Okay so my betta has a thick belly behind his head and I can't tell if hes just filled in since I got him or if he's constipated, or the worst...swim bladder. I'll post pictures of when I got him, when I noticed and 2 days after the 2nd round of treatment.
So here's the deal: he has a 3 gallon tank, a heater, and a filter. He was fed twice a day 5 days of the week. I fasted him one day of the week and fed him about a quarter to half a boiled peeled pea.
So I noticed he was thick after the pea and i waited a day for him to poo? Nothing... So i waited another day and fed him peas again and still nothing. Anyway I havent really been feeding him... cruel maybe but I dont want to risk anything or make it worse? I'm just not sure. So I'd love to hear anyone's ideas or if I should stop worrying. I changed his water today (75%) and sucked up a string of poo I believe. it was brown hahah.
As for the fin rot in the first picture I can't tell if it's just his coloring or shadowing, but I am willing to use a fin rot solution as a pre-caution?
Anyway thanks and gives me suggestions?
this is when I noticed his thickness.
Also if you can't open please let me know! It appears I can't open an image from gmail on a separate page like you can on google :/ so let me know! 2 days after the peas.
These next 2 pictures are of him TONIGHT after his 75% water change earlier in the day.
Hi AerBear2,
I am unable to see your photo. Could you please use http://imageshack.us to host your photo and hotlink it back here?
From the information you have shared with us so far, I think your 3 gallon tank is too small. The minimal recommended tank size for a single betta fish is 5 gallon in order to have stable water conditions such as water temperature, PH, hardness, and nitrate concentration. Fish require stable water conditions to thrive. Here is an article on fish tank size requirements
What is your water temperature anyway? Betta fish prefer 78F+ water temperature. Lower water temperature can cause their immune system to weaken, and it might result in easier catching disease and illness.
You do not need to feed your fish twice a day. Feed the fish once a day is enough. Feed it no more than it can finish all of it within 30 seconds since you have only one fish in this tank. All leftover fish food must be removed immediately after feeding to avoid spoiling the water quality. Here is an article on How much and how often to feed the fish.
Fast the fish is also not necessary. Although opinions might differ, I see no benefit in fasting a fish.
How often do you do partial water change? It is recommended to do it once a week. We typically change around 30~50% of the water to avoid shocking the fish with large swings in water temperature and chemistry. 75% water change is a little on the high side, but I understand you have a 3 gallon tank which can get "dirty" quickly. That goes back to point one, you need a bigger tank for both easier maintenance as well as the health of the fish .
I definitely trying to get a bigger tank now that I have a job. I believe the tank is around 78 degrees. Last time I checked it was. And to be honest he got a 75% change because my work caught me off guard along with school and he missed his tank change day. So that's why I made it a little extreme. Normally I would do a 50% change. And I will post the photos immediately to give you a better understanding of what he looks like currently!
Okay here are the photos!
1) this is when I noticed
I can't really tell anything wrong with the fish from these photos.
Do you see anything out of ordinary in the fish's behavior?
Do not use medications on the first sign of what might seem to be problems. Many medications are hard on the fish and can bring more harm than good in some cases. I have had fish died to medications rather than the problems the medications were designed to counter. At this point, the best you can do is to provide excellent water quality and do not overfeed your betta. Minor problems will just go away by themselves.
He's been resting on the bottom in the mornings and evenings when I'm
Gone but when I come home he stays in his spot for 2-3 minutes and then comes and floats in the corner I usually feed him in. Also I haven't done anything except the last water change I mentioned and feeding him a pellet every other day or 2 days apart. I've been waiting for advice before I did anything but he seems to be a overall happy fish and he's so excited when he sees the red fish spoon I feed him his food through.
So at least he is responding to your feeding routine.
Betta fish can actually be quite active and playful if you give him enough space with good water conditions. Usually in cooler than ideal water temperature, they would become inactive. In undersized tank without a lot of swimming space, they can also be inactive. If you give him a 5 gallon or even a 10 gallon, you'd see him swim around pretty much all the time.
How big is your pellet? If it is bigger than 1mm in size, then 1~3 should be enough for one feeding for a betta. If it is 0.5mm, then you might need 5~6+ for one feeding. My own personal routine is always one feeding a day which is the most common. There is nothing wrong with feeding every other day either, since quite some people do that too without any problem.
Uh I'm not sure how big they are. The rand is betta pellets. Ya he seems active enough. He does this little swim dance when he sees the food. It's quite cute!
If you feel your Betta is constipated, I would be suprised if he was, buy a bag a day of live brine shrimp from your pet store and add one a day to the tank for a few days, bags not shrimp. Don't feed the pellets. Live brine shrimp is primarily water and roughage and ideal for clearing through the intestine
Okay I hope that'll work!
I've got frozen bloodworms, daphnias, and mysis which was a total bust. He's only interested in daphnias haha. Thanks for the advice! Ill keep you updated.
