# Severe bloating! Need help quick!



## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

My female betta pretty has been bloated for the last 11 days. I've given her epsom salt baths and peas and she's still not unbloated. Are there any other ways to unbloat her?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Maybe it's eggs. You can't cure eggs.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

lol very funny. It's not eggs. It happened all of a sudden and she was constipated for a while. She's not constipated any more, but she's still bloated.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

hmmmmm..not constipated....eating ok....

one of maybe 2 things.....poor water quality.....or.....eggs...


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

not poor water quality. I do once every two week water changes on a 15 gallon that's filtered with 4 female bettas and two males.


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

Is she swimming normally?


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

She pretty much swims normally.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Bettas can be susceptible to complications from bloating. Most people overfeed their bettas. They really only need one small meal every other day, every third day if the water is colder than (roughly) 77 degrees. For my betta, I usually only give about 3 flakes and one or two frozen pieces depending on size.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I'm careful of overfeeding. They get food once per day. She had white poop so I think it may be internal parasites.


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## Guest (Feb 13, 2012)

I give mine two pellets and a small pinch of flakes. I also fast them once a week.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Same here. I have a food chart.


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2012)

Cool! I think that fasting the fish once a week prevents them from getting swim bladder issues or even bloated/constipated.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I try to do peas weekly, but sometimes I don't.


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2012)

You might want to get on a schedule of giving your bettas peas weekly again. Or just fast them weekly like I do. I think your bettas will thank you!


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

she has pine coning. I think it's dropsy.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Dropsy is a symptom, not a disease in and of itself. Now, I have recovered a fish with dropsy but it is not normally possible. If the fish shows no other symptoms and is behaving otherwise normally, you might be able to recover it by getting it into water that is absolutely pristine, and stay on top of the water quality, meaning partial water changes at least one a day. Feed brand new food of high quality. If he has other symptoms, I'm afraid the best course of action is likely to euthanize.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

It's just pine coning and bloating. She acts normally otherwise. Except that she doesn't eat much. I moved her to my 1.5.


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## Guest (Feb 16, 2012)

Try anti-bacterial medicine with your betta. It cures dropsy. Also keep fasting her, she can go at least ten days without food. Then slowly start feeding her again.

I hope your betta gets better. I wish I was closer to you, I would be glad to give you some anti-bacterial medicine to try with your betta.

My halfmoon betta had ich and I had to treat him with cure-ick and it cured him of the ich, and I did a 100% water change to make sure that I got all the ich out of his tank.

So try the anti-bacterial medicine with your betta. It is 10 drops per gallon that you would use, you have to remove carbon if there is carbon in the filter. Then do a 100% water change. She should show improvement.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I did a 100% water change today and cleaned the tank with hydrogen peroxide. I stopped fasting her because the way I figure, she needs all the energy she can get to stay alive. All I have is betta revive. I also did treat her with garlic.


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## barricus (Oct 27, 2011)

*Starving with Love*

If she's bloated, food won't help her at all. It's just going to put more pressure on her internal organs. Don't worry about her starving, it won't be a problem. Fish have big energy reserves and can live for weeks without food. In nature, bettas live in shallow pools that dry up to puddles. They can be alone in a puddle for a long time with nothing to eat, without any side effects. 

Most fish are scavengers and go long periods of time between meals, so they're fully capable of fasting for a week or so. I had a guppy jump into the filter of my tank and it took me two weeks to find her. She looked pretty scrawny, but she recovered and is still alive.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I stopped feeding her a while ago. She's still alive, but laying on her side on a flower pot in her hospital tank.


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2012)

I wish I was closer I could give you some anti bacterial medicine for your betta. Fuss over her. Talk to her, tell her that she is strong and can fight this illness. I did this with my clown loach when she was sick and she fought the illnesses and recovered.

I will be praying for your betta to get better.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Unfortunately without medication the chances of this fish surviving are pretty slim if it is dropsy, and egg bound is possible but I don't think that causes pine cone.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

another notch in the betta belt....pretty soon it will be all notched out..


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

not yet. I don't know how she got sick because she was in my 15 gallon with water changes every other week.


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## Flare (Dec 17, 2010)

Anti-bacterial meds are your best course of action. A broad spectrum anti-biotic like tetracycline or a mix of maracyn 1&2 these can be found in most pet stores, or ordered online. And it's a REALLY good idea to have them on hand anyway!


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I just haven't seen them. Nice to see you around Flare!


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

So how is she?


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2012)

I am wondering the same thing, how is your female betta Betta man?


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Still alive and swimming.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

That's good, maybe she'll get over it. Fingers crossed!


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## Guest (Feb 29, 2012)

I am hoping that she improves every day! Good news Betta man


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

She's still alive surprisingly. I can't tell if she's better really.


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