Help!! Betta ate way too much, swollen!

[adeebm]

One of my sister's idiot friends dumped half a bottle of betta food into my betta tank!! I had to refill and gravel vac the tank 3 times to get all the food out. The betta ate a ton, he's all swollen and huge. What do I do?!?!? I've heard boiled peas are a laxative for bettas, but will feeding him more make it worse? Please help, I don't wan't him to die

--Adeeb

 

[logansmomma1228]

Just fast him for a day and hope that the swelling goes down. DONT feed him anymore until it does. Check to make sure more food doesnt get loosened up and float around anymore.

As soon as his belly starts going down, try the pea He should be OK as long as there isn't a lot of food in there still. And if you have them put the food in a small cup of tank water to soak, then feed it is better and less likely this will happen.

 

[adeebm]

I got all the food out. He looks really swollen, but he's swimming around fine *fingers crossed*

And if you have them put the food in a small cup of tank water to soak, then feed it is better and less likely this will happen.

I was out of the house and they must have decided to dump food in. I came home with the tank full of it. Grrrr. I should keep him in my room and lock the door from now on...

Usually I only feed him 3 pellets a day, which is less than the size of his stomach. I guess I should fast him for a week until the swelling goes down. Has anyone tried an epsom salt bath? I heard it helps with betta constipation.

--Adeeb

 

[Etunes]

ACTUALLY, i would make sure all the foods out and check the levels (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates) often to make sure they dont go wack. But i would fast him for a day then feed him the boiled pea. The last thing you need to do is have him get compacted and have him die. I would do that and feed him that for a week. Maybe step up the water changes to keep the water conditions perfect.

Just so i know you have it right, what feeding routine do you have the fish on?

 

[adeebm]

Just so i know you have it right, what feeding routine do you have the fish on?

I usually feed him 3 pellets a day, which adds up to about the size of his eyeball. And I fast him for one day out of the week.

I filled and gravel vac'd the tank 3 times, so I'm pretty sure all the food is out now. I figured tons of food fouling up the water was worse than the stress a 100% WC might cause...

--Adeeb

 

[dkpate]

+1 for the above posts. Don't feed him until the swelling goes down. No peas, no nothing.
Like LM said, I would pre-soak the pellets in a cup of tank water before feeding.

 

[Zagz]

Etunes is quite right, doing some extra water changes will avoid ammonia spikes. Also when you do feed the pea, make sure to skin it first. You can nuke the pea rather than boiling it if you prefer.