Prolapse in Betta

[Lissee]

Hi All,

I recently found my betta with a large pinkish globular mass on its underside. It appears to be attached to him and after numerous searches it appears to be prolapse.

Can a betta recover from this and if so what can i do to help him? He has been fasted for 4days already as I am a fly in fly out worker and I have never experienced this condition in a fish before.

I have since done a water change, been given a different pellet for feeding and some bloodworm/betta mix.

 

[Lissee]

Here is a picture of him.

 

[Andy Sager]

Sometimes things like this will clear on their own but it takes good clean water and a softer food that is easier to pass provided that the cause is not an infection. You can also give the fish Epsom salt baths to help relax the muscles and shrink the swelling which can help the tissue retract. I'd get off the pellets and onto frozen foods like Bloodworms and Brine Shrimp. Brine Shrimp and Bloodworms have a " shell" to them that is very good for helping keep the flow of Poo going smoothly.

 

[Fishfur]

That’s a fairly large mass of tissue - though it is possible for things like this to resolve on their own the longer it stays out, the less likely it becomes that it will resolve.

Fasting was not a bad idea but you need to find out if the fish is willing to eat, if that’s possible. If he won’t eat, this is not going to have a happy ending and I am very sorry to say so. Can you tell if the fish has passed anything since this happened?

I’d aim to feed it something that’s frozen - daphnia or brine shrimp, if that’s possible, not any kind of dry food but the goal is to find out if it will eat anything.

Unfortunately we can’t tell if this has made passing poop impossible for the poor guy but if he won’t eat, it’s probable that he’s feeling pretty crummy.

An Epsom salt bath won’t hurt but probably won’t help either - though it is a long used remedy there’s actually no reliable evidence to confirm that it does anything to draw out excess fluid or shrink a swelling for fish or humans either. I suppose it might relax muscles, not sure about that.

As with some other remedies Epsom baths have been done for so long that people take them at face value without questioning if they actually do what we think they do.

To draw out fluid, osmosis would have to reverse its direction of flow in the fish and I just can’t see that being possible unless the water the fish is swimming in is far saltier than the fish’s own body fluids are - as is the case with marine fish.

But it won’t do any harm if you want to try it. Use 1 level tablespoon of pure Epsom per gallon of bath water and watch while the fish is in the bath. Remove the fish instantly if it shows any signs of distress,.

 

[Autumnsky]

Info RE: Epsom Salt

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5168986/?page=2

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/magnesium-HealthProfessional/

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/using-epsom-salt-in-fish-therapy-374191.html#post3548383