female betta bloated but behaving normally

[honeydew]

Water parameters: 

I can only test for pH, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. The only one possibly out of the ordinary is my pH between 7.8-8.0 (naturally high pH tap water). Water temperature is maintained around 78°.

 

Problem:

My female betta has a swollen belly. Otherwise, she behaves normally, eats well, poops her brown poops, etc. I’ve tried everything from fasting to Kanaplex to General Cure and nothing seems to be helping. I know the photos aren’t great but she’s really active so it’s hard to get a proper image. This is my last resort cry for help lol any advice would be appreciated!!

 

Also, regarding the white patch on her side: It just seems to be some sort of scarring. I’ve done every preventative measure to make sure it’s not harmful, and it’s never gone away, so I’m just assuming she has a little scar.

Edited May 10, 2023 by honeydew
include explanation for white patch on side

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi @honeydew, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you're having trouble with your Betta. 

 

Have you checked for "pineconing"?  

How often do you feed her? 

Is the change in pH recent? Any other new changes in the tank?

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[honeydew]

Hi @xXInkedPhoenixX, thanks for taking the time to respond to me.

There’s no pineconing on her body—it’s just her belly that’s bloated.

I feed her once a day, fast her usually once a week, and I did a decently long fast recently in an attempt to fix the bloating, but no results. She’s a very picky eater, so I alternate between Hikari Vibra Bites and freeze dried daphnia and bloodworms. I like to think I regulate her eating well, so I try my best not to over feed.

As for the pH, the level it is at has always been the case. It’s a 10 gallon community tank with a few corys and amano shrimp, but they were in there before she joined in October 2022, and they’re all perfectly healthy.

The environment she’s in seems pretty stress free to me? She knows who I am and comes toward me when it’s feeding time, and she likes to swim with the corys, so it looks like she’s doing well. It’s really just her belly that’s been bloated for a few weeks now.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Ok. You have covered a lot of bases. What I'm wondering is maybe there's a food source in the tank (like detrius worms) that she's feeding on when you are not feeding her or maybe even other fish eggs. Only hole in medicating I can see is maybe parasitic infection. Daphnia would typically help with bloating if it's a digestive issue. I'm tagging @Colu to see if there's something I'm missing. 

[Colu]

On 5/10/2023 at 7:53 PM, honeydew said:

Hi @xXInkedPhoenixX, thanks for taking the time to respond to me.

There’s no pineconing on her body—it’s just her belly that’s bloated.

I feed her once a day, fast her usually once a week, and I did a decently long fast recently in an attempt to fix the bloating, but no results. She’s a very picky eater, so I alternate between Hikari Vibra Bites and freeze dried daphnia and bloodworms. I like to think I regulate her eating well, so I try my best not to over feed.

As for the pH, the level it is at has always been the case. It’s a 10 gallon community tank with a few corys and amano shrimp, but they were in there before she joined in October 2022, and they’re all perfectly healthy.

The environment she’s in seems pretty stress free to me? She knows who I am and comes toward me when it’s feeding time, and she likes to swim with the corys, so it looks like she’s doing well. It’s really just her belly that’s been bloated for a few weeks now.

How long has she had the bloating Have you added anything new to the tank recently also I would stop feeding freeze dried foods for now and switch to feeding frozen or live daphnia and brine shrimp if it's a digestive problems these should help 

Edited May 10, 2023 by Colu

[honeydew]

@xXInkedPhoenixX @Colu 

The bloating has been consistent for at least a couple months now, during which I tried fasting, new food, Kanaplex, General Cure, etc (though I’ve yet to try frozen or live foods). At first it was on and off, so I assumed it was a digestive issue that could be solved by fasting and mixing up her diet. But now there’s no change in her bloating regardless of what I do with her feeding.

In the time she’s been in the tank I’ve added a couple of plants, but that’s pretty much it. I do have an amano shrimp that gets eggs frequently, but otherwise I can’t think of any other eggs that could be present in the water.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

So it seemed to fluctuate? Now not? So weird. I'm stumped. @Odd Duck?

[honeydew]

@xXInkedPhoenixX Yup, her bloating seemed like a classic case of constipation, but now the bloat won’t go away. Here’s an aerial view of her during feeding—she seems fine from above, right? At first I thought maybe she could be egg bound but the issue is really just in her stomach area.

