Constipated betta

[QTOFFER]

Curley, my crowntail has gotta go baaaaad!

During last night's PM feeding, I noticed his belly was distended.
I tried giving him a bit of crushed blanched pea, but he's not eating - just taking it in his mouth and spitting it back out.

This morning, his belly was still distended and he was very lethargic.

I'm going to isolate him and try 1/8 tsp per 5 gal Epsom salt - actually microbiology grade magnesium sulfate because we have kilograms of it in the lab.

Oh, did you know that there is actually an epsom salt industry council? 8O
http://www.epsomsaltcouncil.org/index.html

[An t-iasg]

Hi QTOFFER,
I hope Curley gets better! How old is he?

The "secret" to getting my bettas to eat peas is to break the peas apart (I squeeze them between my fingernails!) You could use a small paring knife and a cutting board! (and yes, I know it's hard to cut apart a very small pea!) I make the pea piece slightly smaller than their Hikari Betta Gold pellet. IME with my bettas, they will spit food out if it's too big. If it more closely resembles the food they normally eat, they should accept it.

I think the epsom salt idea is good too. I have some on hand just in case. Where did you get the dosage? I've seen anything from 1/8 teaspoon per 5 gallons, to that amount per one gallon. I would try the 1/8 tsp. per 5 gallons. You can always add a bit more if needed, but you'd be doing big water changes to get too much back out!

[QTOFFER]

Curley is doing much better today. His belly is still distended, but he is much more active and is spending his time near the surface as opposed to under the sponge filter. He's currently living in a half-gallon breeder tank that is hanging off the 15 gal tank (I didn't want to subject the corys to epsom salt).

I always nuke the peas for a few seconds, remove the skin, and crush them into tiny bits with a fingernail. Usually my bettas love peas, but this week, Curley was just too bloated to eat.

An t-iasg, I got the epsom salt dosage from one of your posts way back! I'm glad to hear that there is some latitude regarding dosage. If Curley hasn't pooped up a storm by the time I get home tonite, I'll add another tiny pinch of epsom salt. So far he seems to be tolerating the salt very well.

Oh, I'm not sure how old any of my bettas are. I suspect that most fish sold in pet stores are geriatric.

[An t-iasg]

Hi QTOFFER,
I'm glad to hear Curley is perking up a bit! After a few days in the epsom salt, he may feel like eating some pea pieces.

I did a google search a while back, when one of my previous bettas was constipated and bloated, on the epsom salt dosage. 1/8 teaspoon per 5 gallons was the most recommended dosage, with some leeway to add a bit more. That's what I post if someone asks, but I've never used it myself. (It was too late for my previous betta.)

For the bettas I have now, I have never had to use epsom salt, but I still have some on hand. (Interesting about the epsom salt council, BTW!) I'm glad to hear of your experience with it -- that Curley is tolerating it well. Let us know if it helps, and the dosage that you used, if you can. I know it's rather hard to further divide an eighth of a teaspoon! So if he's in the half gallon breeder tank, you must have just used a tiny pinch!

[QTOFFER]

Dang! Curley has dropsy.

Good thing I separated him from the other bettas, who look OK for the moment. I discontinued the epsom salts and started bettamax.
IME, dropsy is a death sentence, but I have the meds and Curley is isolated, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I rechecked the water params in the 15 gal betta tank and they are right on (0 NH3, 0 NO2 15 NO3 pH 6.9)

[Menagerie]

WHAT?!? That's terrible news.

[QTOFFER]

Yeah
He was looking like a pinecone this morning. Funny thing is that he's swimming around alright.

[An t-iasg]

I'm sorry to hear this...when my previous betta had dropsy, he died in two days. I would maybe try something a little stronger than BettaMax now -- Jungle Fungus Eliminator. It's a yellow powder, and fairly easy to divide down to a one-gallon, or smaller, dose.

My (previous) betta that died of dropsy -- a few months before, I thought he looked a little pineconed. He hung out near the water surface and didn't move for almost a week. I used Jungle Fungus Eliminator and he recovered. But then about 3 months later, he succumbed to dropsy. Even so, I kind of think of the Jungle product as a "miracle worker". On the label, it says it helps other conditions besides fungus. I know it's a pain to take out the BettaMax and mix up something else, but just consider it. Dropsy probably is a death sentence in 99% of the cases, but if Curley is still active, then there may be a chance. Good luck!

[QTOFFER]

I decided to euthanize Curley this morning. He was still alive and swimming around, but he was not eating and he looked like a pinecone. I had him in bettamax for about a week, but he developed two nasty ulcerations over the weekend. I just couldn't see the point in continuing treatment since he was obviously not going to get better and I didn't want to risk infecting my other bettas. The isolation tank where Curley was living is now soaking in bleach.

[An t-iasg]

Oh no, QTOFFER, I'm so sorry to hear this I was wondering what happened.

[Menagerie]

I am so sorry too I hope the rest of your bettas stay healthy.