, I will try the pea thing...

 

[Guest]

Silverdragon I am very sorry. If his scales are raised like a pinecone it may be extremely hard to treat. It is your choice what you want to do. Good Luck. No matter how good we are at fishkeeping there are things that we simply have no control over and this is most likely one of those times. Good Luck

 

[Guest]

Sorry about your betta. I looked at your gallery and OMG death star. I beleave is his name. He is awsome. I'd love to get my hand on a halfmoon. I breed crowntails , vail tails and delta's. I have a delta crowntail mix fry right now that's about. 2 months old and thre is tons of short fins males that look like there going to have the half moon tail with the crown tail spikes. That's going to be a beautiful fish when the markings start showing up good. I've been breeding blood lines to try and breed a soild black delt vail tail. I'm going on th 3rd fry in this breeding program and have just introduced new blood into the line . So as not to be breeding siblines together and kill the blood line.
Anyway I know the supplier for the Wal-marts in my area who supplies all wal-marts in a 3 start area here. He told me that the betta's that are shipped to the store's are right at 1 to 1/2 yrs. Old when they recive them.
I read a artical awhile back about in Asia and China, In 1908 the early age when the fighting of the betta frist starte there was a miyth that if your betta was not named it would dyi shorly after it was got. So I have tryed to nake all 300+ of mine but I can't remenber whitch one goes with whitch name.LMAO
Here's "blackfoot" he's now just under a yr. and Hastail and dorsl fins right at 4'' long.

I hope Poppy get' better and pea's are the things to use on belly trouble and to help with keeping him health.

 

[SilverDragon]

Weasel--Although Death Star is a beautiful fish, hes not mine. My betta is the same colour but his name is Poppy, and hes just a regular veil tail from walmart. The photo must be from someone elses gallery.

I did manage to give him some peas the other day, and he gobbled two pieces, and spit out the rest. Hes still alive after all this time(over a month). His scales are very raised and hes still acting sluggish, but hes eating. Hes one tough little guy.

 

[joannde]

Are you still treating with meds too ? At least he's eating - and peas at that ! He sure is a trooper !