[Odd Duck]

Egg binding is the most likely cause in a female betta for swelling only of the belly for weeks on end without any other symptoms or any progression of symptoms.  They can also clear swelling then have it recur.  They can reabsorb eggs then produce more follicles again.  With no actual pineconing and intermittent low belly swelling of a female I would guess egg binding.

[honeydew]

In case anybody is still following this and would like an update:

After dropping some frozen brine shrimp into my community tank and watching my betta attack every little piece she could find, I realized she simply has no self control when it comes to eating and makes herself bloated and constipated. I didn’t know this was an issue because the usual food I feed the other fish in my tank are sinking wafers, so I’ve usually walked away before the wafers start to break apart into tiny pieces. Of course, that is when she decides to start eating all the little crumbs off the substrate. And there are a lot of crumbs. My other fish will get around to eating them no problem, but my betta likes to swoop in and help as soon as the opportunity strikes.

To remedy this issue, she now has to go to fish jail during feeding time. She is not happy about having to face the consequences of her actions and will watch the other fish eat while she has to wait in jail after having inhaled the food I gave her. Maybe she’ll learn to ration her food to last the duration of her imprisonment.

I’m glad it’s just an issue of her being greedy, but I also wish she’d behave herself so she doesn’t have to endure the stress of being confined to a little box. Regardless, it’s nice to know she is healthy (while under surveillance) for now. I appreciate all the advice that was given during my moment of distress. Thank you!

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hopefully you are absolutely correct and this will help you. I have to say this is why sometimes a Betta cannot be in a community tank. They are notorious pigs and if they are not in a tank where the fish in there w/them eat faster than the Betta they will overeat no doubt. I have one Betta with a bunch of guppies and some Embers and they are so fast and his fins are so long he can only eat so much. I have another Betta who is on the borderline of being a fat little piggy as she also picks at the repashy foods I leave for the Hillstream Loach. There are also of course times Betta in community tank don't get enough to eat but I'd say 80% of the time it's the other way. Sadly sometimes we have to put them in their own tank for their own safety and/or own good. If the moving during feedings gets too stressful this can become another issue for you. So you might have to consider putting her in her own tank if that happens. 

The breeder box is a great way to isolate her though so hopefully you won't have a problem!

[BeeGryphon]

On 5/17/2023 at 11:42 PM, honeydew said:

In case anybody is still following this and would like an update:

After dropping some frozen brine shrimp into my community tank and watching my betta attack every little piece she could find, I realized she simply has no self control when it comes to eating and makes herself bloated and constipated. I didn’t know this was an issue because the usual food I feed the other fish in my tank are sinking wafers, so I’ve usually walked away before the wafers start to break apart into tiny pieces. Of course, that is when she decides to start eating all the little crumbs off the substrate. And there are a lot of crumbs. My other fish will get around to eating them no problem, but my betta likes to swoop in and help as soon as the opportunity strikes.

To remedy this issue, she now has to go to fish jail during feeding time. She is not happy about having to face the consequences of her actions and will watch the other fish eat while she has to wait in jail after having inhaled the food I gave her. Maybe she’ll learn to ration her food to last the duration of her imprisonment.

I’m glad it’s just an issue of her being greedy, but I also wish she’d behave herself so she doesn’t have to endure the stress of being confined to a little box. Regardless, it’s nice to know she is healthy (while under surveillance) for now. I appreciate all the advice that was given during my moment of distress. Thank you!

I have the exact same problem with my betta. My tetras compete with him just fine for flakes, but he loves bottom wafers. He's not aggressive about it, but my pygmy cories don't really want to stick around while he's eating. He'll pick up the wafer and shake it to take a bite. I thought it was cute the first time. Second time he ended up eating so much of it he was concerningly fat for a couple of days... I'm still working on the best way to make sure the cories get what they need and he doesn't make himself sick. So far I have two things. First, the cories honestly seem to prefer a couple of different primarily veggie/algae based food I've tried for snails over the bottom wafers and betta doesn't want them of course. Second, I break the bottom wafer into smaller pieces and drop them in first, then distract betta with water tests (he loves following the stick around while I dip them), feeding, and might try further play as well so the cories can eat as much as possible. Once betta has started his wafer feast I pull it out and toss the rest. This is still evolving has he's only within the last few feedings realized that's food he can eat. Breeding box looks smart if it doesn't stress her out too much! Naughty fish get put in the no food box to atone for their greedy crimes 🤣 

