I just woke up for a glass of water and walked over to check on my baby and noticed something concerning. Please give me advice I’m a brand new beta mom. This is my first aquatic pet. I’ve had him a little over a month. I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do I check his water levels every couple days. Perfect water temp. 6 gallon starter tank. Live plants. He receives good enrichment. Healthy diet blood warms once a week. I could use better daily food. I’m just not sure if this is normal or not. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed it before. Any advice is appreciated. I’m literally checking his levels right after I post this.
https://v.redd.it/orac2mooreig1
Posted by snoopbunnyxx
5 Comments
I’ll post other pics
https://preview.redd.it/29h227w0seig1.jpeg?width=1320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad83ecefee552b9c9432ac7fe86049ced8324264
https://preview.redd.it/r6rk90p3seig1.jpeg?width=1320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8f744356b7765a5bdc22b5dd21df6da4209d078
I gave him blood warms about an hour ago. Changed substrate a couple days ago levels were perfect. He’s been really active in it. He’s built a brand new bubble nest. He seems to be happy in there. I’ve never seen him as active. Keeps coming to the top or sides of glass when I come up there.
https://preview.redd.it/54kbbadnseig1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6356a49a6c815a0b3ab376e65b0f1b300d94225
Your little fella does look like he’s having problems. Before you try to treat it (it’s harsh), wait for some other people to back me up on that—also, I don’t have experience doing the treatment process first-hand.
You’ve only had him a short time, and your tank looks good from what I can tell, but did you fully cycle it before he was put in it? Where did you get him from? What is his normal food? (I like Fluval bug bites as they don’t contain fillers which bettas can’t digest very well.)
When we get our betta fish from pet stores, they can often be in a weakened state and we don’t know how old they are. It’s possible that you personally didn’t do anything “wrong,” and this just happened.
It’s not pineconing, just bloated. Dropsy is a full-body issue, and although it can often be accompanied by bloating, that isn’t whats happening here.
Your fish has a distended belly area and is likely constipated or bloated from overeating. What type of food are you feeding him and how much/how often? Is he going to the bathroom?
I’ve been treating dropsy for years and this is definitely not dropsy, just wanted to reiterate that.
Editing to add: bloodworms are extremely fatty and should only be fed as a supplemental treat.