# bacterial infection, swallowed gravel, or what?? (pictures)



## Guest (Jul 3, 2005)

This is my sister's betta and his "chest" has been swollen like this for about 3 weeks now. So here's what's going on:

-He lives in a 2.5 gallon tank with normal rocks on the bottom

-the tank has a small filter and she usually lets the water level get pretty low which causes alot of air bubbles in the water as it flows out of the filter

-I felt him today and the "sack/bubble" is soft and full of fluid, but as i felt it i could see that there is an air bubble inside him that takes up about 1/4 of the space in this abnormality

-The air bubble makes him float at the top all the time, he'll try to swim down, but his tail end goes up in the air when he does and as soon as he stops swimming, the air bubble causes him to float back up to the top

-The water has'nt been changed in probablly 6 months, just water added with water treatment stuff

-The filter has never been changed, she's had it since October of last year

-The abnormality appeared a few days after my sister had gone away for a weekend to a friends house and forgot to tell me to feed him, so she thinks he might have eaten some gravel and it's causing intesinal blockage

-I viewed a few websites and this looks like the signs of dropsy, but nothing about an air bubble being inside


I realize this may sound really stupid, but would it be possible to take a syringe and basically "pop" the cavity and let the fluid drain out, or maybe use the syringe to draw out the fluid and air?

Any help or comments would be rad and appreciated
Peace


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

*Re*

How about diet habbit? I don;t know much much about bettas. Butsome warned me thatfeeding them too much can cause such things. I dun think ge can swallow gravel... bettas are picky on food so he won't be all over the place finding food and accidentally swallow a gravel.
Others may fix me if I am wrong.


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## Guest (Jul 3, 2005)

She feeds him twice a day and only a few pellets each time, he usually eats most of his food, just like he did before the abnormality formed.


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

It's might be anything from the poor water quality he is kept in. You can try to drain the fluid, but the odds are against the fish recovering once he gets to the point he is.


RC


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2005)

Baby_Baby said:


> awww. so sorry about the little betta.


Thanks, he is a cute little guy. He's a real trooper too, I want to help him so much, but I honestly have no idea what I can and should do that is safe


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

You can try switching out the water with some good clean fresh water...and adding an antibiotic, but the little guy doesn't look like much will help him. Sorry I can't help more.


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Sorry.. now I know the condition. However, just try... it's worth it.


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

You know...I just had a thought (scary) I've heard that feeding the fish veggie flakes can aid with constipation if he's actually backed up from the food. There's also something you can soak the pellets in (maybe someone on here knows what, since I can't find it right now) that is supposed to aid with intestinal blockages. I would go ahead and change the water, add the antibiotic, and try a different food every other day or so to see if he gets better. Maxpayne is right...it's worth a try.

Edit...just plain soaking the pellets in water before you feed the betta might make it easier on him to eat. You'll probably just have to break them up a little because they can swell when they're wet.

http://www.nippyfish.net/constipation.html is a website on the subject too. Hopefully this is all that's wrong with him.

Lol sorry for all the edits, I'm tired.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2005)

HOLY CRAP....THANK YOU!!!!! That site was really helpful, that's exactly what's wrong with him (hopefully), he is showing every symptom of constipation (LOL). I was almost gonna grab a syringe and pop him, but I decided to check on here one last tiem to see if anyone had anything else to say, thanks mlefev!

So here's my plan:
-I'm gonna refrain from feeding him till wed or thur like the page says
-On my way home from work tomorrow i'm gonna hunt for some fish ex-lax and buy some better food
-and also have her start feeding him wet food

But if he's not better by friday...i'm popping him to help the pressure.
Results coming soon


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

So did you figure out the reasons? Over-feeding as I told you?
Ok... congratulations and good-luck on your treatment! May the fish be with you.
Great back, mlefev


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

try a green pea. I use canned-- rinse off the salt and remove the skin. crush the pea betwwen your fingers and drop a bit into the tank. 
bettas love peas. 
you can also use frozen-- nuke in microwave for a few secs then remove skin as above .
works well for onstipated bettas. nonconstipated bettas eat the peas and get diarrhea!!makes for a messy betta bowl and needs to be cleaned out right away.
mouse (mom to 8 bettas)


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## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

i think the fish should drain the fluid as that was swelling of the bacteria infection. at this stage, it is worth to try it. use a needle to do it then put the fish in water with antibiotic in. the cause of the sickness i think is the dirty. you mention your sister have not change the water in 6 months and that's the problem. some how the fish is in bad condition and bacteria got in the internal organ and swell up and cause the bubble/fluid you mention. otherwise, everything everyone said is good to go. this site have many helpful people on here and it is a good site to ask question.


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

I think draining the fluid could be a good idea. Please keep us updated on the poor little guy. Try the antibiotic and the change of feeding...changing his food won't harm him even if it is a bacterial infection as aaa says. I hope he ends up ok.


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Hey I found this... Maybe not useful now but it's gonna be good to know


> Epsom Salt (Found in the Laxative section of your local Drug Store): Helps treat Betta Constipation. Dissolve 1 Tbsp. of Epsom salt per gallon of water. Let your Betta soak in his Epsom Salt bath for 15-20 minutes. Then return your Betta to their normal home. This can repeated about twice a day.


It may be easy to use... what do you think?


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