[honeydew]

On 5/18/2023 at 12:11 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Hopefully you are absolutely correct and this will help you. I have to say this is why sometimes a Betta cannot be in a community tank. They are notorious pigs and if they are not in a tank where the fish in there w/them eat faster than the Betta they will overeat no doubt. I have one Betta with a bunch of guppies and some Embers and they are so fast and his fins are so long he can only eat so much. I have another Betta who is on the borderline of being a fat little piggy as she also picks at the repashy foods I leave for the Hillstream Loach. There are also of course times Betta in community tank don't get enough to eat but I'd say 80% of the time it's the other way. Sadly sometimes we have to put them in their own tank for their own safety and/or own good. If the moving during feedings gets too stressful this can become another issue for you. So you might have to consider putting her in her own tank if that happens. 

The breeder box is a great way to isolate her though so hopefully you won't have a problem!

I’ve seen improvement with her bloating though she is definitely still on the plump side. I’m hoping the breeder box isolation helps, and I think she’s starting to realize it will be a regular part of her daily routine. She swims right into it, actually, so I can feel less guilty about locking her up haha

Of course, if it doesn’t prove effective over time I will have to consider other options for her, though I think she likes having companions (to play tag with on occasion (everybody in the tank is happy and nip free)).

Thanks for taking the time to walk through this issue with me!

[honeydew]

On 5/18/2023 at 2:23 PM, BeeGryphon said:

I have the exact same problem with my betta. My tetras compete with him just fine for flakes, but he loves bottom wafers. He's not aggressive about it, but my pygmy cories don't really want to stick around while he's eating. He'll pick up the wafer and shake it to take a bite. I thought it was cute the first time. Second time he ended up eating so much of it he was concerningly fat for a couple of days... I'm still working on the best way to make sure the cories get what they need and he doesn't make himself sick. So far I have two things. First, the cories honestly seem to prefer a couple of different primarily veggie/algae based food I've tried for snails over the bottom wafers and betta doesn't want them of course. Second, I break the bottom wafer into smaller pieces and drop them in first, then distract betta with water tests (he loves following the stick around while I dip them), feeding, and might try further play as well so the cories can eat as much as possible. Once betta has started his wafer feast I pull it out and toss the rest. This is still evolving has he's only within the last few feedings realized that's food he can eat. Breeding box looks smart if it doesn't stress her out too much! Naughty fish get put in the no food box to atone for their greedy crimes 🤣 

My betta loves the sinking wafers, too, but so do my corys, and they have no problem sticking around to eat while she lurks for an opening to take a bite (my albinos are almost as big as her and swim into everyone often because they have no fear). Maybe I should look into a veggie-based diet, though I doubt that will stop my betta—if she were a human child she’d be the type to push her parents’ buttons to see how much she can get away with. Love that bettas have their own unique personalities but we just had to get the naughty ones didn’t we lmao

[BeeGryphon]

On 5/22/2023 at 5:51 PM, honeydew said:

My betta loves the sinking wafers, too, but so do my corys, and they have no problem sticking around to eat while she lurks for an opening to take a bite (my albinos are almost as big as her and swim into everyone often because they have no fear). Maybe I should look into a veggie-based diet, though I doubt that will stop my betta—if she were a human child she’d be the type to push her parents’ buttons to see how much she can get away with. Love that bettas have their own unique personalities but we just had to get the naughty ones didn’t we lmao

I have pygmys so they're probably half the size of my betta and don't really try to compete with him. He's curious about veggie based foods (I think mainly knows I put food in the tank so it's theoretically something he can eat) but usually leaves it alone after an examination. Except this one snail cookie I tried he's VERY curious about. Will just sit and examine it from every angle for a long while. It has black soldier fly larvae as its one protein so I think maybe he'd really like that if I get it for him.

I know corys as a whole need protein supplemented in their diet so veggie based may or may not work for you. I think most commercial veggie foods do have some protein base. For me I feed the whole tank with community flakes that are like 80% krill and there are microfaunas and stuff, so I think mine do okay with protein. Plus like I said they seem to prefer the veggie of their own volition. I still am trying sinking wafers at least some since I have them.

Bettas really are great. They can be a handful tho lol. But I think that's why we love them tbh, it's that personality.