Betta Body Shape

[Nora]

Hey all, Im wondering if my bettas body shape is normal.  He has been this way since we got him.  Due to COVID we picked him up curbside from the small independent fish breeder near us.  He is a Plaka (spell?).  

I did wonder if he was constipated and starting towards swim bladder issues so I did do a salt bath for him; he did have a large poop after and seemed more energetic but no change in body shape.  

Is this just him?  Thanks all.

Ps. We did recently have our snail die, and I reached the parenting milestone of switching out a pet and pretending nothing happened.  

[Mariac007]

Hmmm... not sure I recently just got my first beta. This is mines body shape... yours looks a little unique!! 😄 maybe it’s the shorter fins making it looking a little different? 

[Maggie]

Here's a pic of my plakat betta, Cosmo. Yours looks pretty young to me. Do you know his approximate length? Cosmo is about 1.5-1.75" which I assume is around 6-9 months old. Sorry the pic is a little blurry. Maybe feed a lot less but 3x a day. Cosmo gets about 6 micropellets 3x a day. 

[Colu]

It looks like it could have a curved spine or some form of genetic deformation

Edited February 21, 2021 by Colu

[Ryan F]

I've dealt with a lot of mollies that have BBS(broken back syndrome). And that is what I would diagnose your betta with based on the second picture. Basically does his spine stay that way all the time? If so, he can still live a decent life but probably needs to be in a special care facility (tank on his own with very low flow) He'll struggle to swim and if he has to compete for food would likely starve. 

That said, I've only had my one betta, Boo Berry. So I'm not sure what is the limit for normal body shape.

[Nora]

Hi All.

Maria, he is about 1 1/8" long in the body (not counting his tail).  Not exactly sure how old he is, didn't get to pick him out myself due to Covid.  He was a curbside pickup at the small fish dealer.  

Maggie, I have started to feed him twice a day based on your advice.  Unfortunately he only seems to want to eat 2 to 3 pellets per feeding.  But he may be getting a little bigger.

Ryan, yes he does have a C shape to his body pretty much most of the time.  Not ideal, but he's ours and we will do the best to take care of him however long he lives.  Its only a 5 gal tank so we weren't planning on adding any more fish or snails.  1 of each seems to be the max amount.  I'll add more plants if I want to add interest.