My betta's belly is getting really big?

Question

I have a betta at work. I noticed that his belly is getting really big and it's not like I'm overfeeding him. I feed him 2-3 pellets/day M-Th and on Fridays I give him some brine shrimp. He fasts over the weekend. What could be the problem???

I've heard giving him a pea is helpful if he's constipated but I've tried that before and it just sinks to the bottom, so he doesnt touch it. Any advice???

Answer 1

He is either constipated or has dropsy.

To help him eat the pea (take the shell off and make sure its soft) cut it up into small pieces and stick it on a toothpick and move it around like prey.

It got my picky little Betta to eat it ;)

Also one of my other bettas had dropsy and he acted completely normal. Is his belly a little pink or white?

When they have dropsy they don't sink "uncontrollably" they are not swimming around the tank as much. They sit on the bottom, go up for air, swim for another second then swim down to the bottom and stay there until they need air again.

This is a great website for bettas and can help you diagnose the problem: http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases....

Best of luck!

Answer 2

may be due to bad water condition and stress.

pea helps. i have tried it.

Answer 3

there fish. theres not much you can do. i wouldnt worry about it to much mine has a big belly and hes been fine for months.

Answer 4

Do the scales pinecone away from the body ( http://flippersandfins.net/Images/Dropsy... )?  If so, I'm afraid you may be dealing with dropsy, which is essentially a buildup of fluid in the abdomenal cavity from one of many reasons (bacterial or viral infection, kidney failure, tumor, poor water quality, etc.).  The best thing you can do is try to feed him food soaked in kanamycin (Kanaplex) and add 1/4 teaspoon of epsom salt per 10 gallons of water (you may need to dissolve this in a cup of water for smaller doses).