(12-22-2013, 05:16 AM)AerBear2 Wrote: Okay I hope that'll work!
I've got frozen bloodworms, daphnias, and mysis which was a total bust. He's only interested in daphnias haha. Thanks for the advice! Ill keep you updated.
What type of pellets are you feeding to your betta?
Sounds like you have got tons of treats. All those bloodworms, daphnias, etc. should only be used as occasion treats. Don't feed them as daily diet. I usually feed my fish treats only once or twice a week in the place of their regular diet.
(12-21-2013, 10:05 PM)TheBrit Wrote: If you feel your Betta is constipated, I would be suprised if he was, buy a bag a day of live brine shrimp from your pet store and add one a day to the tank for a few days, bags not shrimp. Don't feed the pellets. Live brine shrimp is primarily water and roughage and ideal for clearing through the intestine
Are you suggesting him to buy live adult brine shrimps or baby brine shrimps?
Newly hatched baby brine shrimp is high in protein, and they are only for fish fry (or) as an occasion treat for adult fish.
If it is baby brine shrimp, I wouldn't feed an adult betta more than twice a week.
Adult brine shrimp could be too big for a small mouth fish like a betta to swallow. Unless this particular betta is good at ripping things apart.
Alright so new question! I'm pushing my grandfather into buying me a 10gal tank because he owes me about $30-50. I should be getting it as soon as I get the space to put it. so my concerns are what do I do with the water plants I have in my 3 gal?? I guess maybe someone tell me the whole process of moving one tank system into another?
And yes I am definitely going to do a fishless cycle in the 10gal if needed. So any help? Because I want to move my plants, decoration, and filter into the 10gal and I'm going to buy a new heater because the one I have right now won't heat a 10gal.
Baby Brine Shrimp or bags of live Daphnia, the latter is, or was, much cheaper. Yes I agree with the feeding, more fish die from over-feeding via polluted tank water than ever starve to death.
(12-25-2013, 06:46 AM)AerBear2 Wrote: Alright so new question! I'm pushing my grandfather into buying me a 10gal tank because he owes me about $30-50. I should be getting it as soon as I get the space to put it. so my concerns are what do I do with the water plants I have in my 3 gal?? I guess maybe someone tell me the whole process of moving one tank system into another?
And yes I am definitely going to do a fishless cycle in the 10gal if needed. So any help? Because I want to move my plants, decoration, and filter into the 10gal and I'm going to buy a new heater because the one I have right now won't heat a 10gal.
Right now the 3 gallon tank needs to be upgraded as soon as possible. Fishless cycling would be good if you don't have the fish yet. Unfortunately, you already have the fish, and it is struggling in your 3 gallon tank.
Just move the filter over to the 10 gallon without letting its filter media dry for more than a few minutes. You will retain all of the good bacteria.
However, the filter in the 3-gallon might not be enough for a 10 gallon. You need to get a new one and let it run along side of the old filter. After a few weeks, you may remove the old filter and let the new filter take it over completely.
You might want to transfer as much water as possible from the old tank to the new one. (This is not for transferring bacteria, since the water has next to zero of them). This process is entirely for not shocking the fish from too large of a swing in water conditions.
Full steps of transferring
1. Set up your 10 gallon, fill it up with de-chlorinated water. Install both the new filter, and the heater.
2. Turn on the filters and the heater. Let them run until you see the temperature of the water is the same or really close to the water temperature from your older tank.
3. Move over the old filter.
4. It is a good idea to transfer as much old water as possible from the older tank.
5. Take your fish out with a fish net and put it into a plastic bag or other small fish container along with the water from your old tank.
6. Get rid of 20~30% of the water from the plastic bag, and add the water from the 10 gallon tank back into the bag. (repeat that every 15~20 minutes until almost all of the water in the plastic bag is from the new tank).
7. Just release the fish into the new tank.
As for the plants, you can transfer it any time before or after you have transferred the fish. The plants are hardier than the fish.
Oh my god thank you! Someone who has given me instructions step by step for the idiot I am! Thank you I'll get that as soon as I can! Love the instructions!
FINALLY GOT THE 10 GALLON TANK!!!!! AHH SOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!
On a calmer note How often will I need to do water changes now? I'm going to set it up tomorrow using Thor's advice. So no fishless cycle... kinda nervous...
Sounds good. Do you also have the new filter ready?
As for your question, weekly partial water change of 30~50% is always recommended. Tank size does not affect the maintenance routine. http://petskeepersguide.com/aquarium-mai...intenance/
The whole point of upgrading the tank size is to have better overall water quality between water changes. If you decrease the water change frequency, then it defeats the purpose of getting a bigger fish tank.
When you move everything to the 10 gallon tank, make sure the old filter won't lose any beneficial bacteria it had already gained. The old filter is the key during this transferring, and it will at least make sure your new 10 gallon won't have any more total ammonia/nitrite than the 3 gallon. Be careful when you transfer the fish. Take your time to let the fish adopt to the new water to avoid shocking the fish.
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