Bloated/Lethargic Betta

[Dsudnick]

Hey all, the past 4-5 days I noticed my Betta fish got really bloated to where I’m surprised he didn’t pop. Day 1, 2 and 3 he was fine. Still swimming around I went from feeding twice a day to once a day and even gave him some peas on day 3 or 4. Now, it’s the 5th day and he’s spent all day in the top corner of the tank on a leaf. My wife fed the tank this morning and said she didn’t notice if the Betta ate, she was in a rush and just dropped a punch of food and left.

He looks dead but I see his fin twitch every now and then, is he dying or can I do something for him?

Water parameters are good.

7ph
0ammonia
0nitrite
Less than 20 nitrate

Currently not feeding the tank tonight and doing a 24 hour fast to see if it helps.

Any recommendations/suggestions?

[Colin_T]

Is the fish eating at all?
What does the fish's poop look like?
Are the scales sticking out from the side of the body?

If the fish has stopped eating and does a stringy white poop, and it's scales are sticking out from the body, it has an internal bacterial infection and is dying. If this is the case, euthanise the fish. The scales don't always stick out from the body with internal bacterial infections, but if it stops eating and does a stringy white poop, it's a lost cause.


If the fish is still eating a bit but not as much as normal, and it does a stringy white poop, and the scales are not sticking out, then it could be an internal protozoan infection and Metronidazole might help.

[Dsudnick]

Originally Posted by Colin_T

Is the fish eating at all?
What does the fish's poop look like?
Are the scales sticking out from the side of the body?

If the fish has stopped eating and does a stringy white poop, and it's scales are sticking out from the body, it has an internal bacterial infection and is dying. If this is the case, euthanise the fish. The scales don't always stick out from the body with internal bacterial infections, but if it stops eating and does a stringy white poop, it's a lost cause.


If the fish is still eating a bit but not as much as normal, and it does a stringy white poop, and the scales are not sticking out, then it could be an internal protozoan infection and Metronidazole might help.

I just left for work so if it’s alive in the morning I’ll take a closer look. Can I treat the whole tank or would I need to take him out?

[Colin_T]

What else is in the tank with him?

Normally you treat the aquarium to kill the disease organisms in it. However, with antibiotics like Metronidazole, you try to use them in a bare glass or plastic container/ tank so the medication doesn't affect the filter bacteria, can work purely on the fish, and isn't wasted on bacteria living in the gunk in the substrate. Have a heater and airstone in the treatment tank.

Before re-treating the fish, you wipe the container down and change all the water, then add more medication.


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To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

There are 3.785 litres in 1 US gallon.

There are 4.5 litres in 1 UK gallon.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating with chemicals or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working. You do not need to remove the carbon if you use salt.

[Dsudnick]

Okay i will do this when I get home! I have an extra tank I’ll set up as a hospital tank.

As far as what’s with him I have 5 Nerite snakes, 2 angelfish, 5 golden tetras, 1 pictus catfish and a Adonis pleco.

Would Melafix and Pimafix be an option too? Set up a hospital tank and use those in it?

[Colin_T]

Don't use Melafix, Pimafix or Bettafix on labyrinth fishes (Bettas & gouramis) because it leaves an oily film on the water surface and that can interfere with the Bettas labyrinth organ. The *fix medications also don't work very well and are a waste of money in my opinion.


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What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

Pictus catfish can grow to 8-10 inches and do best in groups of at least 6, preferably more.
Pictus catfish will also eat tetras so you might want to rehome the Pictus catfish or get it some friends and move the tetras into a different tank.

[Dsudnick]

Well, about 5 hours ago I bought a new tank put the beta in there and dosed it with Mela and Pimafix.. probably just killing him then huh smh.

Also all the fish have been living together pretty peacefully for the past 6 months.

[Colin_T]

If you feed the Pictus well just before lights out, it should remain full during the night and be less inclined to eating the tetras.

Make sure you have plenty of aeration/ surface turbulence in the tank getting Pimafix/ Melafix to try and break up the oily film on top.